What do you not feed your chickens?

[Nicole01]

Salt and onions. I don't feed them leftover store bought chicken either.

 

[RedStarLady1207]

I feed my chickens a good grade of a balanced commercial layer feed supplemented with small amounts of FRESH foods (like spinach, meal worms, raw corn, watermelon, strawberry, oat groats, cooked egg, cooked turkey or chicken, dandelion, plantain, clover, and grapes). One time I gave them a bit of baloney (which they love but it is not good for them - just like it is not good for me (too much salt and nitrates). Since I have control of their diet I don't let them overload on any supplemental treats, but their commercial food is always available. They are nice and healthy and lay one egg per day. I cannot imagine tossing in what seems like a bunch of garbage or rotting food, for two main reasons - it is not healthy for them and it draws predators and vermin. All of which I don't need near my chickens. I am a chicken nerd I guess - I wear my 'chicken shoes and gloves' when handling their equipment and wash their dishes everday and all poop is removed every day from everywhere (coop, run, yard). All the litter and poop is kept in an airtight container and taken to the dump once a week. I am not supposed to have chickens in my community so I have to run a tight ship - plus I don't want my girls getting sick - so I do the very best that I can provide.

 

[DawnCols]

No moldy bread for my chickens. It's not any better for their health than it is for mine. I don't feed them anything rotted or spoiled. I also try to avoid giving them "empty calories"--food that doesn't have nutrition in it. But that leaves lots of options from my leftovers and scraps. I will give them parts produce that I cut off like tops of strawberries or tomatoes, but anything spoiled goes in the compost.

My chickens are my pets and I don't want them to get sick.

 

[mrsc1951]

My girls get whole grain bread once in a while, but not moldy. They do have access to their layer feed and oyster shell/egg shell freely plus they get treats every day; some sort of greens and a little cheese or yogurt in the morning and in the afternoon when it is so hot here in Florida they get a slice of watermelon, cantalope, honeydew or a cucumber to cool them off. Later in the evening before going into the coop they get some homemade scratch and maybe some meal worms. Occasionally they do get leftovers - they love it when I grill salmon and they are especially fond of roasted chicken.

In return I get an egg from each of them almost every day and the knowledge that my pets are well cared for. They also free range my back yard most of the day so they also get bugs, worms, lizards, frogs and once a rat. Today I laughed out loud as one of my more aggressive girls attacked a squirrel.

 

[BoltonChicken]

Never, never, never feed you chickens anything they won't eat. Other than that, go for it. For instance I have not been able to get them to eat anything metallic. Don't believe all the junk about what they can or can't eat. THEY will be the judge of that. My BO's like only one specie of my wife's flowers and leave the other ten alone. Go figure.