Tag: chicken table food

At what age are chickens considered adults and can be fed adult foods?

Between 16 and 24 weeks generally speaking, chickens are said to be adults when they reach the point of sexual maturity and begin laying eggs. This typically occurs when the chickens are between 16 and 24 weeks of age, depending on breed, but even some individuals within a breed will develop more quickly or slowly than others. That being said 18 weeks is a good age to start them on oyster crumbles for that extra calcium (off subject but wanted to throw that in).

List of foods you CAN feed to your chickens

Apples	Raw, cooked and applesauce
Asparagus	Raw or cooked
Bananas	Without the peel
Beans and green beans	Well-cooked only, never dry
Beets	Greens and cooked root
Berries	All kinds
Breads	Only in small amounts, preferably soaked in ACV
Broccoli & Cauliflower
Cabbage & Brussels Sprouts	Whole head
Carrots and tops	Raw and cooked
Catfood	Wet and dry- Feed in strict moderation, perhaps only during moulting
Cheese	Including cottage cheese
Cooked Chicken
Corn	On cob and canned, raw and cooked
Crickets (live)	Can be bought at bait or pet-supply stores.
Cucumbers	Let mature for yummy seeds and flesh
Eggs	Hardcooked and scrambled are a good source of protein, and a favorite treat.
Eggplant	.
Fish/Seafood	Cooked only.
Flowers -Marigolds, nasturtiums, pansies, etc	Make sure they haven’t been treated with pesticides, such as florist flowers might be.
Fruit	Pears, peaches, cherries, apples
Grains	Bulgar, flax, niger, wheatberries,etc.
Grapes	Seedless only. For chicks, cutting them in half makes it easier for them to swallow.
Grits	Cooked
“Leftovers”	Only feed your chickens food items which are still considered edible by humans, don’t feed anything spoiled, moldy, oily, salty or unidentifiable.
Lettuce / Kale	Any leafy greens, spinach collards, chickweed included.
Mealworms	Available at pet supply stores or on the internet
Meat scraps of any kind.	Not too fatty, A good source of protein in moderation.
Melon	Both the seeds and the flesh are good chicken treats.
Oatmeal	Raw, fermented or cooked
Pasta/Macaroni	Cooked spaghetti, etc.
Peas	Peas and pea tendrils and flowers
Peppers (bell)	.
Pomegranates	Raw
Popcorn	Popped, no butter, no salt.
Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes/Yams	Cooked only—avoid the green parts of peels!
Pumpkins/Winter Squash	Raw or cooked seeds and flesh
Raisins	.
Rice	Cooked only
Scratch grains	Scratch is cracked corn with grains (such as wheat, oats and rye) mixed in, not a complete feed.
Sprouts	Wheat and oat sprouts are great!
Summer Squash	Yellow squash and zucchini
Sunflower Seeds	Sunflower seeds in the shell are fine to feed, as well as shelled.
Table scraps	Avoid forbidden foods and fish bones, but otherwise safe.
Tomatoes	Raw and cooked.
Turnips	Cooked.
Watermelon	Served cold, it can keep chickens cool and hydrated during hot summers.
Yogurt	Plain or flavored

Have a blessed day!