What NOT to feed?

[Momto3]

Thank you all. You all are so full of knowledge. I am not sure what I would have done if I hadnt come across this site during my chicken researching. I think after I move my chicks to the coop at around 8wks I will start a "scrap bucket" in my kitchen an just take that out to them at night.

Oh that reminds me, can you start feeding them these things that early? My future chicks that are arriving April 1st, thank you all so much.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

I would wait to feed them scraps till they where 8 weeks... but my sister starts her chicks on scratch at about 1 week old and she does great with them. She also has a bucket that she puts all her scraps and left over food in for her chickens... and hers eat everything! She's the one that taught me to use garlic for immune booster... I've never seen a hen go after a raw onion like hers do! They eat everything!

 

[Momto3]

Duramaxgirl, awesome that was my plan. My husband said that is very odd that we would feed the chickens scraps. Oh well.

 

[BarefootMom]

I have been raising chickens for about a year now and they get all of our scraps. Never worried about it too much. They get everything...at least they used to now thye have to split the scraps between the bunnies, ducks, cats, and 30 chickens! lol

I know some people that just feeds scraps and let them free range. They chickens look healthy and aren't skinny or anything. They lay eggs pretty decent too.

 

[billfields]

I understand the problem with green"sunburned" potato peels---nothing should eat those--- but what is the issue with regular old potato peel? I eat raw potatoes and I always eat my baked potato peels. Also don't understand the no citrus thing nor the chocolate. I know chocolate in larger amounts is bad for dogs. Is that true of chickens? (Can't imagine ever having chocolate anything that I would give to a dog or chicken instead of eating myself but that's beside the point). I've also seen no apples, no white rice, no bread, and on and on. It seems to me chickens are your basic omnivore and like us should pretty much be able to eat anything.

 

[Laigaie]

Sounds like folks are getting awfully picky on you. They're saying no apples because apple seeds have a very small amount of cyanide in them, which could theoretically cause harm. Core 'em before you toss 'em out if you're worried about it. Humans are able to eat a lot of things that most other mammals can't, and there are plenty of things mammals eat that birds shouldn't. The theobromine in chocolate is unhealthy for a great many species, because they don't metabolize it as quickly as you or I would. I haven't actually seen a study reporting toxicity in birds, but it's generally assumed to be, along with dogs, cats, rats, mice, and (in truly massive levels) humans. White rice and white bread won't have much nutrition in them, as they're both basically just carbs. Perhaps that's why you're being told not to feed it?

 

[billfields]

Quote:
No idea why with any of 'em. I don't understand the citrus either. Chickens eat apples. That's a basic fact. You only need an apple tree and a chicken to find that out. I expect if you have a citrus tree and a chicken results will be pretty similar to the apple tree/chicken experiment

I guess what I'm saying is that people get a tad carried away. Leave a chicken to itself and it will feed itself. As a kid our chickens ate anything we didn't....if the dog or cat didn't beat them to it. And the dog and cat were a lot choosier.

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
No idea why with any of 'em. I don't understand the citrus either. Chickens eat apples. That's a basic fact. You only need an apple tree and a chicken to find that out. I expect if you have a citrus tree and a chicken results will be pretty similar to the apple tree/chicken experiment

I guess what I'm saying is that people get a tad carried away. Leave a chicken to itself and it will feed itself. As a kid our chickens ate anything we didn't....if the dog or cat didn't beat them to it. And the dog and cat were a lot choosier.

A chicken would have to eat a bushel of apple seeds to get enough cyanide to kill them & that's assuming the seeds would evem break down in their gizzard.
When I ship birds I put a couple of oranges, cut in half, in the box. Provides some nutrition & moisture during the trip.
Green potato peels are no longer poisonous if thry're cooked so you could feed them if you really wanted to.
A sufficient amount of DARK chocolate is harmful to dogs. It is not logical to assume this is true of chickens. very different body chemistries.
Even the treats list referred to above contains some questionable information. It includes several things I routinely feed with no ill effect.
A basic rule of thumb is: if you can eat it they can eat it. Just use some common sense. Would a diet of only chocolate cake be good for them? Of course not but the remains of a cake once in awhile won't hurt them at all. Same is true of salty things like crackers. If that's all you feed them it won't be good for them but the occasional 1/2 box of stale crackeers is fine.
The whole chicken keeping thing is a lot simpler that many here would have you believe.

 

[DenverBird]

The whole chicken keeping thing is a lot simpler that many here would have you believe.

I hear folks have been doing it for a long time...​

 

[billfields]

Quote:
I hear folks have been doing it for a long time...

My point exactly!