What your chickens can and can't eat!

[NatJ]

Tractor supply sells little bags of meal worms as treats for chickens

The store sells chicken treats because people buy them.

If you read the nutritional information on the labels, you will see that none of the "treats" has the right nutrients to be a complete chicken food. Most of them have warnings, saying to only let the chickens have a small amount each day.

Small amounts of any of those treats will be fine. Large amounts can cause problems. So just following the directions (small amount) should be fine. Skipping the treats would also be fine.

 

[Chickaducy]

Some places use artificial coloring last I knew, especially in fish like salmon to make it look more appetizing.

It's a complete ration.

I could be incorrect but I believe they only add coloring to farmed salmon. I don't/won't eat farmed and neither do my chickens

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I found this:

Despite its name, buckwheat is not a type of wheat. Officially, it's not even a grain but rather a seed that's harvested from a flowering plant related to rhubarb.Apr 10, 2023

 

[MamaPoult]

Nice post. I learned quite a bit! I guess I never considered giving honey to chickens

 

[MamaPoult]

Nice post. I learned quite a bit! I guess I never considered giving honey to chickens

I did want to ask however I noticed your post said chickens can have fruit skins and fruit. I read that chickens cannot have orange skins and a few others. Is this true or am I mistaken? I'm just wanting to learn not trying to be a jerk

 

[MamaPoult]

Welcome to BYC.

Great list except for the rice, that's a myth. Feeding uncooked rice is perfectly safe, I do it all the time, and there are many reputable sources to back me up.

Oh how interesting! I've heard that myth before! Thanks for posting!!

 

[BDutch]

I did want to ask however I noticed your post said chickens can have fruit skins and fruit. I read that chickens cannot have orange skins and a few others. Is this true or am I mistaken? I'm just wanting to learn not trying to be a jerk

My chickens don’t eat the skins when I give a sliced orange. Same with apples, avocados and melon.

 

[BDutch]

I could be incorrect but I believe they only add coloring to farmed salmon. I don't/won't eat farmed and neither do my chickens

If the factory adds colouring after harvesting it should be mentioned on the package. But they probably add it to the food like they do to get yellow/orange yolks.

I choose the wild salmon (Msc/Alaska) too because the salmons had a better life, it’s more natural, less fat and healthier food without medicine residues.

I guess you don’t offer farmed salmon to your chickens. I can’t imagine they would refuse it if offered factory salmon.

 

[NatJ]

I did want to ask however I noticed your post said chickens can have fruit skins and fruit. I read that chickens cannot have orange skins and a few others. Is this true or am I mistaken? I'm just wanting to learn not trying to be a jerk

It is safe enough to toss those skins in the chicken pen, but the chickens will usually not eat them. So I would say about as safe as letting chickens "have" wood chip bedding: they typically don't eat enough to matter, and any small amounts they do eat are not a problem.

I have seen information on a few studies that deliberately added orange peels (or some of the other "dangerous" items) to chicken feed, and they usually found that up to a certain amount caused the chickens to grow better or seem healthier. They typically did not have dead chickens or sick chickens. The reason for the studies: the commercial producers want cheap ingredients to use in chicken feed, but they only make money if the chickens stay alive & healthy long enough to be butchered or to lay eggs for sale. So they are constantly testing for new things that might be safe and cost-effective to put in chicken feed.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Suggestion for the chart: add that bread should not be fed to any bird because of its easy chance at bloating, plus it has really no value for them at all. There are a lot better treats them something potentially toxic to them.

Change to the chart: change the wording on the egg part. I feed mine eggs when the eggs have too much poop on the shell, are already cracked, or the chickens simply need more nutrients from the yolk to help their health. Contrary to popular belief, as long as you are feeding your chickens the amount of chicken feed they are supposed to have, they will not eat their own eggs. Chickens only crack their eggs open and eat them when they are not being fed the proper amount. My chickens believe, for some reason, that they can only eat eggs that are broken by humans or accidentally broken already.