What are favorite scraps? And what not to feed...

[bigt447]

My laying pullets love oatmeal mixed with milk or yogurt, plus sometimes I include oyster shell and/or layer pellets. Oats are high in protein.

 

[donrae]

My laying pullets love oatmeal mixed with milk or yogurt, plus sometimes I include oyster shell and/or layer pellets. Oats are high in protein.

The label on my oatmeal says every 40 grams of oats has 5 grams of protein. I wouldn't consider that high in protein.

 

[weezyfno]

My girls love any melons and grapes!! They also love meal worms and bread scraps. They won't eat lettuce but like cabbage. They will kick out strawberries but gobble up blueberries. Odd picky birds.

Mine are exactly like this. I tried to feed them all types of lettuce/spinach but they refuse to eat it. However, the entire flock will destroy a head of cabbage in a day or two when I hang it in their run.

 

[julia305]

Mine go mental for grapes cut in half, cherry tomatoes, they like a bit of rice, they like cheese but i only let them have a small bit each. LOVE pansies and violas. Love mealworms and peas. I think grapes are their favourite though. its nice to see what everybody's flock likes cos it gives me ideas

 

[rubbleanddebris]

They love sweet corn. Whenever we grill, I grill extra for the chickens, They fly out of the coop so fast when they hear a husk of see an ear of corn that they usually end up face first into the chicken wire around the run. whole or sliced tomatoes invoke a similar reaction. They love scrambled egg- shells and all. They will tear up a peeled banana in seconds. I also give them oats with the occasional coconut yogurt or coconut milk (I don't do dairy) Also, grapes, I understand are not something I should feed to them all the time, but we have some concords growing in the yard and they do indeed loose their little minds over grapes. I don't slice them, they seem to have no problem with this.

 

[bigt447]

If your 20 grams of oatmeal have 5 grams of protein....that's 12.5% protein which is higher than any grain other than soybeans....plus they get the protein from the milk or yogurt mixed with it. Do some research and you will see an equal weight of eggs & oats have the same protein.

 

[donrae]

If your 20 grams of oatmeal have 5 grams of protein....that's 12.5% protein which is higher than any grain other than soybeans....plus they get the protein from the milk or yogurt mixed with it. Do some research and you will see an equal weight of eggs & oats have the same protein.

40 grams of oats, not 20.

I guess for grains it may not be horrible. I just don't like folks thinking of oatmeal as a "high protein" feed if they're having issues and need a meat group boost in the flock for management issues.

 

[bigt447]

I calculated it for 40 grams... If it was 20 grams it would be 25% protein. Sorry for my typo. Just saying.... Oats beats most other snacks such as corn only has about 8% protein.

 

[CalgaryFarmer]

We were feeding our laying hens 16% layer feed. We also gave them all of our kitchen scraps. We found that we were having feather picking issues. Maybe 16% layer feed with no scraps can work but I will never know as feeding kitchen scraps just seems like the right thing to do. So we now feed them 22% grower with oyster shells elsewhere. The feathers now look a lot better. The point is that scraps are great but if the protein falls you will likely see feather picking issues.

 

[newchickenista]

We were feeding our laying hens 16% layer feed. We also gave them all of our kitchen scraps. We found that we were having feather picking issues. Maybe 16% layer feed with no scraps can work but I will never know as feeding kitchen scraps just seems like the right thing to do. So we now feed them 22% grower with oyster shells elsewhere. The feathers now look a lot better. The point is that scraps are great but if the protein falls you will likely see feather picking issues.

I have always fed my girls only 16% layer feed and the very rarest scraps and have never had any problem. But as I am trying to incorporate more scraps into their diet, I will remember this and keep a watch out. Thanks!