what are some things i cant and can feed to chicks

[pikachuchick]

we are getting chicks soon. first timers ! never had a chicken before. what are some things i can feed them and some things i cant ? help please? thanks

 

[thebanthams]

lettuce, cabbage, breads, bananas, I have too many to list. All I know is dont give them potatoes , avocados, and citrus
My chicks favorite are cabbage.

 

[pikachuchick]

Thank you!

 

[Je33ieg]

i feed mine bread almost daily. and they really like tortilla chips!

 

[thebanthams]

I fogot to mention, in the summer time they LOVE watermelons ! cantaloupes and honeydews.

 

[TanteK]

I haven't ventured far out into the treat world either Pikachu.... so far they've only gotten boiled eggs i've minced up, carrot pieces and lettuce along with dandelions from the yard. I've seen several posts that say to feed them grit and I plan on introducing my four SLW's to sand today. It could be interesting!

Hope this helps

 

[NYREDS]

They can eat anything that you can eat, including potatoes, avocado & citrus. About once a week I clean out our fridge. All the leftovers, stale breads, over the hill produce, etc goes out & they usually eat it all. Sometimes there'll be something they don't care for. Usually something they've never seen before. I've heard it said that chickens will eat anything that doesn't eat them.
There's a "Treat Chart" here somewhere but it includes a lot of bad information.
Chickens are omnivors & will eat just about anything. I've been keeping birds for over 50 years & vI've never known of a chicken eating anything that harmed the.

 

[BGMatt]

You can't do RAW potato skins. I'd have to look up the toxin but it can, I stress can, kill the birds. Have witnessed this with customers animals, however its a temperature sensitive toxin I guess and cooked skins are ok although my birds never loved them. Otherwise yeah pretty much anything.

The professional in me won't let me not put in the disclaimer that you don't want treats or supplemental feeding items become more than 10% of their diet or you risk unbalancing it and potentially causing long term health issues.

 

[NYREDS]

There is no toxin in an amount that will harm chickens in raw potato skins. Skins that are green from exposure to sunlight do contain a higher concentration of solonine, a toxin that can be harmful in sufficient amounts. Solonine is partly destroyed by cooking. This is a simplification of the issue but sufficient to illustrate that there's no reason to be paranoid about potato skins.

 

[BGMatt]

Yup. Thanks for grabbing the name for me. Not anything to be paranoid about certainly but since I knew some people first hand that lost birds that way I thought it was worth mentioning.