Can chickens eat mushrooms?

Part by part

• In moderationStore-bought, plainWashed and chopped, or cooked plain.
• NoWild mushroomsMany look alike and some are dangerously toxic.
• NoCooked with butter, garlic, onion or sauceSeasonings can upset digestion.

Why

Chewy's vet-reviewed page says plain store-bought mushrooms are fine in moderation, while wild mushrooms are an 'easy no' because toxic species are hard to tell apart and can affect the digestive system, liver or nervous system. Fresh Eggs Daily agrees: wild mushrooms can be dangerously toxic; store-bought mushrooms safe for people are fine.

Watch out for various mushroom toxins (wild species). If a bird may have eaten a lot of it and seems unwell, call a veterinarian who treats poultry.

How to serve mushrooms

• Wash and chop
• Serve plain
• Pick wild mushrooms out of the run

How often: Two or three chopped button or cremini mushrooms shared among several birds, once or twice a week (Chewy).

Be careful with

• Discard slimy or spoiled mushrooms
• If a bird eats an unidentified wild mushroom, call a vet and keep a sample or photo

And for chicks?

Chewy: chicks stay on starter; at 8+ weeks a small amount of plain mushroom can be an occasional treat.

The treat rules for every food

1. 1Scraps are not nutritionally balanced. Letting them displace complete feed can cause nutritional disorders and lower egg production; hens that fill up on treats can run short of calcium and draw it from their bones, weakening shells.
2. 2Never feed moldy, rotten or spoiled food. Molds can produce mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin on corn, peanuts, nuts, rice) that harm poultry, and University of Kentucky notes mycotoxins remain even if visible mold is removed. Rotting food can also be a source of Clostridium botulinum (botulism, 'limberneck'). Stale or wilted (not moldy) produce and bread are generally considered fine.
3. 3Avoid very salty, sugary, fatty, fried or heavily processed human food (chips, fast food, candy, heavily salted leftovers). Merck notes salt above about 2% of the diet is usually considered dangerous for poultry, that birds under 21 days old are more susceptible, and that restricted water access makes salt problems worse.
4. 4Provide insoluble grit (granite grit or small stones) whenever chickens eat whole grains, scratch, seeds or forage; birds that can reach the ground usually find their own. Oyster shell is a calcium source, not grit (it is too soft). Birds eating only a complete pelleted feed do not need grit.

All 10 rules · How much feed they need