What Chickens Can Eat

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Nutrition

• Remember to make a quality poultry feed available at all times.
• Scraps and treats should be used in moderation as treats, not as their core diet. 
• Feeding treats is a fun way to develop a relationship with your chickens, especially those that may be a bit more shy.
• Remember to observe if certain birds and bullied during treat feeding. If so, consider moving these birds into their own areas for feeding treats. 
• Chicks may be fed treats in very limited quantities and make sure any offerings are small enough for them. Whole treats such as apples are likely be more frightening than fun for them.
  

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Foods to Avoid

• Earthworms- Chickens may find and eat them themselves, however eating earthworms may cause Gapeworm, so do not feed them to your chickens.
• Citrus Fruit- Chickens may not be given any type of citrus.
• Candy, Caffeine, Chocolate, Anything Salty, Sugary or Moldy- These are bad for their digestive systems and can even kill them
• Avocados
• Dairy of any type with the exception of whey
• Dry beans - cooked are fine
• Onions and anything belonging to the Allium genus such as garlic, leeks, and chives. 

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Foods OK to give Chickens

 

Food	Type	Comments
Apples	Raw and cooked	Apple seeds contain cyanide, but not in sufficient quantities to kill. Hang in the coop at peeking level or cube and scatter.
Asparagus	Raw or cooked	OK, but not many animals like asparagus.
Bananas	Without the peel	High in potassium, a good treat.
Beans and green beans	Cooked only, never dry
Beets	Greens also
Berries	All kinds	Especially strawberries.
Breads	All kinds	Feed starches in moderation.
Broccoli		Tuck into a suet cage.
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage	Whole head or leaves	Hang a whole cabbage from their coop ceiling in winter or scatter leaves coarsely chopped.
Carrots	Raw and cooked	All parts of the carrot, including foliage.
Caterpillars		Some caterpillars are tasty, others they won’t touch.
Cantaloupe		Rind, flesh and seeds are ok. Cut into chunks or slices.
Cheese	Including cottage cheese	Feed in moderation, fatty but a good source of protein and calcium
Cauliflower
Corn	On cob, raw and cooked	I prefer to stay with non-GMO corn whenever possible.
Crickets (live)		Great protein source
Cucumbers		Let mature for yummy seeds and flesh.
Eggs and Egg Shells	Hard cooked and scrambled are a good source of protein, and a favorite treat.	Feed cooked eggs only because you don’t want your chickens to start eating their own raw eggs. The shells are a great source of calcium, but I only use shells from eggs that have been boiled. No raw eggs
Eggplant		All types of eggplants, you may wish to cut into large slices.
Fish / Seafood	Cooked only
Flowers	Feed none treated with pesticide (e.g. florist flowers)	Any edible flower is ok. Feeding marigolds makes the yolk a deep yellow color.
Frogs		Chickens will eat them, but I prefer to not have my frogs eaten.
Fruits (stone)	Pears, peaches, cherries	All fine
Grains	Bulgar, flax, quinoa, wheatberries, etc.
Grapes	Seedless only.
Grits	Cooked	Grits are made of dried kernels of corn.
Grub Worms		Love them.
Honeydew Melon		Rind, flesh and seeds are ok. Cut into chunks or slices.
Larva		Most larva are highly desirable.
Lettuce / Kale / Spinach / Collards	Any leafy greens.	Do not feed too much iceberg lettuce. Darker greens are better for chickens
Maggots		Highly desired
Mealworms		A favorite treat
Meat scraps of any kind.	Not too fatty.	In moderation, a good source of protein
Melons		Both seeds and flesh are good chicken treats.
Nasturtiums		Whole flowers are fine
Millet		A favorite
Oatmeal	Raw or cooked	Cooked is nutritionally better.
Oats (feed)		Whole and raw. Easy to mix in with other standard feeds.
Okra		Nutritious, but they never cared for it.
Pasta / Macaroni	Cooked	OK, but not much nutrition.
Peas	Peas, tendrils and flowers	Fresh or cooked work best.
Peppers (bell)		Whole
Pomegranates	Raw	Flesh and seeds.
Popcorn	No butter, no salt.
Potatoes / Sweet Potatoes / Yams	Cooked only - avoid peels!	Not recommended. Starchy, not much nutrition
Pumpkins / Winter Squash	Raw or cooked	Both seeds and flesh are a nutritious treat.
Raisins	.
Rice	Cooked only	Plain white rice has little nutrition.
Scratch	Scratch is cracked corn with grains	Scratch is a treat, not a complete feed. Toss it on the ground and let them scratch for it for something to do.
Snakes		Yes, but not desirable.
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		Good source of necessary minerals. Use Black Oil whole or shelled.
Toads		Same as frogs, they will eat them, but toads serve you well in your garden.
Tomatoes	Raw and cooked.
Turnips	Cooked.	Not a favorite
Watermelon	Helps keep chickens hydrated during hot weather.	Seeds and flesh are both okay to feed.
Whey	Leftover from cheese making	Pour it into a pan.
Yogurt	Plain or flavored	A big favorite and good for their digestive systems. Plain is better.
Zucchini		Whole or large pieces