Chicken feed info...

[mrstugga]

The only thing that is an absolute NO NO to feed chickens is avocados! Skin, seeds or fruit. It is poisonous to them and all types of birds. Potato & Onion should be cooked so it is easier for them to eat. They can even eat a small amount of chicken meat, but large amounts can end in a similar way to mad cow.

[talia rose]

Thanks for this!

[mamayogibear]

good info. my dd had been giving avocado peels to the chickens here. we pretty much give them all of our table scraps except for the yerba mate tea. i guess from now on i'll try not to treat my moms pet birds as garbage disposals.

[BabyFireFly]

My little flock practically runs me over trying to get to their "scrap heap" each morning. I keep a little covered bin in the kitchen and just toss all the non-meat scraps in throughout the day and it's an absolute chicken holiday the next morning.

The hens seem to produce a more quality egg, and I still have an abundant supply when everyone else is complaining that their "production rates" have dropped off.

After Halloween I had a bunch of pumpkins that were uncarved, so I roasted the seeds and canned most of the flesh for pies and gave the rest to the flock. I expected them to clean out the rinds and stuff...but they ate EVERYTHING. There was nothing left!

In the spring I am planting a "chicken garden" to grow them their own greens since they pick down everything in their pen so fast, even on rotation. It's a shame that I cannot just let them loose because we have over 50 acres, but our land is home to tons of hawks and little cover in most parts.

[mattemma04]

My hens love eating apples.I toss a few in the coop with some scratch and BOSS.

For grass in the run I saw aset up at BYC where they built a garden bed with timber,and covered the top with hardware cloth fencing.The grass grew through the fencing,and the hens could walk on it and nibble.They kept it *mowed*,but never able to kill it due to the wire fencing.She also added some concrete blocks here and there under the fence,so the weight of the chckens did not push the fence all the way down.