Chicken Scrap Bucket

You can collect kitchen scraps for your chickens in pretty much any container, but this bucket is a great way to make use of something you would have thrown into the recycling anyway. It's easily rinsed, has a great handle for carrying out to the coop, can be replaced at no cost...a plastic gallon milk jug!

Just cut off the top portion with the spout. I find it helps to get the cut started with a serrated bread knife. Strong kitchen shears make short work of the rest of the cutting and provide a bit more control.

Decorate your jug as you see fit. Young artists might apply stickers. Others may want to draw little chicks on the outside using a Sharpie marker, provided they are old enough to know not to draw the same doodles on themselves! You can print clipart on your computer, cut around the designs and over them with clear packing tape.

Kitchen scraps can be good for your chickens and help cut down on the feed you must purchase. They love fruit and vegetable peelings and leftover salad, bread crusts, leftover pasta or oatmeal and all kinds of goodies that you might just otherwise toss. Do remember that these are supplemental treats and shouldn't be overdone or you'll end up with pudgy birds. There are a few things chickens should not have, though, so avoid potato peels, chocolate (don't ask me why...it's there on the lists of things to avoid), strong foods like fish, garlic, onions or spices that might flavor the eggs or meat, or things that might cause your chickens to get sick, such as moldy foods or uncooked meats or overly salted foods.

--Rose-Marie