7 Best Vegetable Scraps For Chicken Treats Compost Old Farmers Swear By
Reduce waste with farmer-approved wisdom. Discover 7 vegetable scraps that double as nutrient-rich chicken treats and powerful activators for your compost.
You stand over the kitchen counter, a cutting board full of vegetable ends, stems, and peels. Your first instinct might be to scrape it all into the compost bin. But for those of us with a flock in the backyard, that pile of scraps represents something more: a free, nutritious, and exciting treat for our chickens.
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Turning Scraps into Healthy Chicken Treats
Giving your flock kitchen scraps is about more than just reducing waste. It’s an easy way to boost their dietary diversity and provide valuable enrichment. Chickens are natural foragers, and pecking through a pile of interesting new foods keeps them busy, happy, and less prone to boredom-induced behaviors like feather picking.
Think of it as a closed-loop system on your homestead. The garden produces food for you, the scraps feed the chickens, and the chickens, in turn, provide eggs and manure that enriches the garden soil. What doesn’t get eaten goes straight into the compost, so nothing is truly wasted. It’s a simple, effective cycle that smart farmers have relied on for generations.
Kale & Swiss Chard Stems: Nutrient-Dense
Don’t toss those tough, fibrous stems from your kale and swiss chard. While they might be too chewy for your salad, they are a powerhouse of vitamins K, A, and C for your chickens. These greens are packed with nutrients that support strong eggshells and overall flock health.
The key is preparation. A full, long stem can be difficult for a chicken to tear apart. Chopping them into smaller, bite-sized pieces makes them much easier to consume and prevents a dominant bird from running off with the entire prize. A quick run-through with a sharp knife or even a food processor makes all the difference.
Sweet Potato Skins: A Healthy Carb Source
Sweet potato skins are a fantastic source of carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins. They provide a welcome energy boost, especially during colder months when your flock needs extra calories to stay warm. Unlike many other treats, they offer solid nutritional value.
However, there’s a critical rule here: only feed cooked sweet potato skins. Raw sweet potatoes contain a trypsin inhibitor that can interfere with protein digestion. Also, never confuse them with regular potato skins. White, red, or russet potato peels, especially if they have any green on them, contain solanine, a toxin harmful to chickens. Stick to cooked sweet potato, and you’re golden.
Zucchini & Summer Squash Ends and Seeds
Come mid-summer, most gardeners are swimming in zucchini and squash. The ends you trim off and the seedy cores are a perfect chicken treat. The soft flesh is easy for them to peck, and they absolutely love digging out the seeds.
This is a hydrating snack, full of moisture that’s beneficial on hot days. You’ll often hear old-timers claim that squash and pumpkin seeds act as a natural dewormer. While the scientific evidence for this in chickens is thin, the seeds are undeniably nutritious and a flock favorite, so there’s no harm in letting them enjoy this seasonal bounty.
Broccoli & Cauliflower Stalks and Leaves
The thick, woody stalks of broccoli and cauliflower often end up in the compost, but they are perfectly edible and nutritious. These members of the brassica family are loaded with vitamins and minerals. The large leaves are also a fantastic green that your chickens will eagerly devour.
Like kale stems, the stalks are best served chopped or shredded. A food processor with a grating attachment can turn a tough stalk into a pile of chicken-friendly confetti in seconds. You can also simply halve the stalk lengthwise, giving them a surface to peck at. Some chickens might turn their beaks up at first, but most will quickly learn to love this crunchy, healthy snack.
Bell Pepper Cores & Seeds: A Colorful Snack
That bell pepper core, with its cluster of pale seeds, looks like waste, but it’s a vitamin-rich treat. Chickens will happily peck away at the fleshy core and gobble up every last seed. It’s a great source of Vitamin C and adds a bit of color and variety to their diet.
A common question is whether the seeds from hot peppers are safe. The answer is yes. Chickens lack the receptor for capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers spicy to mammals. They can eat the seeds of the hottest habanero without feeling a thing, so don’t hesitate to toss them all in the scrap bucket.
Pumpkin & Melon Rinds: A Seasonal Favorite
Few things will entertain a flock quite like a halved pumpkin or the rind of a watermelon. In the fall, cutting a pumpkin in half and placing it in the run provides a long-lasting treat and activity. They will meticulously pick it clean down to the barest skin, getting valuable nutrients and seeds along the way.
The same goes for summer melons like cantaloupe and watermelon. After you’ve enjoyed the fruit, give the rinds to your birds. The remaining sweet flesh is a hydrating treat they’ll adore. Just be sure to remove any rinds that get slimy or start to mold after a day or two to keep the run clean and healthy.
Scraps to Skip & The Rule of Moderation
Not all scraps are created equal. Some are unhealthy or even toxic to chickens and should always go directly to the compost pile. Your "never feed" list should include:
- Avocado skin and pits
- Raw, green potato peels
- Onions and garlic in large quantities
- Dry or uncooked beans
- Anything moldy, rotten, or heavily processed
More importantly, remember the rule of moderation. Treats, including healthy vegetable scraps, should make up no more than 10% of your flock’s diet. Their primary nutrition must come from a balanced, formulated feed. Overloading them with scraps can dilute their nutrient intake, leading to health problems and reduced egg production. Think of scraps as a dessert, not the main course.
That bucket of kitchen scraps is more than just potential compost; it’s a resource. By thoughtfully sharing your vegetable odds and ends, you’re not just saving a few pennies. You are enriching your flock’s life, improving their diet, and closing a loop that makes your entire homestead more resilient and sustainable.
