The Poultry Keeper The Independent Forum for Poultry Keepers    FAQ   Search     Register   Log in  Kitchen Scraps Goto page 1, 2  Next          The Poultry Keeper Forum Index -> Feeding and Housing Author Message Paul Joined: 08 Apr 2008 Posts: 3 Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:02 am    Post subject: Kitchen Scraps I have 4 hens (Lucia, Miss Mapp, Diva and Mrs Wyse). Three have started to lay and the fourth should start soon. As well as layers pellets and the odd treat of wheat, what kitchen food waste can be fed to hens? I'm sure I must be composting food that the hens would love. Thanks Back to top CP Moderator Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 14966 Location: Hampshire Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:12 am    Post subject: Well, I read you're not really supposed to give hens kitchen scraps but most people seem to, me included! They get any sort of peelings raw, except potato which must be cooked. They love cabbage, Cauliflower leaves etc. Mine not too keen on raw carrot but love it cooked. You can also give them cooked pasta & rice leftovers. I sometimes make up a porridge of bread, anything leftover, porridge oats mixed with hot water & add a tablespoon or 2 of natural yogurt. A small sprinkle of mixed corn or wild bird seed goes in sometimes too. They love it & can never get enough! A definite no-no is avocado, which is poisonous to them. Back to top mojo Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 10189 Location: GLENAY north deux sevre FRANCE Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:15 am    Post subject: and remember that all this wonderous grub is TREATS not main course Back to top Elly Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 238 Location: Norfolk Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:57 pm    Post subject: My chickens love a good helping of cooked pasta and peas We give them this once a week or so for a treat. They also love left over roast potatos and yorkshire pudding I tend to stick with giving them veg, sometimes chopped eggs and litle gem lettuces. Thier absolute favorites are sunflower seeds, which I buy in large bags and bribe them with. Kitchen scraps are OK so long as it is just treats (my thought anyway). Keep smilin Elly Back to top mojo Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 10189 Location: GLENAY north deux sevre FRANCE Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:50 pm    Post subject: sorry to go on............. do you eat children for tea .........then why feed chickens eggs?? canniballism should not be encouraged in any species....................other than that waffle of mine .........think you are doing fine Back to top Elly Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 238 Location: Norfolk Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:32 pm    Post subject: mojo wrote: sorry to go on............. do you eat children for tea .........then why feed chickens eggs?? canniballism should not be encouraged in any species....................other than that waffle of mine .........think you are doing fine Only other peoples and then they must be well cooked Some women still eat their placenta after giving birth as it's very nutritious and not seen as cannaballism Canniballism is very common amoungst animals and seen as perfectly natural. The eggs are cooked, shelled and chopped and do not resemble whole eggs, so that should prevent 'egg eating'. They are full of protein and helped a great deal when we had a broody who would hardly move or eat (I'd go as far as saying they probably saved her life ). The chickens love it so I cant see a problem, its not as though I am feeding them chicken Keep smilin Elly Back to top mojo Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 10189 Location: GLENAY north deux sevre FRANCE Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:06 pm    Post subject: said my bit will shut up now Back to top Autumn Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 307 Location: Suffolk Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:33 pm    Post subject: Ours love blueberries and grapes - so funny as whoever gets one first goes running off with it and the other chases!! I give them walnuts crushed up too.( Thinking of what's going into the eggs!!) Only a few at a time though. Back to top debbie26pet Joined: 06 Jun 2008 Posts: 89 Location: lancs Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:10 pm    Post subject: Elly wrote: My chickens love a good helping of cooked pasta and peas We give them this once a week or so for a treat. They also love left over roast potatos and yorkshire pudding I tend to stick with giving them veg, sometimes chopped eggs and litle gem lettuces. Thier absolute favorites are sunflower seeds, which I buy in large bags and bribe them with. Kitchen scraps are OK so long as it is just treats (my thought anyway). Keep smilin Elly sunflower seeds which ones u use? how often do u feed them, was told they are bad for them and not to give? how often do u give treats? 1-2 times a week or more Back to top rosierosie Joined: 11 Jul 2008 Posts: 7 Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:34 pm    Post subject: Our three girls are on Layers pellets, then every morning I mix layers pellets with hot water and add cooked rice bread, some times grated cheese,I boil up our potato peelings and a couple of small potatos and and to the mash, and give them a big chunk of cabbage every day.They love it some times I give them pasta but they seem to prefer rice.They stay in there run till noon then I let them into the garden and they head straight for the back door for brown bread treats.The girls are 20-21 weeks old all laying and in 2 weeks Penny has given us 9 double yolkers so we must be getting something right. Take Care Rosie(rosierosie) Back to top Elly Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 238 Location: Norfolk Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:21 am    Post subject: Quote: sunflower seeds which ones u use? how often do u feed them, was told they are bad for them and not to give? how often do u give treats? 1-2 times a week or more They have some type of treat everyday, just not the same thing I give them bird grade sunflower seeds (no shell type) a couple of times a week. They absoutely love them and I have never had any problems with them consuming them. Their main feed is a layers mix and a good supply of grit and oyster shell. They have access to this all day. Their free run area is full of bushes, trees, grass etc so they get bugs and greens from there. Each poultry keeper will have their own little ways, but most of them will spoil their birds rotten If your birds are in good health, laying well and happy then you are doing it right Keep smilin Elly[/quote] Back to top Pekinout Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 880 Location: Cornwall Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:58 pm    Post subject: I dont think cannablism is that common in all animals Elly. I have never given my chicken eggs but that doesnt say it's not right or wrong. Just my choice. I've sometimes given wild birds chopped hard boiled egg if they've been poorly. Back to top Elly Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 238 Location: Norfolk Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:20 pm    Post subject: Here is a piece copied from www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/sharkland/cannibalism Quote: Animals usually avoid cannibalism, but not because of any ethical or moral imperative; although consuming the flesh of one's species mates offers a useful source of nutrients, it is also likely to contribute to the spread of pathogens, and, therefore disease. However, a number of studies over the past decade have revealed that cannibalism is surprisingly widespread across the animal kingdom. Groups that occasionally eat members of their own species range from lowly protozoa, slime molds, and sea slugs to insects, spiders, fish, reptiles (including dinosaurs; dinosaur bones have been found bearing the teeth marks of their kind), amphibians, birds, and at least 100 species of mammals, such as hamsters, rats, squirrels, bats, seals and sea lions, otters, polar and grizzly bears, lions, tigers, and chimpanzees. Researchers in New Zealand have even found the remains of a giant squid tentacle within the stomach of another giant squid-evidence that it either ate its compatriot, or accidentally ingested itself. Either option, scientists say, is cannibalism. I have heard of cases of owners finding savaged chicks with bits missing and know from experience what rabbits can do to their young It's just nature. It was on a poultry forum that I was given the idea to feed them chopped eggs and I dont really see that the chickens eating chopped eggs is cannibalism anyway, especially unfertalised ones. Keep smilin Elly Back to top GTB Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 30 Location: Heart of Wiltshire Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:53 pm    Post subject: We hatched some chicks a couple of months ago and promptly lost a few because they wouldn't touch the chick crumb we gave them despite never having this problem before with newly hatched chicks. Our solution, and their salvation, was to hard boil some eggs (free range of course! ) and finely chop them up for the chicks. They soon put on weight and eventually took the chick crumb with no further problems. I have in the past crushed up egg shells into very small pieces and served it with layers mash and spaghetti just to get the nutrients back into the birds for further egg laying. Back to top Spana Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2067 Location: North Cornwall Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:02 pm    Post subject: I waste no food at all. If I slice a loaf I brush the crumbs into my hand and give them to the hens. When i pull carrots and beets in the veg garden i twist off the tops and throw them over the fence to my Highlanders, plus anything else i think they might like. Earlier in the year when I was milking one of the highlanders any spare milk was feed to the hens, they loved it. Im clearing out the freezer and have a lot of frozen eggs about 2years old. Im cooking them in batches of 6 eggs and the hens are getting those. What we dont eat goes to the dog, hens ducks cattle or worms in the wormery. 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