Diet for Chickens

Nature's Garbage Disposals

• As omnivores, chickens will eat almost anything you give them, from table scraps to grains and even chicken or pig feed found at feed stores. When feeding your chickens, think about what you feed them, regardless of what they will eat. If you are eating their eggs, or simply eating the birds, remember the cardinal rule of food--garbage in is equal to garbage out. Those mindful of this rule will likely get better eggs and meat from longer lived chickens. Keep them healthy to keep yourself healthy.

Foods to Avoid

• Some things that the omnivorous chicken will not eat include potatoes, rye kernels, orange peels, watermelon rinds, carrots (though they will eat the peels), bananas and baked beans. Some foods will result in adverse consequences if you choose to offer them to your chicken. While chicken will eat their own kind, doing so puts them at a higher risk of encephalopathy, a disease similar to mad cow disease. Curry, while a favorite of chickens, has unwelcome effects on their droppings. Tomato could constipate the birds.

Chicken Scratch

• Chicken scratch is the name given to multi-grain chicken feed. Its important, when choosing grain, that you choose multi-grain for optimum health. Some scratch comes with ground up bone or oyster shells in it, a necessity for egg-laying birds as egg production requires a high calcium content in the chicken's diet. These may also be purchased separately, or gained through feeding them green leafy vegetables with the scratch. A handful or so of feed per bird per day ought to be enough to keep your chickens healthy. Make sure you keep food dry before feeding, as wet grains can be breeding grounds for harmful bacteria. A bowl of fresh water and plenty of green leafy vegetables should serve for hydration.