WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Almonds Yes

Raw amaranth contains growth depressing

Amaranth, raw No
antinutrients

Amaranth, cooked or extruded Yes

Typically chickens won’t eat ants. Be sure no

Ant Yes
pesticides were used on any colony

Apple Yes

Apple, seeds No Contain cyanide

Apricot Yes Remove pit

Artichoke Yes

Asparagus Yes May alter egg taste

Avocado No Contains Persin, which is potentially fatal.

Banana Yes

Banana, skin or peel Yes Safe to eat, though they usually ignore it

Basil Yes Benefits the immune system

Bean sprouts Yes

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Beans Yes ONLY cooked beans, never dry

Beet, leaves/leafs/greens Yes

Beet Yes

Bell pepper Yes

Black Soldier Fly Larvae Yes

Bird Seed Yes

Blueberries Yes

Feed in moderation, as it contains nearly no

Bread Yes
nutritional value

Broccoli Yes

Brussel Sprout Yes

Butter No Too fatty for chickens

Cabbage Yes

Cantaloupe Yes

Cantaloupe, seeds Yes

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Capsaicin Yes Chickens cannot taste capsaicin

Carrots Yes

Only feed in moderation, best to restrict to

Cat food, wet Yes
when birds are molting

Cauliflower Yes

Celery Yes

Cheese Yes In moderation

Cherries Yes Remove pit

Cherry, pits No Contains cyanide

Chia Seed Yes Dried or gelled is ok

Chicken Bone Yes Only if cooked

Chicken, cooked Yes

Chicken, raw No Risk of salmonella

Chili Yes

Chives Yes In small quantities, and only occasionally

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Chocolate No

Cilantro Yes

The verdict is out on this one. Some say it’s ok,

Citrus Maybe? others say it will interfere with calcium
absorption and cause soft eggshells

Coconut Yes

Coffee grounds No Caffeine is not good for chickens

Collard Greens Yes

Corn Yes

Corn, husk Yes

Corn, on cob Yes

Cornbread Yes

Feed in moderation, chickens cannot process

Cottage Cheese Yes
large quantities of dairy

Cranberry Yes

Crawfish/crawdads, meat and shell Yes

Crickets Yes

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Cucumber, peels Yes

Cucumbers Yes

Only feed in moderation, best to restrict to

Dog food Yes
when birds are molting

Edamame Yes do NOT feed uncooked soy

Egg shell Yes Great source of calcium

Only feed cooked eggs, so they don’t start

Egg, boiled/scrambled/cooked Yes
eating their own eggs

Much debate on whether raw eggplant is safe

Eggplant Maybe? for chickens, as it is in the nightshade family.
Cooked is safe for chickens

Eggplant, leaves No Contains Solanine

Eggs Yes Cooked only, to prevent encouraging egg eating

Fish Yes

Flax seed Yes

French Fries No Salty/fatty foods are unhealthy

In small quantities. Excellent water additive

Garlic Yes
for immune support

Ginger Yes Great antioxidant and stress reducer

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Obviously, this is not meant to be a primary

Goat food Yes food source. But no harm will come if they
get in the goat feed

Grape Yes

Grapefruit Maybe? See- Citrus

Don’t feed grass clippings with any weed

killer, pesticides or fertilizers applied. Use
Grass cuttings Yes
caution with longer cuttings, as they could
lead to crop impaction

Green beans Yes

Green peppers Yes

Grits Yes

Ham Yes In moderation due to salt content

Honey Yes

Honeydew Yes

Kale Yes

Kidney beans Yes MUST be cooked

Kiwi Yes

Lemon Maybe? See- Citrus

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Lettuce Yes

Maggots No Risk of botulism

Consider ordering a Starter Kit and save $$

Mealworms Yes
by raising your own
Avoid fat, only feed cooked scraps, and only in
Meat scraps Yes
moderation

Mice Yes See- Rodents

Minnows Yes

Mushrooms, store bought Yes

Mushrooms, wild No Potentially toxic

Nightcrawlers Yes

Nuts Yes Only shelled and unsalted

Oatmeal Yes Only shelled and unsalted

Oatmeal, uncooked Yes

Oats Yes

Okra Yes

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Olives Yes Limit cured olives due to salt

Can flavor eggs in smaller quantities. In larger

Onion No
amounts, can cause anemia

Orange Maybe? See- Citrus

Orange peels Maybe?

Excellent for immune health & as a water

Oregano Yes
additive

Papaya Yes

Feed in moderation, as it contains nearly no

Pasta Yes
nutritional value

Peaches Yes Remove pit

Peanut Butter Yes

Peanuts Yes

Pears Yes

Peas Yes

Pecans Yes

Pepper seed Yes Only shelled and unsalted

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Peppers Yes

Pickles Yes Limit due to salt

Pineapple Yes

Plum Yes Remove pit

Pomegranate Yes

Popcorn, popped Yes Unsalted, unbuttered only

Popcorn, unpopped Yes

Porridge Yes

Potato, cooked or mashed Yes

Potato, peel No Contains Solanine

Potato, raw No Contains Solanine

Potato, sprouted No Contains Solanine

Pumpkin Yes

Pumpkin, Seeds Yes

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Only washed or cooked, as raw contains
Quinoa Yes
saponins unpalatable to poultry

Radishes, and greens Yes

Raisins Yes

Raspberries Yes

Raw chicken No Risk of salmonella

Rhubarb No Contains some oxalic acid

Rhubarb, leaf NO! Highly toxic, contains oxalic acid

Rice Yes Cooked only

Rice, brown Yes Cooked only

Rice, cooked Yes

Rice, uncooked No

Chickens naturally eat rodents. It is a good

idea to keep poisons out of the area so
Rodents Yes
chickens do not eat a poisoned mouse, leading
to the bird being poisoned

Scrambled Eggs Yes

Seaweed Yes

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Shrimp, meat and shell Yes

Snails Yes Can carry gapeworm

Spinach Yes

Squash Yes

Strawberries Yes

String beans Yes

Sunflower Seeds Yes Great for molting birds

Sweet Potato Yes

Raisins Yes

Tomato, ripe fruit Yes

Tomato, leaf or green fruit No Contains Solanine

Turkey Carcass Yes Cooked only

Walnuts Yes Only shelled and unsalted

Watermelon Yes

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WHAT CHICKENS CAN AND CANNOT EAT

Food Yes/No Special considerations

Watermelon, rind Yes

Wheat Yes

Wheat Berries Yes

Xylitol No

Yam Yes

Feed in moderation as chickens cannot digest

Yogurt Yes
milk. Good for probiotics

Zucchini Yes

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 WHAT NOT TO FEED CHICKENS

Food Special considerations

Alcohol Alcohol is not good for chickens

Amaranth, raw Raw amaranth contains growth depressing antinutrients

Contains Persin, which leads to myocardial necrosis (death

Avocado
of the heart tissue) in poultry

Butter Butter is too fatty for chickens

Chocolate Poisonous to most pets, also contains caffeine

Some sources say no as citrus can inhibit calcium absorption

Citrus
leading to soft eggshells, others say that citrus is ok to feed birds

Coffee or tea Caffeine is not good for chickens and can cause

Dry beans Contains hemagglutinin (causes blood clots)

Eggplant/pepper leaves Contains Solanine (kills red blood cells and causes heart failure)

Fried Food Too fatty for chickens

Maggots Risk of botulism

Can flavor eggs in smaller quantities. In larger amounts,

Onions
can cause anemia

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 WHAT NOT TO FEED CHICKENS

Food Special considerations

Raw chicken Risk of salmonella

Raw Eggs Could encourage egg eating by flock

Rhubarb Contains oxalic acid (causes liver damage)

Stone Fruit pit, apple Contains cyanide (prevents blood cells from delivering
seeds oxygen to tissue)

Tomato leaves/green
Contains Solanine (kills red blood cells and causes heart failure)
fruit

Uncooked Potato Contains Solanine (kills red blood cells and causes heart failure)

Uncooked rice Potential to swell in the digestive system, causing blockages

Potentially toxic since they are unidentified. Human

Wild mushrooms
edible mushrooms are ok

Xylitol Xylitol is not good for any pet, including dogs, cats and birds

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 WHAT NOT TO FEED CHICKENS

Sources
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-
chickens.47738/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/are-grass-clippings-bad-for-your-chickens.760044/

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/food-hazards/avocado

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/Nutrition-Amaranth.html

http://www.dummies.com/home-garden/hobby-farming/raising-chickens/plants-that-are-poisonous-to-
chickens/

http://www.oldfashionedfamilies.com/things-you-should-and-should-not-feed-chickens/

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/feeding-chicken-scraps-to-chickens/

https://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/poultry/feed-health/what-is-coconut-oil-good-for-chickens/

https://www.backyardchickencoops.com.au/herbs-for-hen-health-ginger

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20075283/

http://articles.extension.org/pages/67473/feeding-quinoa-to-poultry

http://articles.extension.org/pages/65717/seaweed-in-poultry-diets

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/cyanide-poisoning

https://www.petmd.com/bird/slideshows/8-foods-are-toxic-birds

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