What kinds of food scraps, etc are ok to feed the chickens?

[momoftwinsinwi]

mine get all leftovers except of course.....chicken!!! LOL

 

[jessupfamily]

.Amy: many many (most actually) pits and seeds are poisonous ...also onions (garlic can better be "given" by adding to the waterer and changed daily) .... the fact that your birds may not have dropped dead from eating them does not mean that the effect these toxins have on their physiology is not affecting their health.

I've never heard this. What should be watched for? We've been feeding these things for the last 4 years and we've never had any health problems. And we eat a mostly vegetarian diet so they get a lot of onion and garlic scraps and tons of seeds and pits from our fruits. And they eat all fruit (including the pits and seeds) on the ground from the trees and any over ripe or damaged produce from the garden. Thanks!
Amy J.​

 

[Tinkerchick]

So I heard a lot of talk about cooked veggies. Can they eat raw veggies too like raw squash? And can they eat any veggie peels like squash peels? Or are they also hard to digest like potato peels?

 

[SandraChick]

mine won't eat the veggies if they're cooked! Fresh only.

I have to put netting around my brocoli , cauliflower to keep them from eating them straight out of my garden. they only seem to get to the squash/pumpkins if I break them open for them.

In general...all the peels and such are perfectly fine. Raw potato peels are one of the main exceptions.

Sandra

 

[Tinkerchick]

Do we need to chop up the peels or veggies or will they eat them from big chunks?
What about bannana peels?
(you can tell I'm pretty new to this)

 

[devora]

When ours were way young we chopped up everything into teeny tiny bites (My goodness, how much can ya spoil a chicken?)

. Now that they are 19 weeks we just put out hunks of cantaloupe, etc. and they peck at it.

 

[ozark hen]

We had to fence in our garden, chickens tried to eat everything as it came up. Now the little melons are ripening and the vines have climbed the fence. these are very yellow little smooth melons, neighbor gave us some seeds but none of us know what they are. Inside looks like honeydews but don't taste very sweet. Anyway, the chickens have discovered them and are feasting on the ones that are over-ripe and split open. they have their own "carry out treats" now and do not wait for me to pick and split them for them.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm sure everyone will think i'm insane, but i go out and buy crickets and mealworms from the pet store for my chickens. i also shop at Whole Foods for my family, as we are vegetarians, but buy extra collard greens, bok choy and broccoli rabe for the girls. We buy watermelon partially because we love it in the summer, but mainly because the chicks love pecking at the rinds. i started off wanting chickens as a good source of healthy eggs, but it has turned into an expensive endeavor. But, we love them, and it gives us great joy to see them so happy. Nothing beats the throng of chirps and flapping wings as i approach the pen with a favorite treat!

 

[Tinkerchick]

I think those melons are called Yellow baby's or Korean melons. Not sure though.
So are bannana peels okay for them?

 

[ozark hen]

thanks for the info on the melons, Tinker-
Airheart-they have been eating all but the skins on the bananas, there is some white left on the peel that they eat. I mean they pick it clean! they have been eating them since we got them the end of March..on the big hens. They started taking them out of the compost pile, hasn't hurt them.