What your chickens can and can't eat!

[Stephine]

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

all grains expand when they are cooked in water, not just rice. I think it’s an old wife‘s tale.

 

[Stephine]

I have read in other lists like this that oatmeal both cooked and raw is not good. Also, the chicken chick (if you are familiar with her) says it's a NO. Just my 2 cents.

A lot of people go overboard in their warnings. Of course don’t feed your chickens mainly oatmeal. But a little is totally fine. The chicken chick is a bit over the top about feed. She recommends nothing but formulated chicken feed and thinks chickens will keel over dead if you introduce some treats or feed changes. Makes me think she is either neurotic or paid by big poultry feed…

 

[Stephine]

Well, I think so too. But if raw mouse is okay, what is the problem with raw meat of other species?

Probably raw mouse is super fresh, while raw meats are not and have plenty of time to accumulate bacteria?

 

[Cluckminster Fuller]

Food	Yes/No
Acorn Squash, fruit, skins and seeds	Yes
Alfalfa	Yes
Almonds	Yes
Almond Butter	Yes
Amaranth, raw	No, Raw amaranth contains growth depressing antinutrients
Amaranth, cooked or extruded	Yes
Ant	Yes, Typically chickens won’t eat ants. Be sure no pesticides were used on any colony
Apple	Yes
Apple, seeds	No, Contain cyanide

Banana	Yes
Banana, skin or peel	Yes
Basil	Yes	Benefits the immune system
Bean Sprouts	Yes
Beans	Yes	ONLY cooked beans, never dry
Beet, leaves/leafs/greens	Yes
Beets	Yes
Bell Pepper	Yes
Bird Seed	Yes

Edamame	Yes	do NOT feed uncooked soy
Egg shell	Yes	Great source of calcium
Egg, boiled/scrambled/cooked	Yes	Only feed cooked eggs, so they don’t start eating their own eggs
Eggplant	Maybe?	Much debate on whether raw eggplant is safe for chickens, as it is in the nightshade family. Cooked is safe for chickens
Eggplant, leaves	NO	Contains Solanine
Eggs	Yes	Cooked only, to prevent encouraging egg eating

Fish	Yes
Flax seed	Yes
French Fries	No	Salty/fatty foods are unhealthy

Green beans	Yes
Green peppers	Yes
Grits	Yes

Ham	Yes	In moderation due to salt content
Honey	Yes
Honeydew	Yes

Kale	MAYBE
Kidney beans	Yes	MUST be cooked
Kiwi	Yes

Lemon	In moderation
Lettuce	Yes

Maggots	No	Risk of botulism
Mango	Yes
Mealworms	Yes	Save money by raising your own
Meat scraps	Yes	Avoid fat, only feed cooked scraps, and only in moderation
Mice	Yes	My chickens love them!
Minnows	Yes
Mushrooms, store bought	Yes
Mushrooms, wild	No	Potentially toxic

Nightcrawlers	Yes
Nuts	Yes	Only shelled and unsalted

Oatmeal	Yes
Oatmeal, uncooked	Yes
Oats	Yes
Okra	Yes
Olives	Yes	Limit cured olives due to salt
Onion	No	Can flavor eggs in smaller quantities. In larger amounts, can cause anemia
Orange	Yes
Orange peels	Yes
Oregano	Yes	Excellent for immune health & as a water additive

Papaya	Yes
Pasta	Yes	Feed in moderation, as it contains nearly no nutritional value
Peaches	Yes	Remove pit
Peanut Butter	Yes
Peanuts	Yes
Pears	Yes
Peas	Yes
Pecans	Yes	Only shelled and unsalted
Pepper seed	Yes
Peppers	Yes
Pickles	Yes	Limit due to salt
Pineapple	Yes
Plum	Yes	Remove pit
Pomegranate	Yes
Popcorn, popped	Yes	Unsalted, unbuttered only
Popcorn, unpopped	Yes
Porridge	Yes
Potato, cooked or mashed	Yes
Potato, peel	No	Contains Solanine
Potato, raw	No	Contains Solanine
Potato, sprouted	No	Contains Solanine
Pumpkin	Yes
Pumpkin, Seeds	Yes

Quinoa

Yes

Only washed or cooked, as raw contains saponins unpalatable to poultry

Radishes, and greens	Yes
Raisins	Yes
Raspberries	Yes
Raw chicken	No	Risk of salmonella
Rhubarb	No	Contains some oxalic acid
Rhubarb, leaf	NO!	Highly toxic, contains oxalic acid
Rice	Yes	Cooked only
Rice, brown	Yes	Cooked only
Rice, cooked	Yes
Rice, uncooked	No
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

Scrambled Eggs	Yes
Seaweed	Yes
Shrimp, meat and shell	Yes
Snails	Yes	Can carry gapeworm
Spinach	Yes
Squash	Yes
Strawberries	Yes
String beans	Yes
Sunflower Seeds	Yes	Great for molting birds
Sweet Potato	Yes

Tomato, ripe fruit	Yes
Tomato, leaf or green fruit	No	Contains Solanine
Turkey Carcass	Yes	Cooked only

Walnuts	Yes	Only shelled and unsalted
Watermelon	Yes
Watermelon, rind	Yes
Wheat	Yes
Wheat Berries	Yes

Xylitol

No

Yam	Yes
Yogurt	Yes	Feed in moderation as chickens cannot digest milk. Good for probiotics

Zucchini

Yes

Thanks for a useful list!!!

 

[Cluckminster Fuller]

I'll add that to it for future reference!

I give meal worms in the winter. It seems to give them more energy and lead to better winter laying. ??

 

[fat brown hen]

A lot of people go overboard in their warnings. Of course don’t feed your chickens mainly oatmeal. But a little is totally fine. The chicken chick is a bit over the top about feed. She recommends nothing but formulated chicken feed and thinks chickens will keel over dead if you introduce some treats or feed changes. Makes me think she is either neurotic or paid by big poultry feed…

I wonder what it look like if these listmakers made a list of foods for humans. We'd probably only be allowed to have protein shakes or soylent green.

 

[RcoM]

Food	Yes/No
Acorn Squash, fruit, skins and seeds	Yes
Alfalfa	Yes
Almonds	Yes
Almond Butter	Yes
Amaranth, raw	No, Raw amaranth contains growth depressing antinutrients
Amaranth, cooked or extruded	Yes
Ant	Yes, Typically chickens won’t eat ants. Be sure no pesticides were used on any colony
Apple	Yes
Apple, seeds	No, Contain cyanide

Banana	Yes
Banana, skin or peel	Yes
Basil	Yes	Benefits the immune system
Bean Sprouts	Yes
Beans	Yes	ONLY cooked beans, never dry
Beet, leaves/leafs/greens	Yes
Beets	Yes
Bell Pepper	Yes
Bird Seed	Yes

Edamame	Yes	do NOT feed uncooked soy
Egg shell	Yes	Great source of calcium
Egg, boiled/scrambled/cooked	Yes	Only feed cooked eggs, so they don’t start eating their own eggs
Eggplant	Maybe?	Much debate on whether raw eggplant is safe for chickens, as it is in the nightshade family. Cooked is safe for chickens
Eggplant, leaves	NO	Contains Solanine
Eggs	Yes	Cooked only, to prevent encouraging egg eating

Fish	Yes
Flax seed	Yes
French Fries	No	Salty/fatty foods are unhealthy

Green beans	Yes
Green peppers	Yes
Grits	Yes

Ham	Yes	In moderation due to salt content
Honey	Yes
Honeydew	Yes

Kale	MAYBE
Kidney beans	Yes	MUST be cooked
Kiwi	Yes

Lemon	In moderation
Lettuce	Yes

Maggots	No	Risk of botulism
Mango	Yes
Mealworms	Yes	Save money by raising your own
Meat scraps	Yes	Avoid fat, only feed cooked scraps, and only in moderation
Mice	Yes	My chickens love them!
Minnows	Yes
Mushrooms, store bought	Yes
Mushrooms, wild	No	Potentially toxic

Nightcrawlers	Yes
Nuts	Yes	Only shelled and unsalted

Oatmeal	Yes
Oatmeal, uncooked	Yes
Oats	Yes
Okra	Yes
Olives	Yes	Limit cured olives due to salt
Onion	No	Can flavor eggs in smaller quantities. In larger amounts, can cause anemia
Orange	Yes
Orange peels	Yes
Oregano	Yes	Excellent for immune health & as a water additive

Papaya	Yes
Pasta	Yes	Feed in moderation, as it contains nearly no nutritional value
Peaches	Yes	Remove pit
Peanut Butter	Yes
Peanuts	Yes
Pears	Yes
Peas	Yes
Pecans	Yes	Only shelled and unsalted
Pepper seed	Yes
Peppers	Yes
Pickles	Yes	Limit due to salt
Pineapple	Yes
Plum	Yes	Remove pit
Pomegranate	Yes
Popcorn, popped	Yes	Unsalted, unbuttered only
Popcorn, unpopped	Yes
Porridge	Yes
Potato, cooked or mashed	Yes
Potato, peel	No	Contains Solanine
Potato, raw	No	Contains Solanine
Potato, sprouted	No	Contains Solanine
Pumpkin	Yes
Pumpkin, Seeds	Yes

Quinoa

Yes

Only washed or cooked, as raw contains saponins unpalatable to poultry

Radishes, and greens	Yes
Raisins	Yes
Raspberries	Yes
Raw chicken	No	Risk of salmonella
Rhubarb	No	Contains some oxalic acid
Rhubarb, leaf	NO!	Highly toxic, contains oxalic acid
Rice	Yes	Cooked only
Rice, brown	Yes	Cooked only
Rice, cooked	Yes
Rice, uncooked	No
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

Scrambled Eggs	Yes
Seaweed	Yes
Shrimp, meat and shell	Yes
Snails	Yes	Can carry gapeworm
Spinach	Yes
Squash	Yes
Strawberries	Yes
String beans	Yes
Sunflower Seeds	Yes	Great for molting birds
Sweet Potato	Yes

Tomato, ripe fruit	Yes
Tomato, leaf or green fruit	No	Contains Solanine
Turkey Carcass	Yes	Cooked only

Walnuts	Yes	Only shelled and unsalted
Watermelon	Yes
Watermelon, rind	Yes
Wheat	Yes
Wheat Berries	Yes

Xylitol

No

Yam	Yes
Yogurt	Yes	Feed in moderation as chickens cannot digest milk. Good for probiotics

Zucchini

Yes

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.

 

[PMD PerformanceHorses]

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.

I make my bread in little pieces so they don't choke

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

I'm so confused about amaranth - I grew a few plants around the coop and dried the seeds so they could snack on them. they enjoy the greens too. is it really bad?

 

[RcoM]

I make my bread in little pieces so they don't choke

Me too.