What Can Chickens Eat?

Chickens are great recyclers, but a few foods are genuinely harmful. Here's the quick reference.

Treats should stay under about 10% of the diet, the rest being a complete layer feed. With that in mind:

Yes, chickens love

Most vegetables and trimmings: leafy greens, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes (ripe), carrots, corn, peas, beans (cooked).
Most fruit: melon, berries, apples (no seeds), bananas.
Cooked grains and rice, oats, mealworms, garden bugs and weeds.

No, avoid these

Avocado (pit and skin, persin), raw or dried beans (toxic lectins), green/sprouting potato and tomato leaves (solanine).
Chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, anything moldy or spoiled.
Very salty, sugary, greasy or heavily processed food.
Onions and garlic in large amounts (can affect blood/eggs).

Rule of thumb: fresh, whole, unspoiled plant foods are almost always fine; processed junk, moldy food, avocado and raw beans are the ones to skip.