Safe Snacks for Chickens

If you raise several backyard chickens or even just have one pet chicken, you likely use prepackaged chicken feed as a staple food. It can be beneficial to feed your chickens additional items in moderation as a treat. Offering your chickens varied food choices can be good for their digestive health. When choosing snacks for your chickens it is important to know which foods are good for chickens and which foods can be toxic.

  1. Fruit

    • Fruit is a healthy and acceptable snack choice for chickens. It is important for you to remove the seeds of fruits like apples, however, as many seeds contain toxins like arsenic that can be toxic. Watermelon can also be fed to chickens. You can give them the pink part or the rind. If your family consumes a lot of watermelons, feeding the rinds to your chickens can be a great way to dispose of them.

    Vegetables

    • Many vegetables make great chicken snacks because they can easily be attached to the coop for easy munching. Your chickens may enjoy the challenge of pulling the food into the cage, particularly leafy greens like lettuce and spinach. Chickens can eat potatoes, but they must be cooked. Raw potatoes can be bad for a chicken's digestive system. Most vegetables are safe for chickens, so you may want to start with small pieces, then wait and see how your chickens react.

    People Snacks for Chickens

    • Yogurt may not be the first thing that you would think to feed to a chicken, but it is actually very good for their digestive system. Put a little plain yogurt in a bowl -- fruit flavors often have too much sugar -- and see how your chickens react to it. Popped popcorn can be a safe chicken snack a long as you do not include butter or salt. Oatmeal, either raw or cooked, is also a great chicken snack, but shy away from flavors or toppings. Stick to plain oatmeal.

    Bad Snacks

    • There are some foods that you should never feed to your chickens because they are dangerous. Raw fish and raw eggs can both make a chicken sick. Chocolate and candy in general are very bad for a chicken's teeth and should be avoided. Salty foods often lead to water retention and salt poisoning. Remember that you are the pet owner and it is your job to do research and feed your chickens the correct foods. A chicken will take a taste of nearly anything she comes in contact with, but it's up to you to know whether her desired snacks are good or bad.