Things I don't feed my chickens😊

[yallowchicken81819]

Don't buy yogurt with saccharine, sucralose, splenda, etc. That's not reason to avoid yogurt, that's a choice to avoid artificial sugars (which aren't necessary anyways).

Plain yogurt doesn't contain dyes. Nor does decent yogurt of any variety.

Preservatives? Yogurt is itself a preservative. So is salt. and sugar. Lactic Acid.

You are going to have to be a little more specific please.

Artificial preservatives, food dyes such as Blue 40, Red 5, any color with a number after it. My friend's chickens have had bad experiences with yogurt. Sodium benzoate is a common preservative in yogurt that, with enough, can cause cancer/sickness

 

[yallowchicken81819]

The one I buy contains milk and live cultures and nothing else.

I personally don't feed mine milk/dairy but that would be ok, I just meant the artificial stuff... Sorry for wording that terribly. I looked it up and it said the only issue with giving chickens plain yogurt/milk is its a little hard to digest

 

[gila_dog]

But like I said, your birds. If you want to feed them bread because "agribusiness bad", your call. Fact is, agribusiness knows better*. So do those of us who have done our own research.

Of course, every generation a subset of the population celebrates ignorance and rejects knowledge in favor of belief. That's unlikely to change any time soon.

I'm not celebrating ignorance. I'm asking questions, trying to gain some knowledge. Now that I know why bread is bad, I'll stop feeding it.
We feed our chickens lots of kitchen and garden scraps. No onions, tho. I think they taint the flavor of the eggs. And if there are other things that are bad I'm eager to find out, especially if the reason why they are bad is made clear. In the meantime the chickens will get fruit and vegetable waste, chicken bones, their own egg shells, bugs, weeds, and so forth. So far, after 50 years of having chickens, ours live long, healthy, productive lives. The main hazard they face is coyotes when they are out free ranging. But they do get some free range time because I think they find lots of nutritious goodies, and they love their dust baths. I just need to keep an eye on them when they are out.

 

[BDutch]

But like I said, your birds. If you want to feed them bread because "agribusiness bad", your call. Fact is, agribusiness knows better*. So do those of us who have done our own research.

Agribusiness feed is designed for 4 -20 month old laying hens.
And not for older hens, heritage breeds and roosters. And certainly not for chicks.

Don't give em yogurt either...

You can if it’s unflavoured, not sweetened, just nothing is added. In Europe they sell it in every supermarket.

Now that I know why bread is bad, I'll stop feeding it.

I give mine a little bread if I have left overs. Normally I buy organic bread, often sour-bread with wholewheat. It doesnt seem to hurt them.
My oldest chicken is 10. She is not a laying hybrid.

I believe talking about healthy chickens should include breeds and the possibility to search their own food/ or the way chickens are kept. Its certainly not just the food that makes a healthy chicken. It’s common knowledge the commercial laying hybrids are not ‘designed’ to grow old. Only to lay as much eggs as possible in a short time.
And most research is done only for factory farming/ commercial laying hybrids.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Agribusiness feed is designed for 4 -20 month old laying hens.
And not for older hens, heritage breeds and roosters. And certainly not for chicks.

There are multiple types of feed, not just for laying hens

 

[BDutch]

There are multiple types of feed, not just for laying hens

Yes I know, but some people seem to think all chicken feed is okay and some people even give feed for laying hybrids to chicks. Not knowing this contains a poisonous amount of calcium for chicks.

Btw, where I live there is not so much choice. And bc I want to feed organic its even more limited.

 

[gila_dog]

After reading a lot of threads here about feeding chickens I'm becoming more convinced that a bit of free ranging and feeding them scraps and kitchen/garden waste is very important for them. I think they have built in instincts for finding what they need, and avoiding what's bad for them. But if they are kept penned up all the time (like prisoners) and only fed a very limited diet they get used to that, and only that. So when they do get something different they can't handle it. I think the same thing applies to dogs, goats, and other critters, like people.

 

[ChickyWhicky]

Things I dont feed my chickens? More like things my chickens refuse to eat, and thats a short list.

Lettuce (really?)
Beans
Worms that I personally found and harvested for them (apparently worms are only acceptable if THEY find them)

Thats pretty much it. They get ALL the kitchen scraps and leftovers. They also rummage through the compost pile and help themselves to the garden. They seem to know whats good and whats not.

 

[EddieSalita]

Things I dont feed my chickens? More like things my chickens refuse to eat, and thats a short list.

Lettuce (really?)
Beans
Worms that I personally found and harvested for them (apparently worms are only acceptable if THEY find them)

Thats pretty much it. They get ALL the kitchen scraps and leftovers. They also rummage through the compost pile and help themselves to the garden. They seem to know whats good and whats not.

Mine love loose leaf types. But iceberg is yuk apparently.

What is with the worms thing? Mine have the same quirk. They like toddlers with knives and forks.

 

[ChickyWhicky]

Mine love loose leaf types. But iceberg is yuk apparently.

What is with the worms thing? Mine have the same quirk. They like toddlers with knives and forks.

Im convinced its just a power move. They love to hurt my feelings. LOL