Can chickens eat potatoes?

Part by part

• In moderationCooked, plainUF/IFAS and Chewy: generally safe in moderation. Fresh Eggs Daily disagrees (avoids all white potato).
• NoRawChewy and University of Kentucky advise against raw potatoes; Grubbly Farms and The Happy Chicken Coop allow small amounts — sources conflict.
• NoGreen or sprouted potatoes / green peelsGlycoalkaloids are highest in sprouts and green skins (Cornell).
• In moderationPeels (not green)Grubbly Farms: safe unless green; Chewy's general guide lists raw potato peels to avoid.
• NoLeaves/plantUC ANR vets: avoid potato leaves.
• NoFried (french fries)High fat and salt.

Why

Potatoes are nightshades. UF/IFAS says green or sprouting peels contain solanine, which can affect the nervous system and cause digestive and cardiac problems. Cornell says these glycoalkaloids are concentrated in sprouts and green skins and are not destroyed by cooking — so cooking makes ordinary potato easier to digest but does not make green potato safe.

Watch out for solanine and chaconine (glycoalkaloids). If a bird may have eaten a lot of it and seems unwell, call a veterinarian who treats poultry.

How to serve potatoes

• Cook plain (no butter, sour cream, salt, onion or garlic)
• Cut into bite-size pieces
• Cut away and discard any green parts and sprouts

How often: About 1/4-1/2 cup of plain cooked potato shared among several birds, once or twice a week (Chewy).

Be careful with

• Never green, sprouted, moldy or rotten potatoes
• Watch for loose droppings, weakness or lethargy after eating green potato (Chewy)

And for chicks?

Chewy: chicks should not eat potatoes.

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