Offer safe kitchen scraps in moderation

Supplement your chickens' diet with safe kitchen scraps, keeping treats to no more than 10% of total daily intake. Good options include leafy greens (kale, lettuce, spinach), cooked rice or pasta, berries, watermelon, cucumbers, cooked squash, and herbs. Chickens also love mealworms, which provide excellent protein at roughly 50% by dry weight.

Why It Works

Kitchen scraps provide dietary variety, enrichment, and reduce household food waste. Leafy greens darken yolk color due to their carotenoid content. However, exceeding the 10% treat threshold dilutes the balanced nutrition from commercial feed, leading to soft eggshells, reduced laying, and obesity — particularly with high-carb or high-fat scraps.

Tips

• Chop large items into pieces smaller than 1 inch for easier eating
• Remove uneaten scraps within a few hours to prevent pest attraction and mold
• Scatter scraps in the run rather than piling them to encourage foraging behavior and reduce bullying
• Avoid citrus in large quantities — while not toxic, it can cause loose droppings and reduce calcium absorption