7 surprising rules for feeding chickens and what you need to know (2024)

Feeding your chickens is one of, if not the most important task when it comes to keeping backyard chickens. If you do it right, you'll have a healthy flock that giggles happily every time you bring them one of their favorite snacks or treats.kitchen scraps!

If things go wrong, it can lead to reduced egg production, deformed eggs, feather plucking and other unwanted behavior.

So let's jump right into everything you need to know about feeding chickens.

What should you feed chickens with?

Once you know what you are doing, feeding your chickens is quite simple.

We think what makes it difficult are some of the false myths posted online about what you should and shouldn't feed your chickens (like feeding potato peels to your chickens is bad for them - that's bogus! Chickens love on potato peels).

The basis of any good chicken diet is a high-quality poultry pellet (bron).

We feed our girls' laying hens with pellets, which gives them the right amount of protein and minerals to lay eggs!

Pellets usually contain wheat, salt, corn, sunflower seeds and oats.

Feeding your chickens pellets ensures that they get essential vitamins, nutrients and minerals from their food source to keep them healthy.

This is even more important if your girls don't have much outdoor space, as they won't be getting minerals and salt from the soil.

In addition to their core diet of pellets, you can feed them grains such as corn or wheat to give them some variety.

Chickens love vegetables and fruit and you can give them daily. Our girls love vegetable peelers, bananas, apple cores, carrots and broccoli.

You can safely feed chickens with almost any vegetable or fruit, except raw green peels (such as green potato peels) and citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons.

Remember, they need whole grains, little salt and little sugar.

Does this mean you can't give them leftovers from your dinner? Absolutely not; Wediscuss what kitchen scraps we give our girlslater in the article.

Before we move on to discussing feeding your chickens, we want to conclude this section by discussing how you can ensure that you are feeding your chickens high-quality food.

Your food should be rich in protein, organic and preferably milled in the USA. Good quality feed ensures that your chickens are healthy and lay eggs.

We've shared some of our favorite feeds in the table below.

Comparison table

Buy chicken feed on Amazon

Our choice for an all-in-one automatic chicken coop door

Our selection of treats for our chickens

Our best food choice

Chicken feed crumbles

How to feed chickens

So now you knowWhatyou need to feed your chickens, the next question isHowshould you feed them?

We feed our chickens pellets once in the morning and once in the evening - remember they like to eat small portions, but often.

Some people prefer to throw chicken pellets directly on the ground and let their chickens peck at them. We put our pellets in a chicken trough so that they stay clean and dry.

Our selection ofThe best chicken food

Best black soldier fly larvae

How much should you feed them?

In general, free-range chickens won't eat too much, so you can't face them too much. If you put too many pellets in their food bowl, they won't eat them.

Be sure not to leave pellets or feed them overnight as this will attract pests such as mice.

Over time, you will learn exactly how much feed your chickens need, depending on the breed, how active they are and the time of year.

If you continually find food in the trough, reduce the amount you feed them slightly.

We have twelve hybrids and find that four large handfuls each morning and evening keep them happy.

It would be best if you also made sure to clean up any leftovers. Be aware that leaving them behind can attract insects such as ants and flies, or even attract rats.

Interesting side note: a chicken needs about 4 pounds of chicken feed to produce 12 eggs (bron).

How often should you feed them?

This will depend more on your circ*mstances than the chickens.

If you are retired or spend most of your time at home, you can feed them pellets several times a day.

However, if you are working or away from home all day, it is best to feed them once in the morning and then again in the evening when you get home.

One thing to keep in mind when feeding is securing the most dominant (remember our discussion aboutchopping orders?) chickens do not eat all the food.

If this becomes a problem, consider feeding the weaker birds yourself to ensure they get some nourishment.

Water for your chickens

Watering your chickens is very simple.

You need to make sure they have access to clean, fresh water at all times.

You can put the water in any plastic container, but the easiest way is to buy a drinking container.

If you live in a colder climate during the winter, the water will likely freeze in the evening. So make sure you break the ice and clean the bowl in the morning.

Comparison table

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Feeding Chickens Table Scraps

Of course, no discussion about feeding chickens is complete without discussing table and kitchen scraps.

One of the many benefits of keeping chickens is that the vast majority of your kitchen waste can be fed to them. This gives them a varied diet and you can save some money!

Make sure you feed your chickens healthy foods such as rice, pasta, oats, fruits, vegetables and whole wheat bread. As a general rule, if you can eat it, so can they.

However, this excludes any fatty foods or foods high in salt.

When we feed our girls leftovers, we tend to cut them into small (miniature) pieces and throw them on the floor in their cage. We only place pellets in their troughs.

You'll be surprised at the leftovers your chickens eat: pizza, spaghetti and porridge, to name a few!

Before feeding your chicken scraps, check local regulations as in some places (like Great Britain), this can surprisingly be illegal.

5 healthy treats

Wow, these chickens sure are spoiled! Between their pills and leftovers, we're surprised they still want to eat... but they do.

Here are our girls' top 5 healthy treats that we treat them to every now and then:

1. Or me:They absolutely love worms.
2. Pumpkin:This includes pumpkin seeds.
3. Apple cores:Throw the apple cores directly into the pen.
4. Broccoli:For some reason they can't get enough of it!
5. Pap:However, they only eat this during the winter months.

What not to feed them

We've covered many foods you shouldn't feed to chickens throughout the article, so we won't repeat them.

Other foods you shouldn't feed chickens include avocado, rhubarb, garlic, candy, and highly processed foods (such as chips).

Keep in mind that if you can eat it, so can chickens.

Feeding method

It would be best if you fed chickens from the ground. It may sound like the opposite of any old movie that shows chickens.

You probably imagine a farmer in an apron casually tossing corn to his chickens.

Although the picture is picturesque, the conditions for us may be slightly different.

For example, your chickens cannot roam freely, which means they are in a small enclosed space.

This means that they live among their feces.

Throwing food on the ground in a chicken coop is not the same as throwing a few snacks to chickens busy in the garden.

Mixing feed with manure can lead to parasitic infectionsspread of diseases, ofcoccidiosis.

It is best to use a tray,feeder, or your optional right to feed your chickens and keep their food out of their own droppings.

What can happen if their diet is not good?

A great email we received from a reader last week was: 'How do I know if my chickens' diet is bad?

The first thing to say is that if you notice a significant change in their eating habits, make sure you get them seen by a vet as soon as possible.

But if their diet is not good, there will be certain signs such as

Reduced egg production:If the season has not changed and their egg production changes significantly, this could indicate that something is wrong with their diet.

General restlessness and feather picking:Again, if the season hasn't changed and they're plucking their or each other's feathers, it could mean their diet is incorrect.

Abnormal eggs:if you notice that the eggs they lay are too small or consistently contain double yolks, this indicates that their diet is not good.

If you're looking for a handy cheat sheet,Definitely check this out, produced by the Australian Department of Agriculture.

Frequently asked questions about chicken feeding rules

If you still have any doubts, the following questions and answers can clear it up with ease.

Is it illegal to feed a chicken chicken?

Yes, in many places, including the US, you cannot legally feed chicken. This is because it is illegal to feed an animal meat that comes from the same animal.

This law helps reduce the risk of diseases that only affect certain species.

What is not safe for chickens to eat?

It would be best if you never feed your chickens avocado (especially with skin and pit), candy, chocolate, citrus fruits, dry beans, spoiled or moldy food, green potato skins, or junk food.

Should I feed my chickens if they are free-range?

Yes, even if your chickens are free-range, you should feed them.

It would be best if you considered access to grass as a supplement to their diet. It would help if you still gave the chickens the essential nutrients they need.

Remember that they need good nutrition to stay healthy.

Why is it illegal to feed chicken mealworms in some states?

It is simply not suitable for your chickens to feed insect protein. While not all areas prohibit this, some do. The problem stems from the fact that most mealworms and other insects dried for use in protein are usually raised eating animal protein and waste.

This is not good for your chickens because you have no control over the feed quality or even whether the mealworms eat chicken meat.

What happens when you feed a chicken chicken?

Remember: don't feed chicken. This increases the risk of diseases that only affect chickens and is illegal in most areas.

That said, no one will know if you feed chickens leftover chicken scraps. If you do this, they will simply pick off the soft tissue, fat, skin and meat and eat it. They won't eat the bones because they physically can't.

Let us know what your chicken's favorite treat is in the comments below.

Our choice for an all-in-one automatic chicken coop door

Our selection of treats for our chickens

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