Chickens have a good range of diet.
From the feeds up to the wild food that they can hunt during foraging, they will survive.
They pretty much eat anything
But does that mean we can give them our scraps of food that’s leftover
One question that is asked is – Can Chickens Eat Vegetable Scraps?
Table scraps and leftover foods are safe for chickens to eat, as long as they do not contain anything that can upset their health.
Most chicken owners also give their vegetable scraps to avoid wasting food.
This is actually a good practice as well, as long as the food is still nowhere near rotting yet.
It is safe and even healthy for chickens to eat vegetable scraps, regardless of whether it is raw or cooked.
Here’s a question though
Can they eat any vegetables?
Does that mean you can be careless and feed them any vegetables leftover regardless of what it is?
Nope!
You still have to be careful what you give your chickens
Let’s find out what vegetables you should not feed to your chickens
What Vegetables Cannot Be Fed To Chickens?
No matter how healthy and nutritious vegetables can be, not all of them are safe for chickens to consume.
Vegetables are safe to eat, however, except for the leaves of those that belong to the nightshade family.
Avoid giving your chickens the leaves of potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants.
Unfortunately, these vegetables are toxic for chickens, especially their leaves.
It is also best to feed vegetables that are organically grown to avoid any harmful possibilities.
What Scraps Not To Feed Chickens?
Of course, not all scraps (or human food) are safe for chickens to eat.
Some scraps can bring more troubles and dangers to their health once they have eaten them.
For instance, food that has a lot of caffeine, fat, and salt content will endanger their health.
Do not also attempt to give your chickens some processed foods since the chemicals and oils present in these scraps are not safe for consuming.
Some sweets like chocolate are banned as well since they can be pretty toxic to your chickens.
You should be very careful what food you’re giving to your chickens
In all honesty, it’s best you avoid feeding your chickens leftover
Unless you know it’s 100% safe and it’s still fresh but overall you’d rather give them their own food or freshly grown fruits and vegetables
Can Chickens Eat Veg Peelings?
Have you ever peeled a vegetable, then wondered if the vegetable peelings can be put to some use?
Well, if you own chickens, you can simply give these peelings to them and they will happily eat them.
Vegetable peelings are safe for your chickens to eat, except for the potato peels.
The latter has a substance that is lethal to chickens, so simply discard their peelings.
But other than potatoes, any vegetable peelings are safe for consumption.
Can Chickens Eat Banana Peels?
Bananas have a lot of uses and they are incredibly a big waste if you simply discard even their peels.
If putting them in compost is not possible, consider giving these banana peels to your chickens.
The flesh of the bananas is widely nutritious, and so are their peels.
It is full of different vitamins and minerals, like vitamins A, C, B6, and B12.
Banana peels are also rich in minerals that are extremely helpful in keeping your chickens healthy.
Some of these minerals are fiber, magnesium, and potassium.
Are Tomatoes Toxic For Chickens?
Nightshade plants are poisonous to chickens, but it is only true for their leaves.
The fruits, such as tomatoes, eggplants, and pepper, are safe for your fowls to eat.
Hence, you can feed ripe tomatoes to your chickens, and let them enjoy the benefits and nutrients of these vegetables and fruits.
Tomatoes are safe for your chickens, but make sure you are still feeding them a proper diet.
The high amounts of sugar present in tomatoes might cause an unwanted health issue for your chickens.
So, it is better that you avoid giving your chickens too many tomatoes rather give in moderation or rarely as a small treat
Wrapping Up
Chickens can safely eat vegetable scraps.
They will even gain several nutrients that they need for their body through them.
Most vegetables are nutritious and delicious food for chickens, so they are also great supplementary foods in their diet.
Just be extra wary when the vegetable you are attempting to give belongs to the nightshade family.
Although the fruits and the vegetables themselves are safe to eat, never give the leaves to your chickens.
They contain toxic substances that will seriously put them in danger.
