Feed & Nutrition
What to feed your chickens at every age, plus treats, supplements, and things to avoid.
Chicken Starter Feed: A Complete Guide for Chicks
Chicken starter feed explained: protein levels, medicated vs unmedicated, crumble vs mash, how much to feed, and when to switch chicks to grower feed.
Can Chickens Eat Apples? Yes, But Core Them First
Chickens can eat apples, skin and all, but the seeds carry amygdalin, which releases cyanide. How much a hen would need to eat, how to feed apples, and cores.
Can Chickens Eat Avocado? No, and Here Is the Evidence
Chickens cannot safely eat avocado. Persin in the skin, pit, leaves, and flesh damages the heart in birds. What Merck and the case reports say, and what to do.
Can Chickens Eat Bell Peppers? Fruit Yes, Plant No
Chickens can eat bell peppers, seeds and all. The plant is a nightshade, so leaves and stems stay off the menu. Hot peppers, colors, how much, and chicks.
Can Chickens Eat Blackberries? Berries, Leaves, and Canes
Chickens can eat blackberries, the lowest-sugar berry a flock gets. Leaves and canes, purple droppings, frozen and wild berries, and how many to feed.
Can Chickens Eat Blueberries? Fresh, Frozen, and Dried
Chickens can eat blueberries, and most flocks love them. What they offer, why the droppings turn purple, frozen and dried berries, how many to feed, and chicks.
Can Chickens Eat Bread? Safe, Empty, and Easy to Overdo
Chickens can eat bread in small pieces, but it is salt and starch with no value to a hen. Moldy bread, crop trouble, and better uses for a stale loaf.
Can Chickens Eat Broccoli? Stems, Leaves, Raw or Cooked
Chickens can eat broccoli, raw or cooked, florets to stems. What the goitrogen worry actually amounts to, why a hanging head beats a pile, and how much to feed.
Can Chickens Eat Carrots? Raw, Cooked, Tops, and Peels
Chickens can eat carrots raw or cooked, tops included. Why raw carrots need grating, what beta-carotene does and does not do for yolks, and how much to feed.
Can Chickens Eat Celery? Yes, If You Chop the Strings
Chickens can eat celery stalks and leaves, but long celery strings can bind a hen's crop. How to chop it, how much to feed, and the signs of an impacted crop.
Can Chickens Eat Cucumbers? Peels, Seeds, and Bitter Ones
Chickens can eat cucumbers, peel and seeds included. At 95 percent water they are a hot-day treat. What to do with bitter ones, and how much to feed.
Can Chickens Eat Grapes? Yes, With Two Cautions
Chickens can eat grapes, seeds and all. The kidney damage grapes cause in dogs is not reported in poultry. How many to feed, choking risk, and raisins.
Can Chickens Eat Mushrooms? Store-Bought Yes, Wild No
Chickens can eat store-bought mushrooms raw or cooked. Wild mushrooms are the risk: Merck's poisoning guide, why hens usually ignore them, and what to feed.
Can Chickens Eat Onions? Small Amounts Only, Here's Why
Chickens can eat a little onion, but large amounts damage red blood cells and cause anemia. What Merck and extension say, garlic and green onions, and eggs.
Can Chickens Eat Oranges? The Citrus Myth and Peels
Chickens can eat oranges. No extension source lists citrus as harmful, and the calcium myth has no evidence behind it. Peels, seeds, other citrus, and how much.
Can Chickens Eat Pineapple? Flesh, Core, Skin, and Canned
Chickens can eat pineapple flesh in small amounts. Why the core and skin are not worth the effort, what bromelain does and does not do, and canned pineapple.
Can Chickens Eat Popcorn? Plain Yes, Buttered No
Chickens can eat plain popped popcorn, the best of the starchy treats: high fiber, low sugar. Why butter and salt rule out most bags, and what about kernels.
Can Chickens Eat Potatoes? Cooked Yes, Green or Raw No
Chickens can eat plain cooked potatoes. Green, sprouted, and raw ones are the problem: solanine, and starch that barely digests. Peels, sweet potatoes, amounts.
Can Chickens Eat Rice? Cooked, Raw, and the Swelling Myth
Chickens can eat rice, cooked or uncooked, and the myth that dry rice swells and hurts birds is false. What rice offers, brown vs white, and how much.
Can Chickens Eat Strawberries? Berries, Tops, and Leaves
Chickens can eat strawberries, tops and leaves included. What the berries offer, how many to feed, moldy fruit to avoid, and keeping hens out of the patch.
Can Chickens Eat Watermelon? Rind, Seeds, and Hot-Day Tips
Chickens can eat watermelon, rind and seeds included. Why extension services suggest freezing it for heat waves, how much to feed, and what to skip.
What Can Chickens Eat? The Safe, Limited, and Never Lists
What chickens can eat, what to limit, and the ten foods extension services say never to feed. A sourced table of fruits, vegetables, grains, and scraps.
Can Chickens Eat Bananas? Peels and How Much
Yes, chickens can eat bananas, and the peel is safe too. Here's how much to feed, why sugar is the real limit, and how to serve peels the right way.
Can Chickens Eat Tomatoes? Safe Parts and Risks
Yes, chickens can safely eat ripe tomatoes, but the leaves, stems, and green unripe fruit are toxic. Here's what to feed and how much.
How to Stop Rats and Mice Eating Chicken Feed
Rodents stealing your chicken feed? Here is how to stop rats and mice for good: treadle feeders, smart storage, coop fixes, and what actually works.
15 Best Treats for Chickens (And the Foods to Avoid)
The 15 best treats for chickens, from mealworms and soldier fly larvae to greens and berries, with the research behind each, amounts, and what to avoid.
What Do Chickens Eat? Complete Feeding Guide
A practical guide to feeding backyard chickens at every age, from chick starter to layer feed, treats, supplements, and foods to avoid.