Understanding what chickens eat — and what they should eat — is fundamental to keeping a healthy, productive flock. Nutrition drives everything: egg production, eggshell quality, feather condition, immune function, growth rates, and overall vitality. A well-fed hen in peak condition will produce eggs reliably, resist disease more effectively, and live a longer, healthier life than one subsisting on a poor or incomplete diet.

The good news is that chickens are omnivores with broad dietary flexibility. They evolved as jungle fowl foraging through leaf litter, scratching up insects, eating seeds, fruit, and greens — and this foraging instinct remains strong in modern domesticated breeds. But "broad dietary flexibility" doesn't mean "eat anything." There are foods that can harm or kill your hens, important nutritional principles to understand, and Australian-specific legal requirements around feeding that every backyard keeper needs to know.

This guide covers everything: what commercial feeds contain and why they matter, what kitchen scraps and garden produce chickens can eat, what they must never be fed, how to manage seasonal nutritional needs, and how nutrition changes across the different stages of a hen's life.

How Chickens Digest Food

Before diving into what chickens eat, it helps to understand how their digestive system works — because it's quite different from ours and it shapes what they can and can't process effectively.

The Chicken Digestive System

Beak and mouth: Chickens have no teeth. They tear and pick food rather than chew it. Food is swallowed whole or in large pieces.

Crop: The first storage organ, located at the base of the neck. Food accumulates here and is softened before moving on. A full, round crop after feeding is normal; a persistently empty or impacted, hard crop is a health concern.

Proventriculus (glandular stomach): Produces digestive enzymes and acid to begin breaking down food.

Gizzard: The muscular grinding organ that replaces teeth. The gizzard contracts powerfully to grind food against small stones and grit that the chicken deliberately swallows. This is why providing insoluble grit is essential for confined chickens — without it, they cannot properly digest their food.

Small intestine: Where most nutrient absorption occurs.

Caeca (two blind pouches): Branch off the lower intestine. House bacteria that ferment plant fibres and produce some B vitamins.

Cloaca: Final common chamber for digestive and reproductive outputs.

Key implication: Chickens need grit to function. Free-ranging birds find natural grit; confined birds must have it provided separately.

The Foundation: Commercial Layer Feed

The cornerstone of a laying hen's diet should be a quality commercial layer feed. Layer feeds are formulated by animal nutritionists to provide a complete, balanced diet for laying hens: the right energy, protein, calcium, vitamins, and minerals in the right ratios.

Types of Commercial Layer Feed

Layer Pellets: The most popular format in Australia. Compressed pellets that reduce wastage and selective eating (hens can't sort through pellets and leave the bits they don't like). Easy to measure and store. Generally 15–18% crude protein.

Layer Mash: Finely ground loose feed. Some hens prefer the texture; others are more selective. More prone to moisture absorption and spoilage. Lower wastage than crumble but more than pellets.

Layer Crumble: Between mash and pellets in texture. Suits younger birds transitioning from chick crumble to adult pellets.

Organic and Non-GMO Feeds: Available from specialty stores and online. Typically 30–60% more expensive than standard commercial feed. Suitable for keepers who want to avoid genetically modified grains or synthetic additives.

What's in Layer Feed?

A quality Australian layer pellet typically contains: - Energy sources: Wheat, barley, sorghum, or corn (50–65% of the formula) - Protein sources: Soybean meal, canola meal, lupins, or meat and bone meal (provides the 15–18% crude protein target) - Calcium source: Limestone or shell grit (providing 3–4% calcium for eggshell production) - Phosphorus: Dicalcium phosphate - Salt: Sodium for electrolyte balance - Vitamins: A, D3, E, K, and B vitamins - Minerals: Zinc, manganese, copper, selenium, iodine - Additives: May include coccidiostats (for growers), probiotics, or digestive enzymes depending on the product

How much to feed: Layer hens eat approximately 100–130g of pellets per day. Feed ad libitum (always available) so hens can self-regulate intake. Restricting access to layer feed reduces egg production and eggshell quality.

Where to Buy Layer Feed in Australia

Layer pellets are available at: - Rural supply stores: Elders, Landmark, CRT, farm co-ops — often cheapest per kg - Bunnings: Stocks a small range of backyard poultry feeds - Petbarn / Total Pet Care: Good range of boutique and standard feeds - Specialty poultry suppliers: Online stores such as Poultry Hub, ChickenSupplies.com.au

Price range (2024): $20–$35 per 20kg bag for standard layer pellets; $35–$60 per 20kg for premium/organic.

Scratch Grains and Treats

Scratch grains are a supplement and behavioural enrichment tool — not a complete food. They are typically a mixture of cracked corn, wheat, barley, millet, and sunflower seeds. Chickens love them and will scratch and forage enthusiastically when they're scattered on the ground.

Role of Scratch Grains

  • Encourages natural foraging behaviour
  • Provides additional energy (particularly useful in cold winter months)
  • A reward for training and human-animal bonding
  • Supplements the diet modestly with additional carbohydrates and some protein

Limitations

Scratch grains are: - Low in protein (typically 8–10% CP vs 15–18% for layer feed) - Low in calcium — feeding too much scratch depletes the calcium balance in the diet, leading to thin-shelled or shell-less eggs - Unbalanced — not fortified with the vitamins and minerals present in commercial feed

Rule of thumb: Scratch grains should not exceed 10–15% of total daily intake. For a hen eating 120g/day, that means no more than 15–18g of scratch per bird — roughly a small handful scattered for the whole flock.

Scatter scratch in the afternoon (not morning — you want hens to fill up on layer feed first), so they're active foraging before roosting rather than having a full crop of scratch displacing their proper food.

What Kitchen Scraps Can Chickens Eat?

Kitchen scraps are an excellent way to supplement your chickens' diet, reduce household food waste, and provide dietary variety. However, Australian biosecurity law places important restrictions on what can and cannot be fed.

Australian Biosecurity Law: The Critical Requirement

Under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Commonwealth) and corresponding state legislation, it is illegal to feed catering waste or kitchen scraps containing meat or meat products to poultry anywhere in Australia — including small backyard flocks. This law exists to prevent the transmission of Foot and Mouth Disease and other exotic diseases through improperly processed animal material.

"Kitchen scraps containing meat" includes: - Leftover meat of any kind (chicken, beef, pork, lamb, seafood, fish) - Bones or bone marrow - Dishes that contain meat as an ingredient (soups, pasta bolognese, fried rice with meat) - Processed foods containing meat derivatives

This is not optional or a grey area. Fines for feeding prohibited items to poultry can be substantial under both Commonwealth and state biosecurity legislation. The risk of introducing exotic diseases through illegal swill feeding is serious.

Safe Kitchen Scraps for Australian Chickens

The following kitchen scraps are generally safe and beneficial:

Vegetables: - Leafy greens (silverbeet, spinach, lettuce, kale, cabbage) — excellent and eagerly eaten - Cooked or raw pumpkin and squash (seeds too — pumpkin seeds have mild antiparasitic properties) - Cooked sweet potato - Corn on the cob (raw or cooked) — a favourite - Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts (raw or cooked) - Cucumber and zucchini - Peas (fresh or frozen — frozen peas are a great summer treat) - Cooked potato and sweet potato (avoid raw green potato — solanine toxicity) - Tomato (ripe only; avoid green tomatoes and tomato leaves)

Fruits: - Watermelon (the whole thing including rind — a summer favourite) - Berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) - Apple (remove seeds — apple seeds contain trace cyanide) - Banana (including the skin) - Mango, papaya, pawpaw - Grapes (cut in half for smaller birds to prevent choking) - Stone fruits (remove the pit/stone)

Grains and carbohydrates: - Cooked rice (plain — no seasoning) - Cooked pasta (plain) - Oats (raw or cooked — rolled oats are a good treat in winter) - Wholemeal bread or toast (in small quantities — not as a staple; too much bread fills hens up without providing proper nutrition) - Cooked beans and lentils (must be fully cooked — raw kidney beans contain phytohaemagglutinin, which is toxic)

Eggs and dairy: - Cooked egg (scrambled or hard-boiled — don't feed raw egg as this can teach egg-eating behaviour) - Plain yoghurt (small amounts — a good probiotic source) - Milk and cheese (small amounts)

Note on cooked eggs: Chickens can safely eat cooked eggs. The concern is not the egg itself but teaching hens to associate eggs with food — so always cook egg before feeding it to prevent egg-eating behaviour developing.

Foods Chickens Should Never Eat

Not everything that grows in a garden or comes out of a kitchen is safe for chickens. Some foods are toxic; others cause production problems or long-term health issues.

Definitely Toxic — Never Feed

Avocado: All parts of the avocado plant — flesh, skin, pit, and leaves — contain persin, which causes heart failure, difficulty breathing, and death in chickens. Even small quantities can be fatal. This is arguably the most important toxic food to know about in Australia, where avocados are widely grown and commonly available.

Onion and garlic (large quantities): Contain thiosulphate, which causes haemolytic anaemia in large quantities. Small accidental amounts are generally not harmful, but don't deliberately feed onion or garlic.

Raw green potato and potato leaves/stems: Contain solanine, a glycoalkaloid that is toxic to chickens. Cooked potato (without green parts) is fine.

Rhubarb leaves: Contain oxalic acid in dangerous concentrations. Highly toxic. The stems are generally fine in small amounts.

Raw kidney beans: Contain phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) at toxic levels. Must be fully boiled to deactivate. Never feed raw or undercooked kidney beans.

Tomato and potato leaves and stems: Part of the nightshade family; leaves and stems contain solanine. Ripe tomato flesh is fine; avoid the plant parts.

Chocolate: Contains theobromine and caffeine, both toxic to chickens (and most animals).

Coffee grounds and caffeine: Toxic to chickens.

Alcohol: Obviously avoid.

Apple seeds, cherry pits, peach pits: Contain trace cyanide compounds. Occasional accidental ingestion is unlikely to cause problems, but don't deliberately offer.

Dried beans (raw): As with raw kidney beans, many raw legumes contain antinutritional factors. Always cook beans before feeding.

Foods to Limit or Avoid

Salty foods: Chickens have a low tolerance for salt. Crackers, chips, and processed foods with high salt content can cause salt toxicity.

Sugary processed foods: Cakes, biscuits, and sugary snacks have no place in a chicken's diet. They contribute empty calories and can disrupt gut bacteria.

Spinach and chard (large quantities): High in oxalic acid, which can bind calcium and theoretically reduce calcium absorption if fed in large amounts as a dietary staple. Fine in moderate quantities.

Citrus (large quantities): Anecdotally reported to reduce egg production in some flocks, though the evidence is limited. Occasional citrus is unlikely to cause problems; avoid making it a dietary staple.

Iceberg lettuce (large amounts): Almost no nutritional value; can cause diarrhoea if fed in large quantities. Better leafy green options are available.

Calcium: The Most Important Mineral for Laying Hens

Eggshell is approximately 94% calcium carbonate. A laying hen deposits roughly 2g of calcium into each eggshell she produces. Given that her entire body only contains about 25g of calcium at any time, she must consume adequate dietary calcium daily — or she will draw calcium from her bones.

Chronic calcium deficiency leads to: - Thin, fragile, or shell-less eggs - Osteoporosis-like bone demineralisation - Leg weakness and fractures - Metabolic bone disease - Premature end of productive laying life

Commercial layer feeds contain calcium, but the quantity may not be sufficient for very productive hens or hens eating less than their full ration. Always provide:

Crushed oyster shell or limestone grit in a separate container: Offer free-choice (always available) so hens self-regulate their calcium intake based on their production needs. A high-producing hen will consume significantly more than a non-laying hen.

Don't mix calcium supplementation into feed: When calcium is added to feed, all hens consume the same amount regardless of their individual needs. Hens that don't need extra calcium (roosters, non-layers, chicks) can develop kidney problems from excess calcium.

Water: The Forgotten Nutrient

Water is the most critical nutrient for chickens, yet it's the one most often underestimated by backyard keepers. A hen's body is 55–65% water, and eggs are approximately 74% water. Consistent water intake is essential for egg production, temperature regulation, digestion, and virtually every metabolic process.

Water Requirements

  • Standard conditions: 200–500ml per hen per day
  • Hot weather (above 30°C): Up to 500–800ml per hen per day
  • Lactating cows/sheep equivalent: A hen in full lay on a hot day needs proportionally as much water as a much larger animal — don't underestimate this

A hen that runs out of water for even half a day in peak summer heat will: - Stop eating temporarily - Reduce or stop egg production for several days - Experience significant heat stress - Be at risk of death in temperatures above 38°C

Water Quality

Chickens are sensitive to water quality. Water that is: - Stagnant (warm, green, algae-filled) — will be refused by hens; associated with disease - High in salt/mineral content — reduces intake and can cause toxicity - Contaminated with droppings — a major Salmonella risk

Practical management: - Change water at least once daily; twice in summer - Scrub drinkers weekly to remove biofilm and algae - Place drinkers in shade (water heats rapidly in direct sun, further discouraging intake) - Consider an automatic float-valve drinker connected to your garden tap for consistent, fresh water

Adding apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon per 4 litres, unfiltered/raw) to water 2–3 times per week is a popular and generally safe practice believed to support gut health and reduce algae growth in drinkers. Use plastic or galvanised drinkers rather than metal when using vinegar, as it can accelerate corrosion of some metals.

Grit: Essential but Often Overlooked

Chickens need two types of grit:

Insoluble grit (flint or granite grit): Used in the gizzard to grind food. Stays in the gizzard for weeks. Free-ranging hens find natural grit; confined hens must have it provided. Without it, food passes through underdigested, reducing feed efficiency and causing digestive upset.

Soluble grit (crushed oyster shell or limestone): Provides calcium for eggshell formation. Dissolves in the digestive system. Should be offered separately from insoluble grit so hens can regulate intake independently.

Both should be available at all times in separate containers from feed.

Nutritional Needs Across the Life Stages

Chickens have different nutritional requirements at different life stages. Using the wrong feed for the stage causes problems:

Day-Old Chicks (0–8 weeks)

Feed: Chick starter crumble — 20–22% crude protein, no added calcium (calcium is toxic to chicks at laying-hen levels, damaging kidneys). Should contain a coccidiostat (amprolium or similar) unless you're using medicated starter for a specific reason.

Water: Constant access; add electrolytes for the first 24–48 hours after transport stress.

Growers / Pullets (8–18 weeks)

Feed: Grower pellets or crumble — 16–18% crude protein, still no high calcium. Transitioning from starter.

This stage is about building body frame and organ development. Overfeeding calcium at this stage damages developing kidneys.

Point of Lay / Early Layers (16–22 weeks)

Feed: Transition to layer pellets when the first egg appears or at 18–20 weeks (whichever comes first). Introduce gradually (mix grower and layer over 1–2 weeks).

Layer pellets: 15–18% crude protein, 3–4% calcium.

Begin offering oyster shell free-choice at this point.

Peak Layers (Year 1–2)

Feed: Layer pellets ad libitum + free-choice oyster shell + insoluble grit.

This is the highest-demand nutritional period. A hen in peak lay and producing an egg daily has extraordinary calcium and energy demands relative to her body size. Don't restrict feed.

Scratch grains: Limited to afternoon supplement only (10–15% of diet maximum).

Scraps: A varied diet of safe kitchen and garden scraps is excellent for gut health, enrichment, and nutritional variety — keep within proportion so they don't displace layer feed.

Moulting Hens

During the annual moult (typically autumn), hens stop laying and redirect energy to regrowing feathers. Feathers are approximately 85% protein, so:

  • Switch to a higher-protein feed or supplement (some keepers use a broiler grower feed at 20% protein, or add black sunflower seeds and cat kibble — controversial but effective)
  • Reduce scratch grains (lower energy demand without laying)
  • Increase protein-rich treats: mealworms, sunflower seeds, scrambled egg
  • Moult typically lasts 6–12 weeks; egg production resumes after feather regrowth

Older Hens (3+ Years)

Older hens lay less frequently but still need good nutrition. Eggshell quality often declines with age; ensure calcium supplementation is maintained. Some keepers transition older non-productive hens to a maintenance feed (slightly lower protein, lower calcium than a full layer feed) to prevent kidney strain.

Feeding in Australian Seasons

Australia's climate extremes require seasonal adjustments to feeding:

Summer (December–February)

  • Reduce energy feeds (grain): Chickens generate body heat digesting high-carbohydrate foods. In extreme heat, minimise scratch grains.
  • Increase watermelon, cucumber, and high-moisture treats: These cool birds and provide hydration.
  • Feed the main ration in the morning when it's cooler — hens eat less during the heat of the day.
  • Frozen treats: Freeze berries, corn kernels, or peas in ice blocks. Hens love pecking at them and they provide cooling.
  • Ensure abundant cool water — check and refill multiple times per day in heatwaves.

Winter (June–August)

  • Increase scratch grains in the late afternoon: The digestion of grain generates heat, helping birds stay warm overnight. This is the one time of year that extra scratch is genuinely beneficial.
  • Provide warm food occasionally: Warm cooked porridge oats or cooked rice on cold mornings are appreciated.
  • Supplement with lighting if you want to maintain egg production: 14–16 hours of total light (natural + artificial LED) maintains the light-triggered laying cycle.
  • High-protein foods help hens completing moults in autumn/winter regrow feathers faster.

Spring (September–November)

Spring is typically the most productive season. Hens coming out of moult and experiencing increasing day length will ramp up production. Ensure: - Layer pellets are always available - Oyster shell is topped up (calcium demand increases dramatically as production rises) - Garden plants are either protected or identified as safe — chickens will eagerly eat garden seedlings if allowed access

Autumn (March–May)

Many hens begin their annual moult in autumn. Transition to a higher-protein diet or supplement accordingly. Reduce calcium supplementation slightly for confirmed non-laying moulting hens.

The Basics, Simplified

If you want a simple, practical summary of what to feed your backyard hens in Australia:

Always available: - Quality layer pellets - Fresh, clean water - Crushed oyster shell (separate container) - Insoluble grit (separate container)

Daily extras (within proportions): - Safe kitchen scraps — vegetables, fruits, cooked grains - Garden greens — silverbeet, kale, comfrey, herbs

Afternoon treats (limit to 10–15% of diet): - Scratch grains - Mealworms (excellent protein treat) - Sunflower seeds

Never: - Meat, meat products, or kitchen waste containing meat - Avocado - Onion in large quantities - Raw potato and green potato - Rhubarb leaves - Chocolate or caffeine - Raw kidney beans - Heavily salted or processed foods

Feed your hens well, keep their water clean, supplement their calcium, and they'll reward you with fresh eggs, a healthy and active presence in the yard, and excellent compost for your garden. Good nutrition is the foundation of everything.