Mary Allen
Kitchen scraps are always welcome with chickens. But not all leftovers are suitable for chickens. An overview.
What practical animals chickens are: they happily eat whatever is leftover in the kitchen and would otherwise end up in the green waste. They are seldom choosy and happily peck at leftover apples as well as pseudowords aka yesterday’s spaghetti. Useful omnivores that also lay an egg (almost) every day. What more does a person want?
According to the biological definition, omnivores (so-called omnivores) are species that eat both plant and animal food. Accordingly, chickens are also considered omnivores. This is because they roam around in their natural habitat to peck at grains, snails, larvae, insect eggs, worms, germs, seeds, sprouts, grass, and berries. In this way, they get a mixture of animal protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals that they need every day.
But chickens are like us humans: not everything they like to snack on is also good for them. “Chickens eat until they are full of energy,” says poultry expert Danielle Albiker from the Swiss poultry competence center Aviforum. This means that they prefer grains or carbohydrate-rich food. In the case of kitchen waste, pasta, potatoes, or bread are therefore devoured before the greens and the important protein and minerals. Therefore, there is not much appetite left for less filling foods, which in turn provide valuable nutrients such as vitamins or minerals.
If chickens are given too much energy-rich feed over a long period of time, they will become fat. This not only affects health, but the hens also lay fewer eggs as a result. Private attitudes are particularly affected by well-intentioned generosity: it’s easy to throw too much at a small flock of chickens, even if the heap of kitchen waste doesn’t look like much. It should also be noted that chickens do not tolerate acidic, spicy, and salty foods well. For example, they hardly eat any salt, even in their natural environment. Therefore, one should be cautious with bread, for example. Anything that is rotten, rancid, or moldy also does not belong in the feeding bowl, including fermented fruit. Therefore, you should only give leftovers in small quantities and dispose of them daily.
Pieces Suitable for the Beak
Meat is a special feature of the menu: Many chicken owners do not even know that in this country it is forbidden by law to feed the poultry animal protein – including meat – to protect against transmissible animal diseases. All those who sell eggs and not only consume them themselves must comply with this. Although the chickens themselves don’t mind a nice little meal of meat, a fat earthworm will eventually be devoured with relish, law or not.
Whether kitchen leftovers are suitable for poultry depends, among other things, on their size and shape. Chickens peck at their food, and what cannot be chopped up with their beak must be swallowed whole. If, for example, the pasta or pieces of cucumber are too large, it can lead to goiter constipation. Even though vegetable peels can hardly be broken up with the beak, so the chickens often leave them lying around.
Visual stimuli also play a role in the choice of food: an object the size of a grain of grain has a good chance of being viewed as interesting by the eye. Another aid in the sense of touch, located at the tip of the beak, allows the chicken to determine what the object is like.
So if all unhealthy parts are sorted out of the kitchen waste and large pieces are cut into beak-sized pieces, the animals get a useful addition and a welcome change to the daily ration of chicken feed. Especially in winter, when there is no fresh grass, leftover vegetables and lettuce are particularly valuable as a source of vitamins. In addition, chickens can tolerate high-energy feed when it is very cold or during the molt, and it can sometimes be a little more pasta.
First the Vitamins, Hearty Later
According to Danielle Albiker, it makes sense for animals to eat supplements rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins in the morning so that the daily requirement is covered. Hearty, high-energy food such as whole grains or high-carbohydrate and high-fat kitchen scraps should ideally be fed in the early afternoon. At least one hour before the flock of chickens retire to the coop to sleep in the night, they should eat supplementary feed with the important calcium for eggshell formation. It is important to have enough fresh water and grit available at all times.
There are several common feeds for chickens. Anyone who feeds kitchen waste should definitely use supplementary feed to grains. This covers the need for proteins, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium and is always offered “at discretion” to ensure an adequate supply.
The daily amount of feed per animal differs depending on the product and is stated on the packaging. Grains, on the other hand, should be weighed precisely, for example, 25 grams per chicken and day, correspondingly less for dwarf breeds. This ensures that the hens have a full and sufficient supply for egg production. You have to estimate for yourself how much food leftovers it can tolerate. In any case, chickens, as curious omnivores, prefer a varied diet to the daily monotony.