Is it okay to feed wild bird seeds to chickens?

I used to, when I kept chickens. I soaked the seeds overnight and drained them, then rinsed them for a few days until they were sprouted. The chickens went nuts for the sprouts. read more

Wild bird seeds are fine to feed to chickens in moderation as occasional treats. Bird seed mixes are not meant to be fed as the sole ration for any bird, be it robin, chicken, or pet parrot and do not contain the right mix of nutrients for health. For an everyday feed, commercial chicken diets are a much better choice, and cheaper, too. read more

I feed mine some wild bird seeds, plenty of whole oats, some commercial scratch, all kitchen scraps I have, besides regular crumble or pellets. The more variety, the better. My chicks never developed any digestive, or food related problems. read more

If the bird seed is just a supplement, your pet chickens will be fine. Actually, some people intentionally spread some bird seed on the ground to give their chickens another thing to peck at. So you should be fine with allowing your pet chickens to scratch below your bird feeders and eat the seed that falls out. read more