Chickens are relatively low-maintenance animals. They’re happier if they have fresh air and an environment that is free of predators, but those things aren’t absolutely necessary. Chickens can survive in the smallest spaces. Chickens are also flexible in terms of their dietary needs. You can feed them what you have on hand—even human food—without any problems for their health (except maybe for some constipation issues). If a storm is coming and your local feed store is out of chicken feed, don’t panic! Here’s a list of 10 different things you already have at home that you can use to keep your chickens fed until the storm passes:
Dog Food
Dog food is a good treat for your chickens. This is because dog food is made from animal by-products, which means it contains protein and other nutrients that your chickens need to stay healthy.
If you have no choice but to feed dog food to your chickens, they can eat it as a main meal. However, if possible, I recommend using dog food as a treat only because chicken feed is more nutritious and costlier than dog food.
Frozen Peas
- Peas are high in protein, vitamins and minerals.
- They are a good source of fibre, which helps to keep your chickens’ digestive systems functioning properly.
- Peas contain many B-vitamins including vitamin B6 as well as folate and iron. These nutrients are important for preventing anaemia in your chickens that can occur when they’re under stress or have little access to food during the winter months when grass is less available than usual to them.
Baby Food
The first thing to consider when feeding chickens baby food is that it can be a high-protein, low-calorie meal for your birds.
However, it’s important to also keep in mind that overfeeding can cause diarrhea in adult chickens and cause health problems for the younger ones.
This means that you should only feed baby food as a supplement—not their main diet. This way, you’ll be able to get all of the nutrients your chickens need without causing any digestive issues or other health problems.
Additionally, if you have chicks instead of adult birds, then feeding them baby food may not give them enough energy or protein to sustain themselves properly during this stage of their lives!
Canned Tuna
Canned tuna is a good source of protein, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. It’s also high in calcium and selenium. You can feed your chickens either canned tuna in water or drained from the can. If you give them a whole canned fish directly, make sure that the bones are removed first since these can be dangerous to your chickens’ health.
Vegetable Peels
You can feed your chickens vegetable peels as long as they are fresh and not moldy. Vegetable peels are a good source of protein, but if you give them too many potatoes, sweet potatoes or beets, it may make their egg yolks turn orange. If this happens, stop feeding those vegetables to them for at least two weeks.
Be sure to rinse the vegetable peels well before giving them to your chickens because they can be dirty from being stored in plastic bags or boxes at the grocery store. You can feed the skins of potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots (but not beet skins) whole, but cut up beet greens into small pieces so that your birds don’t choke on them while eating them.
To prepare vegetable peelings for feeding:
- Wash the skins well under running water or place them in boiling water for 2 minutes before rinsing with cold water afterward;
- Remove any dirt or debris with a spoon;
There are lots of options for feeding chickens when out of feed. You can use human food or dog food and they will be fine.
Firstly, chickens are omnivores, which means they will eat anything. They will even eat your leftover pizza crusts and popcorn kernels if you give them to them!
Secondly, chickens are not picky eaters at all. They will eat whatever is available to them because they need the nutrients from their food in order to grow healthy feathers and lay eggs.
Thirdly, there are lots of things that you can use for feeding your chickens when out of feed – human food or dog food works just fine!
All in all, there are lots of options for feeding chickens when out of feed. I recommend keeping a bag of dog food around just in case, but your birds should be ok if you have to use some human food.