comprehensive list of food scraps suitable for chickens?

[Sparkly]

Does anyone have a comprehensive list of food scraps that are suitable for feeding chickens? We should be getting our birds at the end of the week and I would like to make sure I am giving them the right things! Also would be useful to stop the father in law (to be) feeding them anything and everything!

[goodlife]

Before you start giving scraps make sure that you are giving them layers meal or pellets as a first choice and available all the time..and then some scraps as treat..little every now and then..
I never give any treats for first few hours of day as then they will fill themselves with layers pellets first and they will get the basic nutrients in them..
As for scraps..oh..easier to say what not to give..
NO... for any foods containing poulry and bird game...Salty foods...anything that is off or mouldy
Be steady with anything containing fish..as it may make their eggs taste fishy.
Lettuce only in small amounts as it will give your girls runny bum
Other than that..just have fun with trial what they actually like. Each lot of chickens I've had,,their taste buds been different..even between individual chickens..some prefer greens, some bread, pasta or potatoes..some berries..
but generally chickens are not fussy..once they start laying anything goes and they will just eat and eat ..get your sprinting shoes ready as you will find yourself running into kitchen to find something to give for them while they are screaming their heads off to rush you

[grannyjanny]

My girls don't eat much layers meal but they do enjoy steamed rice with peas & sweetcorn & a light drizzle of olive oil. I kid you not. They weren't laying many eggs, 6 a week from 4 bantams. When i decided to feed other things they started laying. We had 15 last week & 16 the week before. I do leave the layers meal in as Goodlife says. They love it if their is any digging going on because I made the mistake of feeding worms on one occasion. They now expect it. It's worth it though for the comedy element, 3 chickens chasing the lucky one is hilarious . Have you decided on your family yet?
Have fun.

[sunloving]

Hi Sparkly
Im a new keeper to and as well as the great advice i have had on this forum i also have found the site called the poultry keep really useful to and i found my hens through an add.

This is a link to a thread on treats (hopefully)

http://forums.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=29578

good luck with your new birds , mine are so fab.
x sunloving

[Jeannine]

Years ago, my Mum used to cook for her chickens..all the peelings, scraps etc went into a big pot and she cooked it till very soft like a soup then mixed it with layers mash.Everything that didn't go n the soup pot for us went in the chicken pot.It used to smell really good too. She used to say "they need a good dinner to go to work on"

XX Jeannine

[bazzysbarn]

We also give them blackberries and elderberries which we collect on our walks. Got plenty around us at the moment. I chop up the fallen apples as well.

[Morris]

It depends how many girls you have, and how many eggs you need.  For maximum egg laying, they need to eat almost all layers pellets, with a little oyster shell/grit scattered on the top just to be sure they are getting what they need.  Hybrids are more affected by diet, apparently, which is what I have - I believe it doesn't matter so much with pure breeds.

Ours were having loads of scraps from the veg plot but after the hot weather they went off lay.  I didn't get them back on until I stopped all treats for a while.  Now, they lay best when they only have pellets, and a couple of handfuls of corn just before bed, but they love their treats so much it seems a shame to deprive them.  I give nothing until late afternoon, when they have a good handful of mixed greens, and any leftovers.  At about an hour before bedtime, they have their corn, which they love.   

As the end of a long story, I am going to get a couple more birds (we only have 2) and then there will be so many eggs I won't mind if they don't lay 6/7 each per week like they used to.  And if you have more birds you can feed more scraps and still have plenty of eggs.  It will be a matter of finding out what works for you and your particular birds. 

Basically, they can eat anything you would eat yourself (well, obviously you wouldn't eat cabbage outer leaves or raw bacon rind but they are edible for humans, if not thought delicious by us, is what I mean!)  They can't eat raw potato, for instance.  Mine love cooked rice, bread, pasta, any meat is a fantastic treat,  they eat windfall apples, all leafy greens, carrot peelings, etc.

Good luck, I love my girls, they are extremely addictive.  Just don't do what I did and let them out when the cold frame is open, and full of lovely little seedlings just ready to go out!!