Yeah, it's amazing what disgusting things chickens can and will eat! Mine have a love of those styrofoam packing peanuts, of all things!!!
- Velvet Sparrow on Garden Web
I avoid giving them chicken....I've read that feeding chickens food with garlic, onion or peppers can give an unpleasant tast to the eggs, although I've never had a problem with that....No, sugary cereals or pizza crusts aren't ideal chicken food, just like they aren't ideal people food.
- annethcz on Ethics of Feeding Chickens Table Scraps
Mine love cooked chicken and eggs and raw eggs and I throw them all the egg shells back to them. Also, My chickens are offered raw vegies/fruits such as cucumbers, carrots, brocoli, celery, zuccini, grapes and they ignore it and don't eat it. They do love tomatoes, corn on cob, lettuce, watermelon and canteloupe....A couple of weeks ago we found a smashed mamma mouse under a board and beside her was a nest of 5 newborns that would have died a slow cruel death so my son threw them into the chickens and they also gobbled them up. I figured they were no different than eating some kind of bug. I hope they werent diseased now that I think about it, but doesnt other bugs carry diseases such as cockroaches that they eat.
- ibmoore from Garden Web
Admittedly, those are some of the more wild responses, but it does prove my point that backyard-chicken diets are as varied as people-diets. Here's the advice that rang most true for me:
Give treats as treats. Treats are not a meal. Use them just as you would use treats with children. There's nothing wrong with a bowl of ice cream after dinner. There's a lot wrong with a gallon of ice cream FOR dinner. Used in the right fashion, Treats are very beneficial for your birds. They add joy to their day and heighten their spirit. Treats are a spot of sunshine in their day. Used sparingly, you'll be doing them justice.
- The Easy Chicken
In summary, I'd say Ted and I were both kinda right. Giving the birds table scraps is even more environmentally-friendly than even composting, and the girls do go nuts for people food. But we want them to be healthy and we do after all, eat their eggs, so let's not get to generous with the rotten food.
Here's what everyone seems to agree upon:
Absolute No-No's
Chocolate (toxic for birds)
Curry (bad effects on their droppings)
Potato Peels
Lots of Salt
Chicken (obvious reasons)
Good in Moderation
Spaghetti (reminds them to eat worms)
Grapes (they love them and people love watching them bounce away from their pets)
Rice (optimal shape for pecking)
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