[shaunie]

  mine love all that stuff as well cos they will eat almost anything i love too give mine boiled spaggetti try that and watch them run around its so funny 

[poultrygeist]

Hi id like to know the reason why hens shouldnt eat avocados, we have avocado trees and my hens had a really good fill last year, nothing happened to them just like to know why, TOP CAT

According the Merck veterinary manual, Avocados contain Persin which is toxic to many animals, including chickens, although they are more resistant to it than many other animals.
A direct quote about the effects says that " Birds develop lethargy, dyspnea, anorexia, subcutaneous edema of neck and pectoral regions, and death."

Probably best to avoid.

Rob

[NormandyMary]

Mine love rice, pasta, marmite sandwiches, baked beans, mashed potato, but most of all, bananas. They love the rice if its fried in the wok with veg. Infact they seem to really love my cooking!

[raeburg]

Mine really hate bananas!  They love rice, pasta and cold chips!  and they really appreciate a bowl of porridge  on a cold morning!

[maggimae]

Hi,   I agree, hens will eat pretty much anything. Mine get cooked potato peelings mixed with layers mash in the mornings and during the day , some kibbled maize and whatever scraps are going, no meat of course, cats get that. I think their favorite treat is a whole corn cob. They spend hours pecking away at that . Mine will not eat swede peelings cooked though they will sometimes peck at it raw. I usually give it to the sheep or pony. I also keep parrots and avocado is a definite no-no for them, the reason being the high fat content. Left over spaghetti causes great excitement, they think it is a pile of worms and run round with lengths trailing from their beaks !!! I give it a good rinse first in case they get too much salt. Mine will also pick out any carrots or peas from their mash.

[karlooben]

mine eat anything but are not to keen on tommys ,, i gave them one this morning with all other stuff an they left that behind .when i was cleaning out the shed this afternoon i shouted out to my mum an friend ' ohh look mouldy gross egg ' mum only shouted out 'omggggg look at that egg what they done to it ' lmao  then she relaised it was the tomatoe  it was so funny

[woodburner]

OMG what a lot of law breakers we have here! DEFRA will come and arrest you all! ROFLMAO

Chickens are omnivores so eat pretty much anything.
Avocado is very bad and I think lupin seeds, too. Lettuce, or tomatoes are supposed to be not good in quantity. Also raw potato peelings (don't know why though  ). I'd not feed mine stuff from the table on account of the salt content, but I'm probably being over-cautious on this one.

Despite DEFRA saying you must not feed any livestock kitchen waste or anything intended for human consumption, there isn't really much wrong with feeding them veg peelings, or meat trimmings. Do be aware of the potential for salmonella contamination though.
Feeding them a lot of refined starch is not a good idea for the same reasons as it's not good for humans.
Bearing in mind the effect on the nutrient content of their meat and eggs it's much healthier (for us at least and probably the chooks too) to feed them more greenstuff, including the illegal veg peelings, than grain based stuff (including comercial chicken feed!)

[debsea]

 :wub:mine love marmite - on wholemeal bread of course. its a brilliant way to give the worming powder which they turn their beaks up at in most other forms

[poultrygeist]

And as I've said many times before, Marmite is an excellent source of vit B and other nutrients but be careful of the salt.
Good for an occasional treat.

Tastes disgusting though 

Rob

[BestBreast]

Guess you don't like marmite? doubt mine will get to try, too precious. lol

[poultrygeist]

Strange, mad person 

[FCG]

Wonder if Vegemite would be better than Marmite?

I feed mine all kinds of table scraps. Their favourite is definitely broccoli and pasta.

If i remember correctly too much spinach at one sitting is bad for them.

[andreadon]

have you ever noticed that if you eat your dinner in the garden, they all jump up and eat it all? 
well: I thought I'd cash in on that and put some cooked-up vegetables in a human dish (not a dish made from humans!  ) and pretended to eat it in front of them...
it didn't work! they saw straight through my attempt and completely ignored it!!

who said they're not clever?   

[BestBreast]

I use silver bowls they get so excited even before they know whats in it. Perhaps if you used a red or metal bowl they may be more attracted and have a greater interest.

[SnooziSuzi]

I use silver bowls they get so excited even before they know whats in it. Perhaps if you used a red or metal bowl they may be more attracted and have a greater interest.

could be true... mine like anythin in a clear plasticbag  and will jump up to peck at whatever is in the bag!