I am constantly tempted to feed our chickens table scraps. I hate throwing things in the trash, so it seems logical to me that I can divert some of our half-eaten meals to the ladies in the backyard. However, I can never remember what is on the “no” list. Since I can’t remember, they wind up with nothing, and my two year old’s unfinished food goes into the trash most days.
Everything is available on the internet, but pulling up a web page after every meal to check the list isn’t going to happen. I finally resolved to put up a list by the back door with all the banned chicken items on it. Yay for organization! When I couldn’t find a cute graphic with the list on it (because a plain list on lined paper just isn’t my style), I decided to make one. I thought I’d share it, in case anyone else is as crazy, borderline obsessive organized as I am.
You can either right click it and save it to your computer, right click and print it, or you can left click it and go to Photobucket where there are more options.
Enjoy!
Oh, and if you want some good articles on the topic of feeding chickens, you can go here: BackyardChickens.com, or ReadyNutrition.com.
*EDIT* 1/22/2016 Thank you to all the visitors who discovered my blog through Pinterest! Since you may or may not be familiar with the rest of my blog, I’d like to say a couple of things here to familiarize you with who I am.
My family and I are amateur backyard farmers. Mostly, I have spent time learning how to garden in the desert of Phoenix, Arizona; we’ve also dabbled in raising chickens. I spent time researching prior to raising our birds, including visiting websites, talking with others who were raising birds, talking to the staff at our local feed store, and reading books from the library. The information on this list is an accumulation of my own personal research. I am not a professional chicken farmer, nor do I pretend to have all the answers. I recommend you do your own research in multiple venues before embarking on the journey of homesteading, raising livestock, or homeschooling your children.
This blog is my way of reaching out to others who may be starting out with either urban homesteading or homeschooling; thank you again for visiting!
It's a Sunshiney Day 
Thanks for this list!! I love it so it will be posted here in Grants Pass, Oregon for my chicken crew too!
LikeLike
i have heard mixed opinions on citrus also. Mine love it!
LikeLike
OK, I want to only feed my chickens what is safe, but I’m from Missouri, the “Show Me State.” Are they unsafe, or provide an unpleasant taste in eggs? I have fed my chickens potato peelings for several years. I dump all my vegetable kitchen scraps in a compost pile. They eat what they want and let the rest compost. I really want to know if they are unsafe. I know apple seeds contain small amounts of arsenic, so I can understand not feeding them apple seeds. Thanks!
LikeLike
Thanks! This is just what I need to hang in my kitchen cupboard.
LikeLike
Our chickens clean up under our apple trees every fall and I have never had an issue-seeds and all. I also throw out in the yard during the winter, any frozen eggs that I did not get out of the nests in time. I figured if it is far enough away from their nests-and so far I am right… 2 yrs running on both and so far so good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great Article! I linked it in my blog post about Raising Chickens (will be posted Feb 13th, 2017) LOVE your ideas and comments! I’ve had chickens before, and never realized they should’t eat apple seeds, we would ALWAYS throw the core into the pen… we’ve stopped that since reading this!
LikeLike
What are your reasons for raw eggs being a bad food for chickens to eat?
LikeLiked by 1 person
The biggest thing I’ve heard, is that feeding chickens raw eggs can encourage the chickens to eat their own eggs. I definitely don’t want my ladies eating my breakfast, so I’ve never given them raw eggs. 🙂 I think you can use your own judgement on that one, though. I always had more than enough other options, so I never worried about giving them raw eggs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well that is different than raw eggs not being safe for chickens. Maybe you should reword how you listed what is and isn’t safe for chickens. Also, it all depends on how you prepare and then distribute the raw eggs.
LikeLiked by 2 people
What is wrong with potato peels or mashed potato? I’m asking because I have recently feed mine both.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Ann,
I’ve read many places that potato peels are not good for chickens. However, I think the bigger issue is with green potatoes or green potato peels. Those contain toxins that are bad for humans, as well as chickens. I hope this helps. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! Here’s a forum that I love where chicken owners chat about the practicalities of raising these lovely birds: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/393883/can-i-feed-my-chickens-potato-peels
LikeLike
Thank you so much I often wonder too what to feed my girls. Ok what about turkeys?
LikeLike
I wish I could answer your turkey question! We have not had the pleasure of raising any other birds, so I have no experience in that area. I’d love to raise my own Thanksgiving turkey one of these days.
LikeLike