if i were to keep chickens in my garden what kitchen scraps would they eat?

Question

please give a few examples particually fruit &veg

pickle do one you plonker

Answer 1

What is all this nonsense about not giving chickens meat? They eat worms for goodness sake( meat?!!). Chuck it all out to them- experience will tell you what they like and don't like.
Oh- and for you puritanical audience- don't forget to clear away what they don't eat- we don't want to attract rats now do we??

Answer 2

/Feeding
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< Raising Chickens
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Feeding chickens is almost as easy as watering them. In nature chickens are the garbage cleaners of the Southeast Asian Jungle. For everyday food you can feed your chickens either chicken food (found at feed stores) or pig food. In Alberta the UFA Hog Grower is the same as the chick starter except the pellets are bigger, and the hog grower contains less antibiotics. If you have access to grain then you can feed that to them. Whenever you make food with lots of scraps (peelings and bits of vegetables that humans shouldn't eat) then feed those to them. Chickens can be trained so well if they see a small bucket (for carrying chicken scraps) they get excited because a treat is coming. You can feed your chickens in a trough, appropriate sized container, or by scattering the food on the ground. You can even give your chickens bones with scraps of meat on them. There is very little that they won't eat.


[edit] Information Specific to Laying Hens
Laying hens require calcium for egg shells. During the laying season, put a pile or box of crushed clam shells in their pen. Crushed clam shells are available at most local feed/farm stores. If you scatter the clam shells too much, you won't know when the hens need more until you see paper-thin shells. Egg shells also work for the calcium, but you run the risk of the birds learning to eat their own eggs. To avoid this your should crush the shells so that they don't look like eggs.


[edit] External links
Feeding Chickens - Poultry article about feeding chickens

[edit] Other Information
If you have any questions about whether chickens should eat a particular food or not post your question on the Raising Chickens/Feeding discussion page.

Common food that chickens shouldn't/won't eat
Food Reason
Orange peels Too tough for chickens to chew on. Chickens will play with them if they are bored though.
Watermellon rinds Too thick/tough for chickens to chew on
rye kernels Chickens don't like them
Chicken Because they are chickens. Although chickens will happily eat chicken and other meat products. After butchering a chicken you can leave the skeleton in the the pen and they will pick the bones clean. If done on a large scale, making chicken feed from chickens (especially the brain and spinal cord) can lead to an outbreak of encephalopathy, similar to mad cow disease.
Carrots Chickens can't eat large hard chunks but they will eat carrot peels.
Curry They like it, but it has bad effects on their droppings.
Banana They just don't like them either
Potato Peel Chickens normally don't like very many root plants, so they will not usually eat potato peels.
Tomato Not a probles in small quantities. In excess reduces the droppings.
Feel free to add items that you have found chickens shouldn't or won't eat

Retrieved from "http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Raising_Chickens/Feeding"
Category: Raising Chickens

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Answer 3

My Mums chickens eat tea leaves, Salad providing you wash the dressing off, fruit and vegetable seeds, try not to feed them apple seeds because they contain a small amount of cyanide, Old bread, boiled veg, old soggy veg, mashed potato, chips no vinegar or salt, cooked batter, cut up meat or old dog food. more or less anything really.

Answer 4

My family use to keep chickens in our backyard and we didn't always have money for feed, so we gave them scraps (obviously not meat ) but flour, beans, corn, meal, etc... They had no problems with it and grew very well and still produced eggs. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Chickens will eat anything that you give them. Giving them a little bit of meat a week is not going to harm them in anyway.

Answer 6

i used to boil up potato peelings and carrot peel mixed with there food thay loved that also we gave them grass clippings but not to much, theirs lots of bugs and things in it and they loved to bath in it, it was nice to see them so happy i also used to dig a small peace of there run some times that keep-ed them busy for ages there is no reason why you cant give them kitchen scraps with there hen food thay like different things and love to explore new food make sure you clean up anything left often enjoy your hens and eggs

Answer 7

You would need to feed them properly designed food for chickens. Their diet can be supplemented by giving them bread, cereals and other nuts and seeds.

Answer 8

Just about anything although mine don't like potato peelings. Check that they are getting rid of everything, 'cos you do not want to attract rodents. Happy egg laying!!!

Answer 9

chickens eat alot of different things your best bet is to just put stuff out there and see what they eat but donot put in there meat or onions i would put more vegetables and potatoes and things like that

Answer 10

chickens will eat almost any kitchen scraps but i wouldn't give them any meat they also like dandelion leave and some other weeds