I have been bringing them outside 3-4 times a week for
field trips to the garden. I found that they love pincher bugs, (Earwigs). (EW!) So, I open up the garden, lift up some wood and the chickens go crazy. They get so excited to catch the creepy, crawling insects. Henry-Rollins pulled a Karate Kid move the other day and caught a fly right of the sky with his beak. These birds are terribly funny to watch. After they started going after the bugs, I asked, what can "teenage chicks" eat other than chicken food? Turns out, a few things. And when they get older, they will eat almost anything! I did some research and found somethings that are good to feed them, and some not advisable. Please share your insight and chicken dining recipes here on our blog!
Enjoy! ツ
Hen-dy, Creative Department
Good to eat:
Treat
|
Type
|
General Opinions
|
Apples
|
Raw and applesauce
|
Apple seeds contain cyanide, but not in sufficient quantities to kill.
|
Asparagus
|
Raw or cooked
|
Okay to feed, but not a favorite.
|
Bananas
|
Without the peel
|
High in potassium, a good treat.
|
Beans
|
Well-cooked only, never dry
|
Also, greenbeans.
|
Beets
|
Greens also
|
|
Berries
|
All kinds
|
A treat, especially strawberries.
|
Breads
|
All kinds - good use for stale bread or rolls
|
Feed starches in moderation.
|
Cabbage & Brussels Sprouts
|
Whole head -
|
Hang a whole cabbage from their coop
ceiling in winter so they have something
to play with and greens to eat.
|
Carrots
|
Raw and cooked
|
They like carrot foliage too.
|
Cereal
|
Cheerios, etc
|
Avoid highly sugared cereal
|
Cheese
|
Including cottage cheese
|
Feed in moderation, fatty but a good source of protein and calcium
|
Corn
|
On cob and canned, raw and cooked
|
.
|
Crickets (alive)
|
Can be bought at bait or pet-supply stores
|
Great treat – provides protein and it’s fun to watch the chickens catch them.
|
Cucumbers
|
Let mature for yummy seeds and flesh.
| |
Eggplant
|
They prefer cooked
|
|
Flowers
|
Make sure they haven't been treated with pesticides, such as florist flowers might be
|
Marigolds, nasturtiums, pansies, etc.
|
Fruit
|
Pears, peaches, cherries, apples
|
|
Grains
|
Bulgar, flax, niger, wheatberries,etc
|
.
|
Grapes
|
Seedless only
For chicks, cutting them in half makes it
easier for them to swallow
|
Great fun - the cause of many entertaining "chicken keepaway" games.
|
Grits
|
Cooked
|
|
"Leftovers"
|
Only feed your chickens that which is still considered edible by humans, don't feed anything spoiled, moldy, oily, salty or unidentifiable
|
|
Lettuce / Kale
|
Any leafy greens, spinach collards, chickweed included
|
A big treat, depending on how much other greenery they have access to.
|
Melon
|
Cantelope, etc
|
Both seeds and flesh are good chicken treats.
|
Oatmeal
|
Raw or cooked
|
Cooked is nutritionally better.
|
Pasta / Macaroni
|
Cooked spaghetti, etc
|
A favorite treat, fun to watch them eat it, but not much nutrition.
|
Peas
|
Peas and pea tendrils and flowers
|
|
Peppers (bell)
|
Raw or cooked
|
Positive feedback on these.
|
Pomegranates
|
Raw
|
Seeds are a big treat.
|
Popcorn
|
Popped, no butter, no salt
|
|
Potatos / Sweet Potatos/Yams
|
Cooked only - avoid green parts of peels!
|
Starchy, not much nutrition
|
Pumpkins / Winter Squash
|
Raw or cooked
|
Both seeds and flesh are a nutritious treat.
|
Raisins
|
Right out of the box or in breads
|
|
Rice
|
Cooked only
|
Pilaf mixes are okay too, plain white rice has little nutrition.
|
Scratch
|
Scratch is cracked corn with grains (such as wheat, oats and rye) mixed in
|
Scratch is a treat for cold weather, not a complete feed. Toss it on the ground and let them scratch for it for something to do.
|
Sprouts
|
Wheat and oat sprouts are great
|
Good for greens in mid-winter.
|
Summer Squash
|
Yellow squash and zucchini
|
Yellow squash not a huge favorite, but okay to feed.
|
Sunflower Seeds
|
Sunflower seeds with the shell still on is fine to feed, as well as with the shell off
|
A good treat, helps hens lay eggs and grow healthy feathers.
|
Tomatos
|
Raw and cooked.
|
|
Turnips
|
Cooked
|
Not a huge favorite
|
Watermelon
|
Served cold, it can keep chickens cool and hydrated during hot summers
|
Seeds and flesh are both okay to feed.
|
Yogurt
|
Plain or flavored
|
A big favorite and good for their digestive systems. Plain is better.
|
Not good to eat:
Raw green potato peels
|
Toxic substance called Solanine.
|
Anything real salty
|
Can cause salt poisoning in small bodies such as chickens.
|
Citrus
|
|
Dried or undercooked Beans
|
Raw, or dry beans, contain a poison called hemaglutin which is toxic to birds.
|
Avocado Skin and Pit
|
Skin and pit have low levels of toxicity.
|
Raw eggs
|
You don’t want to introduce your chickens to the tastiness of eggs which may be waiting to be collected in the nestboxes.
|
Candy, Chocolate, Sugar
|
Their teeth will rot… No, it’s just bad for their systems, and chocolate can be poisonous to most pets.
|
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