debbie26pet Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 im getting my self together info etc to keeping chickens, what can i feed them what cant i give. greens such as lettuce cauli? fish? rice pasta? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janty Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I have just played it by ear really with regards to the extra treats that I give my girls. They love spinach, lettuce, brocolli, sweetcorn, carrots and cabbage but they hate sprout tops, cucumber and tomatoes. Mine like grapes, apples and pears but all of them hate bananas except for one of my cochins who loves banana. However, other people's hens seem to have very different preferences. With regards to fruit and veg, I haven't heard of anything that they cannot have. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 im getting my self together info etc to keeping chickens, what can i feed them what cant i give.greens such as lettuce cauli? fish? rice pasta? All of those should be fine. You're not supposed to give them farm animal meat - actually, according to the strict DEFRA guidelines you're not supposed to give them any kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s if you prepare meat in your kitchen, but how many people here do it anyway? No, don't answer that! Most fresh fruit and veg is fine, except avocados (which are poisonous to parrots, IIRC, so we tend to err on the side of caution). Mine have never been keen on greens, but love tinned sweetcorn, sunflower hearts and ripe bananas. Caveat: as with humans, too much fruit can give them diarrhoea! Cooked grain and pasta are good, but not too much as it is low in protein and makes them get fat and stop laying. Bread should be soaked in water, I believe, to make it more digestible. They also like yogurt (the plain unsweetened stuff, not Muller Fruit Corners!) - I mix it with layers mash and other goodies to make a nice porridge. Enjoy your chooks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie26pet Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 im getting my self together info etc to keeping chickens, what can i feed them what cant i give.greens such as lettuce cauli? fish? rice pasta? All of those should be fine. You're not supposed to give them farm animal meat - actually, according to the strict DEFRA guidelines you're not supposed to give them any kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s if you prepare meat in your kitchen, but how many people here do it anyway? No, don't answer that! Most fresh fruit and veg is fine, except avocados (which are poisonous to parrots, IIRC, so we tend to err on the side of caution). Mine have never been keen on greens, but love tinned sweetcorn, sunflower hearts and ripe bananas. Caveat: as with humans, too much fruit can give them diarrhoea! Cooked grain and pasta are good, but not too much as it is low in protein and makes them get fat and stop laying. Bread should be soaked in water, I believe, to make it more digestible. They also like yogurt (the plain unsweetened stuff, not Muller Fruit Corners!) - I mix it with layers mash and other goodies to make a nice porridge. Enjoy your chooks! mash do u mean mashed potato lol with out the butter and milk of course ? use it as a treat? what sort of food is best for them in pellets etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 This is probably stating the obvious but their main diet needs to be layer pellets or layers mash. For extras I think most of us have gradually started giving them more (non-meat) leftovers as we see what goes well and what doesn't. My chickens love milky chocolately cereal leftovers the best The kids decided they really didn't like chocolate porridge so for a while as I used up the packet the chickens were very happy ! One of my boys always has lots of milk left in his cereal bowl so I chuck in crumbs and left over bread etc and put that in the chickens bowl (actually a large plastic plant tray). I've tried various leftover fruit and veg and most of it goes well, but I tried giving them the dark green ends of leeks and they have been left - maybe I should have tried cooking them first (BTW you must cook potatoes peelings - raw potato not good for them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 mash do u mean mashed potato lol with out the butter and milk of course ? use it as a treat? what sort of food is best for them in pellets etc? Oops, no! Layers mash is a type of chicken feed - the same stuff that's in the pellets only not made into pellets. It's like a fine dry cereal. You can get it from anywhere that sells other chicken supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 My chickens love milky chocolately cereal leftovers the best Mine too! Mine get leftover Coco Pops from my boys' breakfast most days. along with toast and marmite, porridge etc. My hens have definite preferences - when I take the treat bowl out to them Zee always dives for the toast while Lily prefers anything fruit based. None of them are that keen on veg, even cooked, except for petits pois! Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Here are a few websites I looked at when I was starting out. You get to know what your girls like by trial and error - they all seem to have different tastes! http://www.mypetchicken.com/ebook.aspx?Chapter=7 http://www.perfectpoultry.co.uk/Gen%20advice%20and%20care.htm http://www.urbanchicken.org.uk/index.php/Foods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygal Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Mine turn their noses up at grapes, but love raisins! They also go crazy for sweetcorn...I'm hiding empty tins in the recycling bin from my DH- I KNOW I should be feeding them our leftovers, but they do so like sweetcorn fresh from the tin lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 It's right to say they should eat mostly pellets or layers mash, so it's best to save treats till later in the day. That said, I only see my girls in the morning at the moment, so I give them their greens first thing. They do have very individual tastes, but I find most things get eaten eventually even if they turn their beaks up at first. You must cook potato peelings as they can be poisonous, but almost all vegetables are ok - they love mashed potato, by the way! I give mine cauliflower leaves, cabbage, lettuce, grapes, tomatoes, cucumber - I don't think there's anything they don't eat. I usually save peelings, left-overs, and stuff that's gone a bit limp in the fridge. I must have a reputation in Waitrose as 'that woman who comes in before closing time and buys all the reduced salad stuff'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen&Lee Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I must have a reputation in Waitrose as 'that woman who comes in before closing time and buys all the reduced salad stuff'! Snap Mine love spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, grapes, raisens, they squabble over pasta , mashed potato and natural yoghurt to name a few treats! Citrus fruits are on the list of things not to give them. This morning I left them porridge with raisens and the Vermex worming granules mixed in - that way I know they will have had them Helen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chanters Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 im getting my self together info etc to keeping chickens, what can i feed them what cant i give.greens such as lettuce cauli? fish? rice pasta? I'd echo what many have said on here. The hens staple diet should be layers mash or layers pellets. In addition you can pretty much try them with most foods although I'd avoid meat as it can increase the risk of salmonella in the eggs (that's why it's a huge no no in the commercial egg industry). Mine aren't particularly fussed with their greens but i suppose they have access to a lot of grass. They do love the following though: sweetcorn (we've hung up chunks of cooked corn on the cob and the girls have gone bonkers for it)PastaRicemashed potatoporridge (for the colder months)grapescake (of the homemade variety)Live yoghurtleft over cerealLive mealworms I've tried them with radishes pulled from the garden which they loved although I think one of them got a particularly hot one. She had a bit of a flap and legged it to the drinker. It didn't seem to put her off eating them though. Avoid salty foods and only give treats later on in the afternoon so they don't fill up without getting the nutrients from the layers mash. Be sure to include grit in their diet to help digestion. Chickens are the same as humans (but in most cases not as greedy) treats should only be given occasionally and in small doses in order to keep them healthy. So when do you're new additions arrive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Just have a good trawl through the forum Debbie - someone asked the same question not long ago and there was a long list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 That's right...the answers to all of your questions are here. Have a good read round...there is masses of info available and it will give you a chance to get a feel for the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie26pet Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 thanks u guys very helpful im writing it all down so i know what i need et, im hoping to order/pick some up in next few weeks, was gonna get teh run etc ready this weekend if the weather is nice to me, keeps hail stones today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
