white bread for chicken

[magicdave]

I feed lots of burds in my "yard." When I say Lots of birds it means Sparrows, Chickdees, Wrens, Jays, Cardinals, Crows, and every other bird that happens to drop in for a snack including a pair of Ravens.
I have put out stale bread for my "family" of birds. They will only eat the bread if there is nothing else left.
In conclusion, because the wild critters won't eat the bread, I do not give it to my chickens, ducks, and grass eating geese.

 

[Tilhana]

White bread is super processed. Speaking as someone who eats a mostly whole-foods diet, I never touch the stuff. I wouldn't balk at feeding it to my chickens now and then, but I'd consider it junk food and would avoid giving it daily. But you know, I've also said in posts that feeding chickens leftover pizza is not a big deal, provided that it's an occasional treat. But for the core of their diet you really need to have something more nutritious and ideally more variety.

No you definitely don't need to buy expensive formulated layer feed to keep your chickens healthy. In our grandparents' time people fed chickens mostly on scraps from their kitchen, but those scraps would have been a) mostly whole foods, not the processed cr*p most people keep in their kitchens today, and b) a wide variety of different types of meat and produce, not just primarily bread scraps. Chickens are a lot like humans; they need a varied diet, adn the more diverse their sources of food, the easier it is for them to get all the vitamins and minerals they need.

If you're looking to save money, there are better ways. For example, you can buy a few grains in bulk and mix your own, and then add a tiny bit of vitamin supplements (I like Fertrell Nutri-Balancer, for example). You can ferment feed which makes it more nutritious and last longer (super easy - just soak a bucket with a few days worth of feed in water overnight). You can hit up local grocery stores (try the smaller ones, not the big chains) and ask them if you can have their "expired" produce that they would normally throw out; just tell them it's for livestock because they're usually legally restricted from offering "expired" foods for human consumption. You can let them free range so they get plenty of bugs. If you want to think long-term, you can plant some fruit and/or nut trees and let them forage under them.

 

[Tilhana]

I’m a big sustainability guy, and with the amount of food we waste in the US (up to half of what we produce), finding ways to divert that waste from landfills and repurpose it is going to be increasingly important.

On the USDA food waste pyramid, “feeding animals” is listed as higher value than even composting.

I agree, but there's a different between giving your old bread scraps to chickens, and purposely going out and collecting tons of it to give your chickens as their daily regular main source of food. There are plenty of different types of food waste that can be repurposed for feeding chickens. I generally say give them whatever's in your kitchen, and any other food scraps you can get your hands on, provided they're either moderately healthy OR part of a varied diet. But if you're going to seek out a single type of food to buy in bulk for the purpose of feeding your chickens, white bread is not worth it imho.

 

[writerskramp]

i read alot of articles about using bread as a main feed of chicken some of them engourage to feed adult chicken (one or two even say it is safe for baby chicken ) .and other researches prevent that (note: A starter diet is about 24% protein, grower diet 20% protein, and finisher diet 18% protein) .i conclude some ideas and i well be happy if you support or correct me :
1-white bread contain 7.3 percent P so what if we add worms (much protein) and eggshells (calcuim) .can that be a dailly food
2-one of the problems of give bread to chicken that will make them fat and lead to decrease production .if we pastured the flock that will help to reduce the fat or not
3-the bread can made digestive problems ( bread can quickly form balls inside your chicken’s crop) .the water can fix that
4-whats the other problems can bread create
*thank you*

Sour Crop.. yeast

 

[Artichoke Lover]

White bread is super processed. Speaking as someone who eats a mostly whole-foods diet, I never touch the stuff. I wouldn't balk at feeding it to my chickens now and then, but I'd consider it junk food and would avoid giving it daily. But you know, I've also said in posts that feeding chickens leftover pizza is not a big deal, provided that it's an occasional treat. But for the core of their diet you really need to have something more nutritious and ideally more variety.

No you definitely don't need to buy expensive formulated layer feed to keep your chickens healthy. In our grandparents' time people fed chickens mostly on scraps from their kitchen, but those scraps would have been a) mostly whole foods, not the processed cr*p most people keep in their kitchens today, and b) a wide variety of different types of meat and produce, not just primarily bread scraps. Chickens are a lot like humans; they need a varied diet, adn the more diverse their sources of food, the easier it is for them to get all the vitamins and minerals they need.

If you're looking to save money, there are better ways. For example, you can buy a few grains in bulk and mix your own, and then add a tiny bit of vitamin supplements (I like Fertrell Nutri-Balancer, for example). You can ferment feed which makes it more nutritious and last longer (super easy - just soak a bucket with a few days worth of feed in water overnight). You can hit up local grocery stores (try the smaller ones, not the big chains) and ask them if you can have their "expired" produce that they would normally throw out; just tell them it's for livestock because they're usually legally restricted from offering "expired" foods for human consumption. You can let them free range so they get plenty of bugs. If you want to think long-term, you can plant some fruit and/or nut trees and let them forage under them.

I forgot about this! Yes this is a great alternative if you can let your flock free range too. Even places like jails and food kitchens get stuff that is out of date so they aren’t allowed to use it even if it is still in good condition. My church runs a nonprofit rehab and we have a farm. They get the expired produce from the jail to feed the chickens and pigs.

 

[Borders3]

The link worked for me and interesting reading. I actually feed this way, before reading the article. 3 feeders, layers pellets in one and rolled oats in another then cracked maize in the 3rd I also feed fermented mash in the evening with half a loaf of seeded bread diced and soaked in a dilution of Battles Poultry drink and a couple of teaspoons of Poultry Spice all mixed together and then add about 4 to 6 scoops of dried mealworms. The first thing the chickens go for in the mash is the bread!!!!

I cannot get this link to work

 

[Foxinthehenhouse]

What kind of bread? White has very little food value and highly processed!
I can’t believe it could sustain chickens even if they free range.

 

[BDutch]

We've always fed bread to our ducks and chickens with zero problems at all so yeah if you wanna feed em bread go for it. Alot of this information people get now comes from feed companies saying that without their products all animals will die. Theres been thousands of chickens raised off grandpas old scrap bowl before Purina came around.

If the feed is free, some people don’t mind an occasional death.

I believe a bit of bread, especially whole wheat bread on the side does no harm. Never had crop or health issues. The chickens always have grit and oyster shells on the side. .
I can get a lot of breadcrumbs for free from the bakery ‘around the corner’. But I only take a little bag once a month or so. Because I try to give my chickens a somewhat balanced feed.

I also spoke to a person who works in a mill for animal feed. And he says that if chickens free range the amount of proteins don’t need to be that high as what the farmers feed the chicken in the factory farms (industry). The organic free range chicken feed has a lower protein level for organic farms because they free range. And this is optimised (costs/health/egg production) for these chickens.

So Imo, there’s not a one solutions fits all. Use you’re sanity and see if you’re chickens thrive on the food you give.

 

[Sea Wolf]

i read alot of articles about using bread as a main feed of chicken some of them engourage to feed adult chicken (one or two even say it is safe for baby chicken ) .and other researches prevent that (note: A starter diet is about 24% protein, grower diet 20% protein, and finisher diet 18% protein) .i conclude some ideas and i well be happy if you support or correct me :
1-white bread contain 7.3 percent P so what if we add worms (much protein) and eggshells (calcuim) .can that be a dailly food
2-one of the problems of give bread to chicken that will make them fat and lead to decrease production .if we pastured the flock that will help to reduce the fat or not
3-the bread can made digestive problems ( bread can quickly form balls inside your chicken’s crop) .the water can fix that
4-whats the other problems can bread create
*thank you*

Not sure how you would find articles saying to feed bread to chickens as a diet because it isn't true. Sure, I can feed you a diet of just oatmeal for the rest of your life, throw you some raisins and a hamburger once in a while but your life will be very short as well as an unhealthy, sick one. No, feed your chickens the balanced feed that was made for them. A diet of bread is absolutely not ok.

 

[Sea Wolf]

but they have solutions

It seems like you are going to feed them bread anyway because you get it for free and don't mind if some of the birds die. You have already made up your mind to do this so why ask the question?