Can I Give my Chickens Bird Food?

Chickens will usually eat just about anything, and yes, they enjoy eating bird food. However, bird food should only be given as an occasional treat and not as part of a chicken's daily feed because bird food is typically low in vitamins and calcium and too high in calories to meet the nutritional needs of laying chickens. 

Modern domestic chickens lay a lot of eggs all year round, whilst wild birds only lay eggs a few times a year, so bird food designed for wild birds will not make a well-balanced diet for poultry.

Your chickens will thrive on vegetables and fresh fruit, such as spinach, cabbage and vegetable peels. It makes good sense to avoid giving them any mouldy or spoiled food. 

As chickens don't have teeth, a supply of Haith's Fine Oystershell Grit is essential as it helps to break down their food. Chickens may get this grit naturally from the ground where they live, but it is best to provide them with a healthy and regular supply of grit at source.

  • Fine Oystershell Grit for Cage Birds - Haith's
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Haith's Poultry Corn can be fed to chickens on a daily basis. The mix contains malting barley, whole wheat, cut maize, milo, buckwheat and Fine Oystershell Grit.

As an added extra we have Grandad Ted's Poultry Spice which can be introduced to supplement diets. It helps promote vitality and rich golden yolks, just mix it in with your daily feed a couple of times a week.

  • Grandad Ted's Poultry Spice™ for domestic birds - Haith's
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Chickens should also have a continuous supply of clean, fresh water.

Chickens are very clever at knowing what they need to keep healthy so as long as they are able to have access to what they require, they should keep strong and hopefully lay lots of healthy eggs.

Written by Chris Smith