This is the info that I use to answer the question of “what do chickens eat?. We’re not experts, so we always recommend asking the pros for the best advice. This post contains affiliate links, which may lead to a commission if purchased. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
What Do Chickens Eat?
When it comes to raising your first backyard flock, you may quickly find yourself asking “what do chickens eat”? Don’t worry, the answer is fairly simple. As always, I can only speak from personal experience. But I’m going to go through everything we feed our laying hens for strong egg production and healthy girls.
Here is a list of my answer to the question “what do chickens eat”. As always, let’s break it down more below!
- Layer feed
- Healthy training treats
- Kitchen scraps
- Calcium supplementation
- Grit
- Free range finds
Layer Feed
If you are asking “what do chickens eat” because you’re looking for an egg laying flock, one of the most important nutrition sources for your hens will be chicken layer feed. Once pullets (non-laying female chickens) begin to lay eggs (and become hens), layer feed is an excellent way to provide nutrition to your birds. Layer feed is specially formulated to replenish nutrients the hens lose through laying eggs. One of the most notable traits of layer feed is the presence of calcium supplementation. Some say that layer feed shouldn’t be fed to non-laying birds, as the calcium can build up in their system and cause problems. I feed my chicks starter/grower feed until they start to lay eggs, at which point I switch to layer feed.
Some chicken owners prefer to mix their own feed, especially if they’re after more of a “natural” and organic approach. More power to them! However, chicken nutrition is a complicated process, especially for birds that aren’t free ranging and must have every micronutrient provided to them. Layer feed is probably the easiest way to provide general nutrition to your birds. However, there is a great argument to be made that it isn’t, in itself, enough for the healthiest of flocks. Let’s break down some more options when asking “what do chickens eat” below.
Healthy Training Treats
Healthy training treats are a must when it comes to answering the question of “what do chickens eat”. Sure, treats may seem like a luxury — and at first glance, may even seem unnecessary. However, I’m a huge advocate of healthy training treats for backyard flocks for the following reasons.
- They create obedient flocks that come when called. This is not only a convenience issue, but also a safety issue. It is imperative that lost chickens are obedient enough to come running from any direction in order to come home safely at night.
- The right training treats will provide valuable micronutrients that layer feed doesn’t include. We use GrubTerra, which I’ll go into more below.
- Healthy training treats keep the girls happy and stimulated, too!
Many first-time chicken owners choose to use dried mealworms, simply because they’re popular and readily-available. Mealworms are fine for chickens, but there is a much better, equally tasty option. Instead of mealworms, we use black soldier fly larvae from GrubTerra. They are very similar to mealworms in terms of texture and deliciousness (to the girls), however they have significantly more calcium than mealworms, which is paramount to keeping the girls laying nice hard egg shells. Since we switched from mealworms to black soldier fly larvae, we haven’t needed to supply our hens with oyster shells for calcium. Their eggs are nice and strong all the time. Many thanks go out to GrubTerra for sending us these goodies that the girls love so much!
Make sure to click here and use our code “OAKABODE” for 10% off GrubTerra black soldier fly larvae treats.
Kitchen Scraps
Chickens love a diverse diet, and it is so healthy for them too. For this reason, we love to feed our chickens kitchen scraps. I mean, our girls eat just about everything. Sure, there are some foods they can’t eat. But for the most part, our chickens are our local recycling bins — they turn food that would otherwise go into the trash into farm fresh eggs. What’s better than that?? The more kitchen scraps we feed our chickens, the less layer feed they need us to buy. Our chickens’ favorite kitchen scraps are carbs and meats, but we try not to feed them too much of these since they tend to neglect the veggies and greens if they’re too spoiled.
Okay, I’ll be honest. They’re too spoiled already. But no matter — we still get plenty of eggs from them and they are nice and healthy.
Of course, when asking “what do chickens eat”, it’s important to note that there are some foods not safe or appropriate for chickens. Below are a few examples of what not to feed backyard flocks.
These Foods Are NOT A Safe Answer When Questioning “What Do Chickens Eat”
- Avocado
- Moldy or spoiled food
- Chocolate
- Onions
- Raw potato
- …and other foods unfit for chicken consumption
Now, people can get really uptight about what not to feed chickens. Take a deep breath, and take some comfort in knowing that chickens are decently good about knowing what they can and can’t eat, as long as they have plenty of other food sources to choose from. I used to throw my chickens raw onions and potatoes that were a little past their “best by” date, if you will, and I always wondered why my chickens weren’t eating them. Turns out, I wasn’t supposed to be giving them any in the first place. But fortunately, the girls seemed to know that, and I never lost a chicken (nor did anyone get sick) due to the onions or potatoes. (Of course, I don’t recommend trying it yourself.) Don’t panic if you’ve accidentally tried to feed your hens anything on the various no-no lists. Just make sure to do your research for the future, take the lesson, and move forward! Answering the question of “what do chickens eat” is a learning process.
Calcium Supplementation
Calcium supplementation is especially important for confined backyard flocks. (Really, all supplementation is very important for confined flocks that can’t free range.) A shortage in calcium can result in frail, brittle egg shells. This isn’t only frustrating and messy for the egg collector — it can actually be dangerous for chickens, too. Many backyard flock owners provide calcium supplementation to chickens in the form of oyster shells. This option is fine.
We used to give our girls oyster shells, but we haven’t had to give them oyster shells for years since we started regularly using the GrubTerra black soldier fly larvae with their layer feed. Now, every case is different, so make sure to analyze your flock’s eggshells to make sure they’re getting enough calcium. However, the combination of GrubTerra black soldier fly larvae and layer feed has been an wonderful (and delicious for the girls!) source of calcium for our chickens. Thank goodness I don’t have to deal with oyster shells anymore!
Grit
It is important to make sure your backyard chickens have access to grit, especially if they don’t have access to the outdoors where they can find their own. Grit helps the birds break down the food that they eat. (They use grit instead of chewing.) Grit is especially important for helping birds break down non-commercial chicken feed — such as plants, bugs, and whatever else they may find. Our hens find their own grit by free ranging, but more confined backyard flocks should have a dish available to them to pick from at all times.
Free Range Finds
Perhaps the most simple answer to the question of “what do chickens eat” is the wonderful world of free range finds. This includes bugs, grubs, weeds, grass… basically anything that the girls find during their free range time. I love free ranging my hens — it helps provide them with a wide variety of nutrition that just can’t be artificially supplemented, and it’s fantastic stimulation for them, as well. Chickens were made to free range, and they absolutely love to do it.
Free ranging hens comes with increased risk of predator attacks, so it’s important to weigh the pros and cons before declaring your girls wild and free. However, I find that moderation is the best approach.
Free ranging helps chickens achieve those beautiful dark orange yolks that are such a wonderful trademark to farm fresh eggs. However, if free ranging isn’t an option for you, some recommend supplementing flocks with dried marigold or calendula petals to help darken yolk color. We bought some but haven’t tried it ourselves quite yet!
Answering “What Do Chickens Eat?” Isn’t Complicated
Even though this may seem like a lot of information, I promise that it will become second nature in no time! Once you answer “what do chickens eat” once, it’s pretty easy to remember for the rest of your chicken keeping days. As long as you provide your girls plenty of access to nutrients — or even just access to the outdoors so that they can find their own — they are real hardy little buggers. Don’t let overthinking “what do chickens eat” prevent you from keeping hens. I truly believe they’re some of the most easy-keeper pets available, and learning their nutrient requirements doesn’t take much time at all!