What other foods can I feed my chickens?

[dreamer5577]

What can I feed my chickens (types of fruits, veggies, etc?)? Like, what is safe and what is not?

 

[2DogsFarm]

See the top of this Forum for a Sticky that has a complete list of all safe to feed foods.

 

[dreamer5577]

oops sorry i didn't see that

thanks

 

[dreamer5577]

At what age could i start feeding my chickens different foods/treats?

 

[idispatch4911]

I'm a newbie too, but I just gave my few day old chicks a crust of bread. They didn't really touch it. Hope they won't be picky eaters.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

The first time I ever fed my chicks a treat they were 4 weeks but I am sure they can be younger then that for their first treat. Just be sure to give them grit too.

 

[Saltysteele]

just have grit available to them, and you won't have to worry. they start picking grit out of the dirt as soon as they hit the ground and start eating. the grit is essentially their teeth. it is what chews the food for them, inside their gizzards. they won't eat anything they're not able to, but it's important to have grit available to them if they cannot find it naturally. mine are about 2 months now, and still will not eat whole corn.

i guess i don't understand why people feel the need to feed them EVERYTHING (i hear of people wanting to feed them lasagna, even). don't get me wrong, i don't care. you feed your chickens whatever you want, and conduct any experiments you want. they are omnivores and will eat eat anything.

anyway, yes, they like treats, but it doesn't have to be extravagant. my adult chickens get whole corn for treats once a day, and would try to break down a brick wall to get to it. they start pacing up and down the fence when the see me coming with it. if i don't give it to them, they start talking to me until i do.

if you want to be good to your chickens, let them free range or have new territory to scratch and eat plants (whether that be letting them out totally, or moving them in a tractor). that, IMO, is more important than finding a rainbow diet of treats. i could give mine corn as a treat until the day they (or I) die, and they will be as happy as the first day i gave it to them as a treat. if i let them out to scratch and explore.... that is when i see them smiling