Chickens are delightful creatures with a fascinatingly diverse diet. As omnivores, they consume a wide range of food items, from grains and vegetables to fruits and insects. However, not all human foods are safe foods for chickens to consume. Certain foods can be toxic or even fatal to these feathered friends, making it crucial for poultry keepers to know what to feed and what not to feed their chickens.
Key Takeaways
Choosing the Right Food for Chickens
First and foremost, a balanced, commercial chicken feed should form the basis of your chicken’s diet. These feeds are specially formulated with the correct ratio of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals that chickens need for optimal health and egg production.
Diet is one piece of good management. Our complete guide to backyard chickens covers the housing, space, and health basics that sit alongside it.
However, chickens also love variety in their diet. Offering kitchen scraps and garden produce can not only reduce your food waste but also provide your chickens with an enjoyable dietary supplement.
Garden Goodness
Many items from your garden are excellent for chickens. They love to peck at leafy greens, peck at fruits, and scratch around for insects. However, not everything growing in your garden is safe for chicken consumption.
What to Avoid from the Garden
Some garden produce can be harmful to chickens. For instance, leaves from the nightshade family (which includes plants like potatoes and tomatoes) are toxic to chickens. Green-skinned potatoes and uncooked beans are also potentially lethal to your feathered friends.
While you might be tempted to let your chickens feast on all garden scraps, it’s best to avoid the following:
- Green Potatoes and green potato skins
- Tomato Leaves and tomato plants
- Onions
- Potato Leaves
- Rhubarb and Rhubarb Leaves
Safe Foods for Chickens
There are plenty of garden goodies that are safe and healthy for chickens. Most fruits and vegetables, for instance, are excellent treats. Chickens particularly enjoy:
- Ripe tomatoes
- Squash and pumpkin, along with their seeds
- Cucumbers
- Sweet corn and corn on the cob
- Apples (avoid the seeds, though, as they contain cyanide)
Kitchen Scraps for Chickens
The kitchen is another great source of chicken treats. However, just like with garden produce, some kitchen scraps are not suitable for chickens.
What to Avoid from the Kitchen
Some foods from your kitchen can be harmful or even deadly to chickens. Foods high in salt or sugar, heavily processed foods, caffeine or alcohol-containing items, and anything moldy or rotten should never be given to chickens.
Specific items to avoid include:
- Anything Containing Caffeine or Alcohol
- Any Salty foods
- Anything Sugary
- Apple seeds and apple cores
- Avocado (especially the skin and pit)
- Butter
- Candy and Chocolate
- Citrus fruits and citrus peels
- Fried Foods
- Junk food such as chips and pretzels
- Ice Cream, Sherbet, Frozen Yogurt
- Pastries and Sweet Baked Goods
- Rotten or Moldy Food
- Seeds and Pits from fruit
- Soda & Juice
- Uncooked raw beans
- Uncooked Pasta and uncooked rice
Safe Kitchen Scraps for Chickens
Many kitchen scraps are perfectly safe and healthy for chickens. These can include:
- Cooked or leftover vegetables and fruits (be careful with seeds and pits)
- Cooked pasta or rice
- Cooked meats (avoid processed meats like sausages or hot dogs)
- Bread or grains (in moderation)
- Dairy products like cheese and yogurt (in moderation)
Yard Treats for Chickens
If you allow your chickens to free-range in your yard, they’ll have a field day foraging for bugs, grass, and other plant matter. However, some common yard items can be harmful to chickens.
What to Avoid from the Yard
Chickens should not be allowed to ingest certain yard items. These include:
- Azalea
- Ferns
- Foxglove
- Holly
- Large amounts of lawn clippings (can lead to crop issues)
- Lobelia
- Lupine
- Mushrooms
- Nightshades
- Rhododendron
- Oak Leaves and Acorns
- Toads
Safe Yard Treats for Chickens
While you need to be cautious about what your chickens forage in your yard, many items are perfectly safe. Chickens love to peck at grass, clover, bugs, and even weeds.
The Forbidden Five
While the lists above provide a good general guide on what to feed and not feed your chickens, there are five foods that are particularly deadly and should be avoided at all costs. These are:
- Dried or raw beans: Beans contain a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin, which can be fatal to chickens.
- Anything moldy: Certain molds can produce toxins that can harm or even kill your chickens.
- Avocado: All parts of the avocado, especially the skin and pit, contain a toxin called persin, which can cause heart problems and even death in chickens.
- Green potatoes or green tomatoes: These contain a toxin called solanine that can harm chickens.
- Chocolate: Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which can be fatal to birds.
The Bottom Line
While this guide provides a comprehensive overview of what you can and can’t feed your chickens, it’s always a good idea to do your own research if you’re unsure about a certain food item. Remember, when it comes to feeding your chickens, a good rule of thumb is: when in doubt, leave it out.
By being mindful of your chicken’s diet, you can ensure they stay happy, healthy, and productive. After all, a well-fed chicken is a happy chicken! If ducks share the run, the food list is only half the question — here is whether you can raise ducks and chickens together.
What Can Chickens Eat? A Safe Foods List
Chickens are enthusiastic omnivores, and most fresh, whole foods from your kitchen and garden are safe and healthy in moderation. Here is a working list of chicken safe foods, grouped by type, to keep handy when you are clearing out the crisper drawer.
Vegetables: leafy greens (kale, chard, lettuce), cucumber, zucchini and summer squash, pumpkin and winter squash, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, peas, cooked beans, cooked corn, and cooked sweet potato are all excellent.
Fruits: berries, watermelon and other melons, apples (without the seeds), bananas, grapes, peaches and plums (no pits), and pears are favorites. Offer fruit as a treat rather than a staple, since it is high in sugar.
Grains and starches: cooked rice, cooked pasta, oats, cooked quinoa, and small amounts of whole grain bread are fine. Scratch grains like cracked corn are a treat, not a meal.
Proteins: mealworms, cooked eggs (scrambled is fine, and no, it will not make them cannibals), cooked meat scraps, and fish give a welcome protein boost, especially during molt.
Herbs: oregano, basil, parsley, mint, thyme, and dill are safe and many keepers add them to the coop for their aromatic qualities. For a fuller feeding plan, our homemade chicken feed recipes and our guide to what pasture raised chickens eat go deeper.
What Can Chickens Not Eat? Toxic and Unsafe Foods
A handful of foods are genuinely dangerous to chickens, and a few can be fatal. Commit this list to memory, because it matters more than any treat you could offer.
- Avocado skin and pit contain persin, which is toxic to birds. The flesh is much lower risk, but it is safest to skip avocado entirely.
- Chocolate and caffeine contain theobromine and are toxic to chickens, just as they are to dogs.
- Raw or dried beans contain a compound that is deadly to chickens. Only fully cooked beans are safe.
- Green or sprouted potatoes and the leaves and stems of potato and tomato plants contain solanine, which is toxic.
- Onions in large amounts can damage red blood cells and cause anemia.
- Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid and should never be fed.
- Moldy or spoiled food can carry toxins that kill quickly. If you would not eat it, do not give it to your flock.
- Very salty, sugary, greasy, or heavily processed foods are hard on chickens and offer nothing they need.
- Alcohol and anything caffeinated should never be offered.
The 90/10 Rule for Chicken Treats
The simplest way to keep a flock healthy is the 90/10 rule: at least 90 percent of what a chicken eats should be a complete, age appropriate feed, and no more than 10 percent should be treats and scraps. A good layer feed is formulated with the protein, calcium, and vitamins a hen needs, and piling on treats dilutes that balance. Treats are wonderful for bonding and enrichment, but they are the seasoning, not the meal.
What Can Baby Chicks Eat?
Baby chicks should eat a proper chick starter feed for their first several weeks, and little else at first. Starter is built for their fast growth and delicate systems. After a couple of weeks you can offer tiny amounts of treats like chopped greens or a few mealworms, but the moment chicks eat anything other than starter, they also need chick grit, the fine grit that lets them grind food in their gizzard. Keep treats rare and small until they are older, and always keep clean water available. As they grow into layers, our guide on how many eggs chickens lay a day covers what to expect next. Feed quality and storage also affect the crop, so it is worth reading our guide on sour crop in chickens.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can chickens not eat?
Avoid avocado skin and pit, chocolate and caffeine, raw or dried beans, green or sprouted potatoes, potato and tomato plant leaves, large amounts of onion, rhubarb leaves, and anything moldy, very salty, or sugary. These range from unhealthy to genuinely toxic, and some can be fatal.
What vegetables and fruits can chickens eat?
Chickens love leafy greens, cucumber, squash, pumpkin, carrots, broccoli, peas, and cooked corn, plus fruits like berries, melon, apples without seeds, bananas, and grapes. Feed fruit as a treat because of its sugar, and keep all treats to about 10 percent of the diet.
Can chickens eat chicken or eggs?
Yes. Cooked chicken scraps and cooked eggs are both safe and a good protein boost, especially during molt. Cooking eggs first is recommended so hens do not start associating raw eggs with food and pecking their own. It will not turn them into cannibals.
What kitchen scraps can chickens eat?
Most fresh vegetable and fruit trimmings, cooked grains, cooked beans, and plain cooked meat or eggs are great scraps for chickens. Skip anything moldy, very salty, sugary, greasy, or on the toxic list, and keep scraps to about 10 percent of their total diet.
What can baby chicks eat?
Baby chicks should eat chick starter feed almost exclusively for the first few weeks. After a couple of weeks you can offer tiny amounts of treats like chopped greens or mealworms, but any chick eating something other than starter also needs chick grit to digest it, and clean water at all times.
