Should You Feed Your Chickens Table Scraps?

Sharing is caring!

Inside: Should you feed your chickens table scraps? This is a hotly debated topic so I’ll share the pros and cons to help you decide what’s best for your flock.

My friend Leah from Leah-Lynch.com shared something on a social media platform the other day that sparked the idea for this post. She brought up the topic of feeding table scraps to your chickens. Many chicken keepers do it, and both Leah and I do it sometimes too.

But is it the best idea?

Are table scraps harmful to your chickens?

Will feeding your flock food from your table cut your feed bill?

Can feeding table scraps reduce your hen’s egg production?

Let’s explore the answers to these questions.

Affiliate Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you purchase something through a link. It will not change your cost. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, see my disclosures page.)

Are Table Scraps Harmful to Chickens?

Most table scraps won’t hurt your chickens. But just like humans, they shouldn’t eat lots of sugar and highly processed foods. There is virtually no nutrition in these kinds of foods so it is best to avoid feeding them to your birds.

And some foods are actually toxic to your flock, some even in small amounts. This list of 9 foods you shouldn’t feed your chickens is worth a read to be sure you don’t accidentally include these foods in your table scraps, should you decide to go that route.

Will Feeding Your Flock Food From Your Table Reduce Your Feed Bill?

Feeding your chickens food you would otherwise throw away will definitely reduce your feed bill. Anytime you allow your chickens to forage for their own food or provide them with something free instead of chicken feed, it will cut your feed costs.

But you must be careful when trying to save money on feed. Some things can do more harm than good.

Trying to reduce the cost of feeding your flock has led many people to start mixing their own feed too. If you are well versed in chicken nutrition, this can work, but most backyard chicken keepers aren’t familiar on the proper nutritional needs of chickens. And mixing your own feed can cause more harm to your flock.

If you don’t have experience in this area, it is best to leave the formulating of chicken feed to the professionals and just purchase a good quality food for your flock.

So many people decide to save money on feed by giving their flock their leftovers and stale food or food that is past its prime. But will your hens keep laying well while eating less chicken feed?

Does Feeding Table Scraps to Chickens Decrease Egg Production?

While I can’t say this is the case for every flock, my friend Leah and I have both noticed that the more often we feed our flock table scraps, the fewer eggs our chickens seem to lay.

Sure, feeding scraps from the kitchen does cut down on our food bill. But that also means we have to have more hens to account for each chicken laying fewer eggs.

And honestly, it can be hard to figure the math on whether it’s better to have more hens and feed them food scraps or fewer hens that are fed strictly on chicken feed.

Unfortunately, this is one of those gray areas with no right or wrong answer. If you have a large flock, it may make sense to give them your extra scraps as each hen is likely not to eat a whole lot of the food.

However, if you only have a handful of backyard chickens in a neighborhood you may decide it’s not worth the reduction in feed costs if you are also getting fewer eggs. Only you can decide.

Keep in mind, that there can be many other factors that cause a drop in egg production. This post shares many other reasons your chickens may not be laying eggs.

If you decide not to feed those table scraps to your birds, you can certainly compost them instead. Here’s my tutorial on how to start a compost pile in your backyard.

What Are the Best Table Scraps to Feed Your Chickens

If you do want to feed your flock table scraps, you may be wondering what are the best items to feed them. Generally, fruits and vegetables are best, but they can also have meat and some carbohydrates.

Chickens will eat a wide variety of foods, but not everything they eat is good for them. Case in point…my flock LOVES tortilla chips. Dare I say it is their very favorite food? But they certainly don’t get them often and it is usually just the crumbs in the bottom of the bag.

Feeding them cookies, processed foods like potato chips (and tortilla chips) and other junk food means they are filling up on empty calories and not getting the nutrition they need. Kinda like us humans.

So Should You Feed Your Chickens Table Scraps?

Remember each flock of chickens is different and yours may do just fine with lots of table scraps. But if your flock isn’t laying as many eggs as you think they should be, you might try limiting the extras you give them and see if you notice an increase in egg production.

As for me and my family, we have around 35 chickens right now. The few table scraps each bird receives probably won’t be enough to slow the ladies down.

Related Posts

• How Many Chickens Do I Need?
• Do You Need a Rooster in Your Flock?
• Does It Hurt a Chicken to Lay an Egg?

Sharing is caring!