40+ Ways to Feed Your Chickens Without Buying Commercial Feed

Are your chickens eating you out of house and home? With rising feed costs, many homesteaders and backyard chicken keepers are looking for alternatives to expensive commercial chicken feed. The good news is that chickens are natural foragers and can thrive on a diverse diet beyond the feed store bag.

I’ve been raising chickens for over 7 years and I’ve experimented with many different feeding methods. In this article, I’ll share over 40 ways you can feed your chickens without relying solely on commercial feed. These alternatives can save you money while keeping your feathered friends healthy and happy.

Did Chickens Always Eat Commercial Feed?

Before diving into alternatives, let’s understand something important chickens haven’t always been fed commercial feed In fact, commercial chicken feed is a relatively modern invention!

Historically, chickens were primarily foragers. They scratched around for:

• Insects and bugs
• Seeds and grains
• Grasses and plants
• Small animals (frogs, mice, etc.)
• Fallen fruits

As Dalia from Chickenlandia explains, her great-grandmother in Guatemala raised chickens solely on food waste from the family – leftover tortillas, fruit fallen from trees, and whatever the chickens could forage themselves.

Can Modern Chickens Survive Without Commercial Feed?

The short answer is: Yes, they can! However, there are some considerations:

1. Modern production breeds have been developed to lay more eggs or grow faster than their ancestors
2. These breeds have higher nutritional requirements to maintain production
3. Without proper nutrition, egg production will likely decrease
4. Free-ranging alone may not provide enough protein for maximum production

This doesn’t mean you need to rely 100% on commercial feed. Many backyard chicken keepers successfully reduce or eliminate commercial feed through alternative methods.

40+ Ways to Feed Your Chickens Without Commercial Feed

Free-Range Options

1. Free-ranging – The simplest way to cut feed costs is letting chickens forage. They’ll find protein (bugs, worms), greens, and seeds naturally.

2. Chicken tractors – Mobile enclosures allow chickens to access fresh ground daily while staying protected.

3. Grazing boxes – Small raised beds with chicken wire over the top allow greens to grow through for chickens to snack on without destroying the roots.

4. Deep litter method – This bedding approach encourages bugs and microorganisms chickens can eat.

Kitchen and Food Waste

1. Kitchen scraps – Vegetable trimmings, fruit peels, stale bread, etc.

2. Restaurant waste – Local restaurants may give you salad bar leftovers and kitchen trimmings.

3. Grocery store waste – Ask stores for wilted produce they would otherwise throw away.

4. Farmer’s market leftovers – Visit at closing time and ask vendors for unsold produce.

5. Canning leftovers – Peels, stems, and trimmings from your home canning projects.

6. Cheesemaking whey – Soak grains in whey from cheese-making for added nutrition.

7. Fermented feeds – Fermenting grains increases nutritional value and makes them more digestible.

8. Leftover pumpkins – After Halloween, ask pumpkin patches for their leftovers.

Grow Your Own Chicken Feed

1. Sprouted grains – Sprouting increases nutritional value and is easy to do year-round.

2. Fodder systems – Grow trays of sprouted grains as a fresh feed source.

3. Sunflower seeds – Grow sunflowers and feed whole dried heads to chickens.

4. Winter squash – Easy to grow and store, great chicken food when split open.

5. Garden rejects – Imperfect vegetables or split tomatoes make great chicken food.

6. Cover crops – Plant clover, alfalfa, or buckwheat as chicken forage.

7. Chicken garden – Plant a garden specifically for chicken consumption.

8. Berry bushes – Raspberries, blackberries, and mulberries provide seasonal treats.

9. Fruit trees – Fallen fruit is perfect chicken food and attracts insects they can eat.

Protein Sources

1. Mealworms – Easy to raise in a small container with oats or bran.

2. Black soldier fly larvae – These can process compost and provide protein for chickens.

3. Japanese beetle traps – Use non-toxic traps to collect beetles for chicken treats.

4. Maggot buckets – Hang buckets with holes drilled in the bottom containing meat scraps to attract flies and produce maggots that fall through for chickens.

5. Crickets – Raise them for high-quality protein.

6. Earthworms – Dig them up or raise them in worm bins.

7. Extra eggs – Cook cracked or dirty eggs and feed them back to chickens.

8. Butchering waste – Cook scraps from your own meat processing.

9. Fish waste – Leftovers from cleaning fish make great protein sources.

10. Guppies or feeder goldfish – Raise small fish in a kiddie pool for chickens to catch.

Yard and Garden Waste

1. Weeds – Dandelions, purslane, and other common weeds are nutritious.

2. Yard waste – Grass clippings (untreated) and leaves attract insects chickens love.

3. Garden clean-up – Let chickens into the garden at season’s end to clean up remnants.

4. Mulch piles – Chickens will scratch through mulch looking for bugs.

5. Compost piles – Chickens find worms and insects while helping turn the pile.

Other Creative Options

1. Eggshells – Dried and crushed eggshells provide calcium (substitute for oyster shell).

2. Damaged feed bags – Ask feed stores for broken bags they might discard.

3. Leftover grains from farmers – Farmers may give you sweepings from grain bins.

4. Roadkill or predator carcasses – For the brave, these can be processed for chicken feed.

5. Cage droppings – Chickens will scratch through rabbit or guinea pig bedding for undigested feed.

Tips for Transitioning Away from Commercial Feed

If your chickens are accustomed to commercial feed, they might initially refuse alternatives. Here are some tips:

1. Start slowly – Mix new foods with regular feed, gradually increasing the proportion.

2. Introduce alternatives when chickens are hungry – They’re more likely to try new foods.

3. Be persistent – Sometimes it takes time for chickens to recognize something as food.

4. Start chicks early – Introduce diverse foods to baby chicks so they develop varied tastes.

5. Fermenting – Try fermenting grains to increase nutrition and palatability.

Foods to Avoid Giving Chickens

While chickens can eat many things, some foods should be avoided:

• Moldy or spoiled food
• Chocolate
• Avocado pits and skins (though some debate exists about this)
• Raw potato peels
• Large amounts of onions or garlic
• Foods with high salt content
• Alcohol or caffeine

The Balance Approach

As Dalia from Chickenlandia wisely points out, rather than following strict rules, think about balance:

“We need to look at why we have these feelings about chickens? What is it that is specifically about the sounds that they make? Or a lot of times people are worried about that they make a mess or they smell or anything. But all of those are things that we can deal with when we have the right education.”

A balanced approach might be:

• Using commercial feed as a base (especially for high-production breeds)
• Supplementing with foraged foods, kitchen scraps, and homegrown options
• Gradually reducing commercial feed as you increase alternatives

Will My Egg Production Drop?

I’m gonna be honest with you – if you completely eliminate commercial feed, you will likely see reduced egg production. Modern laying hens have been bred for high production, which requires specific nutrition levels.

However, many homesteaders find that a small reduction in eggs is worth the savings in feed costs. Plus, eggs from chickens with diverse diets often have:

• Richer yolks
• Better flavor
• Higher nutritional content
• Stronger shells

Final Thoughts

Feeding chickens without commercial feed takes some creativity and effort, but it can be rewarding both financially and in terms of egg quality. Chickens are natural foragers who thrive on variety.

By combining several of these methods, you can significantly reduce or even eliminate your chicken feed bill while providing your flock with a more natural, diverse diet.

Remember what Dalia from Chickenlandia said: “Keep the chicken’s natural state as the main part of your foundation and go from there.” Our modern chickens may have different nutritional needs than their wild ancestors, but they still benefit from variety and natural foods.

Have you tried any of these alternative feeding methods? What works best for your flock? Share your experiences in the comments below!

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This approach allows us to connect with traditional knowledge while adapting to our modern needs – just like our ancestors did with their chickens for thousands of years before commercial feed existed.

Chickens can eat various table scraps in moderation, including most cooked meats, fruits like berries and apples, and vegetables such as corn, cabbage, and greens. Safe grains, stale bread, cooked pasta, and cooked eggs are also suitable. Avoid feeding chickens moldy food, uncooked potato skins, or excessive amounts of salt and sugar.

You can feed chickens without buying commercial feed by letting them forage for bugs, seeds, and grasses, providing kitchen scraps and garden leftovers like fruit and vegetable waste, and cultivating food sources such as corn, oats, and protein-rich crops like alfalfa.

In the old days, chickens were fed a mix of what was available on the farm, which included foraging for insects, seeds, and plants, consuming household scraps like bread and vegetables, and eating spilled grains and crops like corn and wheat.