What your chickens can and can't eat!

[Eggs_Over_EZ]

I have feed raw chopped eggplant to my chickens. They loved it and had no negative side effects. Because it’s a nightshade plant you cannot feed the plant (stems or leaves) to them.

 

[NatJ]

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.

Small amounts of bread are just as safe as small amounts of any other "safe" treat.

Have you ever fed bread to a chicken and had trouble with bloating? If so, I would be curious to hear about it. I have fed bread to chickens on many occasions, and never seen a problem.

Of course quantity matters. If I toss one bread crust to a flock of a dozen chickens, each one gets a few bites. If I give an entire slice of bread to a single chicken she gets a much larger amount (yes, I've done both at various times, and have not seen problems either way.)

As for bread having "no value," that is not true. Bread is a good source of calories (energy), which is one of the major things a chicken needs to stay alive and healthy. Of course bread by itself is not a complete feed, but neither are most other things that people use as treats or to create chicken feed.

Regarding other nutrients, it would depend on the exact bread. A bread made with 100% whole wheat flour and few other ingredients is very different than a bread made with white flour and lots of sugar & salt. Breads with other grains or seeds, or breads with spices and fruits and nuts, or breads with cheese and herbs, will all be different as well. But I have never yet seen a bread that was safe for humans, that was not also safe for a chicken to have a small bit as a treat.

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.

There seem to be other factors as well. Chickens with constant access to a suitable food sometimes WILL crack and eat their eggs. It might be from boredom, or for some other reason, and it does not seem to be particularly common, but it definitely does happen (evidence: the number of egg-eating threads on this site, some of which fit the pattern I just described.)

 

[Chikenshiken]

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.

this is just not true at all. Behaviorally chickens will eat ANYTHING they see as food. Chickens even eat styrofoam they can be a little stupid lol. There are nutritional factors that can play a role in it but that is not always the case? Sometimes chickens eat eggs because they realize their own eggs are edible.

 

[Huntmaster]

. Chickens only crack their eggs open and eat them when they are not being fed the proper amount.

Untrue.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

There seem to be other factors as well. Chickens with constant access to a suitable food sometimes WILL crack and eat their eggs. It might be from boredom, or for some other reason, and it does not seem to be particularly common, but it definitely does happen (evidence: the number of egg-eating threads on this site, some of which fit the pattern I just described.)

I have a few hens that are really bad about eating eggs with no reason. One is scheduled to go as soon as I have a replacement female, but the other one is a pet so I just have to keep her away from my brooding hens

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Small amounts of bread are just as safe as small amounts of any other "safe" treat.

Have you ever fed bread to a chicken and had trouble with bloating? If so, I would be curious to hear about it. I have fed bread to chickens on many occasions, and never seen a problem.

Of course quantity matters. If I toss one bread crust to a flock of a dozen chickens, each one gets a few bites. If I give an entire slice of bread to a single chicken she gets a much larger amount (yes, I've done both at various times, and have not seen problems either way.)

I was talking about situations where people feed their chickens tons of bread every day and think it is okay. There are many people that I have heard doing that, at least in my area. And their chickens eventually get a bit sick and not well overall.

As for bread having "no value," that is not true. Bread is a good source of calories (energy), which is one of the major things a chicken needs to stay alive and healthy. Of course bread by itself is not a complete feed, but neither are most other things that people use as treats or to create chicken feed.

Regarding other nutrients, it would depend on the exact bread. A bread made with 100% whole wheat flour and few other ingredients is very different than a bread made with white flour and lots of sugar & salt. Breads with other grains or seeds, or breads with spices and fruits and nuts, or breads with cheese and herbs, will all be different as well. But I have never yet seen a bread that was safe for humans, that was not also safe for a chicken to have a small bit as a treat.

Yes, everything has a value. You skipped over my point. Bread should stop being fed in overloads like I see people doing. Feeding them bread as a rare treat is totally fine. I just see people going very overboard on thinking bread is something they need to survive.

There seem to be other factors as well. Chickens with constant access to a suitable food sometimes WILL crack and eat their eggs. It might be from boredom, or for some other reason, and it does not seem to be particularly common, but it definitely does happen (evidence: the number of egg-eating threads on this site, some of which fit the pattern I just described.)

this is just not true at all. Behaviorally chickens will eat ANYTHING they see as food. Chickens even eat styrofoam they can be a little stupid lol. There are nutritional factors that can play a role in it but that is not always the case? Sometimes chickens eat eggs because they realize their own eggs are edible.

I have a few hens that are really bad about eating eggs with no reason. One is scheduled to go as soon as I have a replacement female, but the other one is a pet so I just have to keep her away from my brooding hens

I was talking about free-ranged chickens that have access to tons of other food options that are way better for them. That is how I keep my chickens: free, fed and have plenty of room to roam. Of course chickens that are penned up will crack their own eggs because they are looking for things to do in order to bust their boredom and desire to forage.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I do not feel like I need to say sorry for something like this, but sorry that I sometimes word things weirdly and type something that sounds different than what I had in mind. I typically do that in the morning or the night. And I base a lot of examples off my own chickens' behaviors, because after all I take a lot better care of them than anyone else in my area.

 

[Chikenshiken]

I was talking about free-ranged chickens that have access to tons of other food options that are way better for them. That is how I keep my chickens: free, fed and have plenty of room to roam. Of course chickens that are penned up will crack their own eggs because they are looking for things to do in order to bust their boredom and desire to forage.

free ranged chickens can still be egg eaters? I’m sure plenty of people can vouch for me

 

[NatJ]

I was talking about situations where people feed their chickens tons of bread every day and think it is okay. There are many people that I have heard doing that, at least in my area. And their chickens eventually get a bit sick and not well overall.

Yes, everything has a value. You skipped over my point. Bread should stop being fed in overloads like I see people doing. Feeding them bread as a rare treat is totally fine. I just see people going very overboard on thinking bread is something they need to survive.

I skipped over your point? No, I addressed exactly the points you posted. If you had those other points in mind, maybe something glitched and deleted them, because they were not in the post when I first read it, and are not there now either.

This is what you posted:

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.

 

[Chickaducy]

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.

no I don't offer salmon to the chickens and if I did it wouldn't be farmed