What table scraps are good to feed chickens?
Question by : What table scraps are good to feed chickens?
we have recently acquired 5 laying hens – mostly as children’s pets. what scraps are best to feed them and are any not good for them i.e bread? they are given grain etc. as well,,,,,,
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4 Responses to What table scraps are good to feed chickens?
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I would say any veggie or fruit scraps, with a few exceptions. Potato skins are definitely bad, and any pits (like from cherries, peaches, avocados, etc.) should be removed. Other than that, anything goes.
I would be more careful with processed foods, like bread, crackers, etc. They’re animals, and they just don’t need that kind of thing in their diets. Any kind of greens are good, with the general rule being the more color, the more nutrients.
Never give them raw eggs, as this encourages egg eating. Many people recommend feeding the broken up shells of used eggs, and most people don’t have a problem with scrambled eggs. You’ll get much nicer eggs if your provide some extra protein and calcium, and some people even suggest adding a little dog or cat food to their diets.
Gina
January 20, 2012 at 9:02 am
It’s essential that the main part of your laying hens’ diet consists of layers pellets, which will provide all the nutrients and extra calcium they need to make eggs and healthy eggshells. If you give them more than a very small proportion of extra scraps, they’ll fill up on these, just like kids on junk food, and this will unbalance their diet. Modern hens are bred to produce lots of lovely eggs, but their nutritional needs are quite specialised and if you feed them the wrong stuff they’ll either get too fat, (which can damage their egg-laying system and cause disease by laying down fat in the wrong places, ie round their ovaries) or they’ll start laying soft-shelled eggs because they’re going short of calcium. Make sure they also have constant access to grit, which enables them to grind up thier food as they don’t have teeth, and oystershell mixed in with the grit, to help with the calcium.
Don’t give bread, it’s nutritionally useless to hens, and go easy on the grain – an eggcupful per hen max, and give it as a treat at the end of the day, when they’ve had a chance toi fill up on pellets. It’s good to feed it at the end of the day as it takes longer to digest than some foods and will keep them going through the night, but wheat is better for them than maize, which is very fattening. You can give greens, especially if they don’t have much access to grass, eg cabbages including the stumps, which they like to peck at, also a little fruit, eg apples, plums, and especially a few grapes or other berries which they love. If you have any spare eggs, blend them up with the shells included, and microwave them until you’ve made gritty scrambled egg. This is very nourishing, but never feed raw egg as they may get a taste for it and start eating their own eggs.
P.S. (Edit;)
Don’t rely on garlic to worm your chickens, as has been suggested. They need a 7-day course of Flubenvet every 6 months to keep them clear of a variety of chicken worms. Other herbal supplements containing garlic etc are probably a good tonic for hens, but will NOT deal with worm infestation.
Sunflower
January 20, 2012 at 9:16 am
it looks like you have all the awnsers you need for this one but here is a great forum for you to take a look at when u have a min or 2 http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/ they are all soo freindly and they will help you with anything at all to do with keeping your hens and any thing else to do with them. x
**CJ**
January 20, 2012 at 9:23 am
Sunflower has given you everything you need to know hun, the only thing Sunflower didnt mention is meat is against the law, u are allowed to give table scraps but beware of salt, high sodium is a killer! here is a recipe for you on Xtras: Boil up either Pasta, potatoes with skins but NOT raw or rice, add a garlic clove (chopped) this will kill any internal and xternal parasites like worms etc, it creates an acidity cleaning there system. Strain off half the water, add sum layers pellets roughly 50/50, a handfull of oats if you have any! i also add a few raisens they love em, but dont do this every day, once aweek or fortnight is fine, the mixed corn is slow release, creating heat so as Sunflower sed in the evening is best, keeps them all warm at night! Bread is ok with milk as long as it is not lots, as this can cause a crop impaction, which is why ppl dont usually give it to them, apart from all the crap init. Enjoy yr hen keeping!!
The Wistle blower
January 20, 2012 at 9:46 am