Feeding Your Chickens Table Scraps: Is It Safe?
A lot of people ask if it's ok to feed their chickens table scraps and leftovers, in fact it's one of the most common questions. Chickens will eat just about anything. They are omnivores, after all. However, it can get a little tricky with leftovers, so we're going to go over what's safe to feed your chickens!
Good Chicken Nutrition
One of the best things you can do is give your chickens good feed that's filled with protein and nutrients each day. If you check out our shop tab, you'll find some good brands that are perfect for your flock! The feed you choose should take up the majority of your chickens diet.
What to Stay Away From
Keep your chickens away from fats, processed sugars, carbs and salt. You really want to make sure your chickens don't eat anything with processed sugars.
Scraps You Shouldn't Share With Your Chickens
Uncooked or Processed Meats- As far as meats go, you want to make sure your chicken doesn't get a hold of any uncooked, processed or moldy meats. They can eat meats as a table scrap, but make sure it's fresh and cooked, and definitely not processed. Most processed meats contain salts and preservatives, both of which are bad for your chickens.
Fast Food- Never ever feed your chicken fast food. This goes along with what we mentioned before about processed foods. Fast food is filled with carbs, fats and salt. Popcorn also falls in this category. You don't want to give your chickens popcorn because it could stop them up and most popcorn contains salt.
Your Chickens Definitely Can't Have...
- Apricot Pits and Apple Seeds
- Avocados
- Cat Food
- Chocolate, Candy and Sugar
- Citrus
- Onions
- Raw Eggs- If you feed them raw eggs, they might start eating their own eggs and you don't want that! If you want to feed them eggs, make sure they are cooked and scrambled! Scrambled eggs are good for them!
- Uncooked Beans
If you're ever unsure of whether or not you can feed your chicken something, it's best to not feed it to them. Only give them something you're 100% sure they can have!
So What Scraps Can You Feed Your Chickens
A lot of owners will create a "mash" of table scraps from the night before and store it in the fridge to feed their chickens. This mash could contain a number of items such as leftover veggies, rice, spaghetti…anything that was leftover. You can even add some water and cook it into a mash consistency and put it in a food processor in order to grind it down so it's easier for them to eat.
You don't have to make a mash everyday — it's optional, but you can do it once a week if you please. Your chickens will love it! You can always feed your chickens vegetables like zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash and more. Just make sure you cut it up into small sizes that are easy for consumption.
Check back next week for a brand new blog post! As always, if you have any blog suggestions, don't hesitate to shoot us an email at elle@chickens.com