What your chickens can and can't eat!

[TexasBlues]

My chickens also will gorge on aloe, if I let them. I had several aloe arborescens plants that they munched them all the way down to stumps.

 

[BDutch]

I was wondering about bread. I do feed mine approx 1/2 price each every few days. Just so they also eat normal food. I am concerned about the junk they put in commercial foods though- mould inhibitors etc.

The cheap -non organic- commercial pellet and crumble feed in my country always contains GMO soy and GMO corn. It contains fairly high amount of poison residues used to grow these crops. In the commercial -non organic- chicken industry it doesn't lead to the dead chickens who get killed when they are about 2-3 months old (broilers) and 20 months old (laying hybrids) anyway. But who knows how devastating it is for older BY chickens?
Researching this is not commercially interesting and is hardly done.

In the Netherlands a research institute conducted a survey amongst BYC keepers who had old chickens. The winners were the ones who free ranged and got mainly mix grains as extras.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ickens-thread.1502267/page-2050#post-27447083

Another small research they conducted was with chicks. One group got -non organic- broiler feed and the other group organic feed. At the start the group who ate -non organic- grew faster. But after about 7 weeks they got even and the group who was fed with organic feed did better after 7 weeks. There was no money to retry on a larger scale.

 

[Chikenshiken]

Why a maybe with the kale? Just wondering, been feeding my babies kale as a snack since they were chicks with no problem they actually go pretty crazy for it

 

[Nym]

Try telling my ole' biddies they cant have french fries.......

We had a wild Magpie that went mad for fries! It also used to ride around hanging onto the dog's tail .. maybe it was just mad altogether!

 

[Nym]

Hemp seed is missing from the 'yes' foods.



Hemp seed is a complete food source. It’s especially good for chickens with over 23% plant based protein!

Hemp Hen is 100% Australian rolled hemp seed. It contains both the husk and kernel which contain natural protein, oil and fibre. Hemp contains the full spectrum of amino acids including all essential amino acids. Also vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and a healthy ratio of Omegas 3, 6 and 9.

Good for Chooks.​

Hens need a good source of protein to lay eggs. Hemp is a good source of plant-based protein they need every day.

How do I use Hemp Hen?​

Mix 10 to 20% Hemp Hen with your chicken’s regular balanced diet. Hemp seed is extremely palatable and they’ll probably prefer it over their regular feed. Feeding Hemp Hen every day gives best results so pre-mix feed before you fill their feeder.

Also suitable for cats, dogs, horses, and humans!

Good Country Hemp | Australia

 

[Stephine]

Hemp seed is missing from the 'yes' foods.



Hemp seed is a complete food source. It’s especially good for chickens with over 23% plant based protein!

Hemp Hen is 100% Australian rolled hemp seed. It contains both the husk and kernel which contain natural protein, oil and fibre. Hemp contains the full spectrum of amino acids including all essential amino acids. Also vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and a healthy ratio of Omegas 3, 6 and 9.

Good for Chooks.​

Hens need a good source of protein to lay eggs. Hemp is a good source of plant-based protein they need every day.

How do I use Hemp Hen?​

Mix 10 to 20% Hemp Hen with your chicken’s regular balanced diet. Hemp seed is extremely palatable and they’ll probably prefer it over their regular feed. Feeding Hemp Hen every day gives best results so pre-mix feed before you fill their feeder.

Also suitable for cats, dogs, horses, and humans!

Good Country Hemp | Australia

so, is this an advertisement?

 

[casportpony]

Rice	Yes	Cooked only
Rice, brown	Yes	Cooked only
Rice, cooked	Yes
Rice, uncooked	No

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.

"This silly myth pops up periodically, and it is absolutely unfounded," responded rice expert Mary Jo Cheesman at the USA Rice Federation. Many migrating ducks and geese depend on winter-flooded rice fields each year to fatten up and build strength for their return trek to northern nesting grounds.

Uncooked, milled rice is no more harmful to birds than rice in the field, Cheesman said. The Curator of Ornithology at the University of California at Berkeley agrees.

"It's a myth. There is no reason why birds, including small songbirds, can't eat rice," said Ned Johnson, a professor of biology at Berkeley who lectures frequently on the food and feeding of birds.

Source:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/against-the-grain/

And this:

Rodents

Yes

Chickens naturally eat rodents. It is a good idea to keep poisons out of the area so chickens do not eat a poisoned mouse, leading to the bird being poisoned

Since rodents carry diseases, probably best not to feed them to chickens.

 

[casportpony]

Uncooked rice is a no?
Always knew it be a yes either cooked or raw.

It's low in nutrients and has the risk of expanding and causing damage in the stomach if too much is eaten

Uncooked rice is perfectly fine.

 

[casportpony]

I'll edit the list later and add the layer feed to it

Fix the uncooked rice, too.

 

[casportpony]

Why a maybe with the kale? Just wondering, been feeding my babies kale as a snack since they were chicks with no problem they actually go pretty crazy for it

I'd also like to know why this is listed as maybe.