28 Ways to Feed Chickens Without Buying Chicken Feed (Save Money & Stay Prepared)

Let me ask you something.

When did chicken feed become a luxury item?

Because if you’ve been to the feed store lately, you already know the answer. Prices are up. Bags are smaller. And that familiar 50-pound sack that used to cost you $15 now costs nearly double — sometimes more.

Here’s the thing, though.

Your chickens don’t know that.

They just know they’re hungry. And they’re counting on you.

But what if you could slash your feed bill — or eliminate it entirely — using things you already have? Things growing in your yard, scraps from your kitchen, and a few clever systems that practically run themselves?

That’s exactly what this guide is about.

Because here’s a truth most chicken keepers don’t realize until they’ve been at it a while: chickens are natural omnivores. They were never meant to eat from a bag. For thousands of years before commercial feed existed, flocks thrived on bugs, weeds, scraps, seeds, and whatever the land provided.

You can tap into that same system — starting today.

Whether you want to supplement your feed, dramatically reduce your bill, or go completely feed-free, these 28 methods will show you exactly how to do it.

Let’s dive in.

A Quick Safety Note Before You Start

Before we get into the good stuff, a few ground rules:

Always provide grit. Chickens can’t digest whole foods without it. Coarse sand or commercial grit works fine.
Transition slowly. Sudden diet changes can cause digestive upset. Introduce new foods gradually.
Fresh water, always. Non-negotiable.
Watch your flock. Monitor weight, feather condition, egg production, and energy levels as you shift their diet.
Never feed: avocado pits or skin, raw dried beans, green potatoes, chocolate, onions in large amounts, or anything moldy.

Okay. Now let’s talk about feeding your flock for free.

Category 1: Kitchen & Garden Sources

1. Kitchen Scraps — The Easiest Free Feed You Already Have

This is where most people start. And for good reason.

Every day, your kitchen produces a steady stream of chicken-worthy food: vegetable peels, fruit cores, stale bread, cooked rice, pasta, egg shells, and leftover cooked vegetables. Instead of sending it to the trash, send it to the coop.

What they love most:

Vegetable trimmings (carrot tops, broccoli stems, lettuce)
Cooked grains (rice, oats, pasta — plain, no salt)
Fruit scraps (apple cores, melon rinds, berry tops)
Cooked eggs (yes, really — more on that in a moment)
Stale bread and crackers (in moderation)

What to avoid: Salty, sugary, or heavily seasoned foods. Anything with mold. Raw dried beans.

The beauty of kitchen scraps is that they require zero effort. You’re already making them. Just redirect them.

2. Garden Weeds & Pulls — They’re Basically Free Salad

Here’s something that will make you smile the next time you’re pulling weeds.

Those “nuisance” plants taking over your garden? Your chickens think they’re a five-star meal.

Top chicken-approved weeds:

Chickweed — ironically named, and they go absolutely crazy for it
Dandelion — leaves, flowers, and roots are all fair game
Clover — high in protein and they love it
Purslane — loaded with omega-3s
Plantain — the broad-leaf kind, not the banana

Toss them in whole, or chop larger plants into manageable pieces. Either way, you’re turning a garden chore into free chicken feed.

3. Garden Overflows & “Ugly” Produce

You know that zucchini that got away from you and is now the size of a baseball bat?

Your chickens don’t care.

Overgrown zucchini, cracked tomatoes, soft cucumbers, split peppers, and bruised apples are all perfectly good chicken food. Chop large items in half so they can peck at the flesh easily.

This creates a beautiful zero-waste loop on your homestead: your garden feeds your chickens, and your chickens feed your garden (through their manure). Nothing goes to waste.

4. Leftover Dairy — A Probiotic Bonus

Chickens can handle small amounts of dairy, and some of it is genuinely beneficial.

Safe dairy options:

Plain yogurt (excellent probiotic source)
Kefir (even better for gut health)
Small bits of cheese
Cottage cheese

Keep portions modest — dairy isn’t a staple, it’s a supplement. But a spoonful of plain yogurt mixed into their scraps a few times a week? That’s a gut-health boost they’ll thank you for with better egg production.

5. Cooked or Scrambled Eggs

Wait — feed chickens eggs?

Yes. And here’s why it works.

Eggs are one of the most protein-dense foods on the planet. During molt, when your hens are rebuilding feathers and need extra protein, scrambled eggs are like rocket fuel.

The key: Always cook them first. Raw eggs can encourage egg-eating behavior (a habit you really don’t want to start). Scrambled, hard-boiled, or fried — all fine. Just don’t serve them in the shell in a way that looks like an egg.

6. Meat Scraps & Bone Broth Vegetables

This one surprises people. But remember — chickens are omnivores.

In the wild, they eat insects, worms, small lizards, and even mice. A little cooked meat is completely natural for them.

Safe options:

Small pieces of cooked chicken (yes, really — they don’t know)
Cooked fish scraps
The soft vegetables from homemade bone broth
Cooked organ meat in small amounts

Avoid raw meat, processed deli meats, and anything heavily salted or seasoned.

7. Leftover Bakery Waste

Stale bread, bagels, rolls, and crackers are all fair game — with one caveat.

Bread is like candy for chickens. They love it, but it’s low in nutrition and high in carbs. Treat it like a supplement, not a staple. Soak very stale bread in water first to soften it, and avoid anything with sugary icing or artificial flavors.

A handful tossed into the run as a treat? Perfect. A full diet of bread? Not so much.

Category 2: Growing Your Own Chicken Feed

8. Fodder Systems — Sprouted Grains That Multiply Nutrition

Here’s where things get really interesting.

A fodder system turns a small amount of whole grain into a large mat of living, sprouted feed — and it multiplies the nutritional value dramatically in the process.

How it works:

Soak whole grains (wheat, barley, oats, or sunflower seeds) in water for 8–12 hours
Drain and spread in a shallow tray
Rinse twice daily
In 5–7 days, you have a thick mat of sprouted grain

The sprouting process increases protein digestibility, boosts vitamin content, and makes the grain far easier for chickens to absorb. A pound of grain becomes several pounds of living fodder.

Best grains for fodder: Barley, wheat, oats, sunflower seeds, field peas

9. Fermented Grains & Scraps

Fermentation is one of the most powerful tools in the no-feed chicken keeper’s toolkit.

When you ferment grains or scraps, beneficial bacteria break down the food, making nutrients more bioavailable and adding a probiotic punch. Studies show fermented feed can reduce the amount of feed chickens need by up to 20% — because they absorb more from every bite.

How to ferment:

Fill a jar or bucket halfway with grain or scraps
Cover with water (2 inches above the grain)
Stir daily
In 24–72 hours, you’ll see bubbles — that’s the good bacteria working
Feed and replenish daily

It smells a little sour. Your chickens will go absolutely wild for it.

10. Growing a Dedicated Chicken Garden

What if part of your garden existed specifically to feed your flock?

This is one of the most satisfying and sustainable strategies a chicken keeper can adopt. Plant a rotation of chicken-friendly crops and let them self-harvest — or cut and toss.

Best plants for a chicken garden:

Kale & Swiss chard — high in vitamins, grows fast, regrows after cutting
Sunflowers — seeds are high in fat and protein; feed whole heads in fall
Amaranth — one of the highest-protein plants you can grow; chickens eat seeds and leaves
Corn — they love it; grow extra for winter storage
Squash & pumpkins — seeds are a natural dewormer; flesh is nutritious
Comfrey — grows like a weed, extremely high in protein

Use succession planting so something is always ready to harvest.

11. Sunflower Seeds & Heads

Sunflowers deserve their own spotlight.

They’re one of the easiest crops to grow, they produce enormous yields, and the seeds are packed with fat and protein — exactly what chickens need in winter when they’re burning extra calories to stay warm.

How to use them:

Hang whole dried sunflower heads in the coop for entertainment and nutrition
Store dried heads in a cool, dry place for winter feeding
Crack seeds for younger birds or bantams

Plant a row of sunflowers along your fence line and you’ll have months of free feed.

12. Field Peas & Forage Crops

Field peas, turnips, and forage radishes are crops specifically designed to be grazed.

Plant them in a dedicated paddock or rotation area and let your chickens self-harvest. Field peas are especially valuable — they’re high in protein and the plants fix nitrogen in your soil at the same time.

Bonus: Forage turnips and radishes produce both edible greens and roots. Chickens will peck at both.

13. Sprouted Lentils & Peas

Don’t have space for a full garden? No problem.

Lentils and split peas sprout in just 2–3 days on your kitchen counter. They’re cheap, high in protein, and chickens love them.

How to sprout:

Rinse lentils and soak overnight
Drain and place in a jar covered with cheesecloth
Rinse twice daily
Feed when sprouts are ½ to 1 inch long

Rinse thoroughly before feeding and watch for any signs of mold. In warm weather, they sprout fast — sometimes too fast — so keep an eye on them.

Category 3: Protein From Bugs & Worms

14. Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) — The Ultimate Protein Machine

If you only set up one system from this entire guide, make it this one.

Black soldier fly larvae contain 40%+ protein and 30%+ fat — a nutritional profile that rivals commercial feed. And here’s the kicker: they feed themselves using your kitchen scraps.

How to set up a BSFL bin:

Get a plastic bin with a lid (5-gallon bucket or larger)
Drill small holes for ventilation
Add kitchen scraps (fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds)
In warm weather, black soldier flies will find the bin and lay eggs naturally
Larvae hatch, eat the scraps, and self-harvest into a collection container

In peak summer, a single bin can produce pounds of larvae per week. Your chickens will sprint across the yard for them.

15. Mealworms — High-Protein Treats You Can Breed at Home

Mealworms are the gold standard chicken treat — and you can breed an endless supply in a small plastic bin under your sink.

Basic mealworm setup:

3-drawer plastic storage bin
Bedding: wheat bran or oats
Food: vegetable scraps, apple slices, potato peels for moisture
Temperature: 70–80°F is ideal

The lifecycle takes about 3 months to get rolling, but once it does, you’ll have a self-sustaining protein factory that costs almost nothing to run.

16. Worm Bins (Red Wigglers)

Red wigglers are the workhorses of the composting world — and a fantastic chicken protein source.

Set up a worm bin using kitchen scraps, cardboard, and a little moisture. In a few months, you’ll have thousands of worms to harvest for your flock, plus rich worm castings for your garden.

Best part: Worm bins work year-round, even indoors. They’re odorless when managed correctly and take up almost no space.

17. Compost Pile Foraging

Your compost pile is a living ecosystem of insects, grubs, and decomposing organic matter.

Chickens know this instinctively.

Rotate your flock through your compost area and watch them go to work. They’ll scratch, peck, and devour everything from pill bugs to earthworms to fly larvae — while simultaneously turning your compost for you.

Pro tip: Build two compost piles and alternate. While the chickens work one pile, the other is building up a new population of insects.

18. Wild-Caught Protein

Your yard is full of free protein — if you know where to look.

Wild protein sources chickens love:

Grasshoppers — catch them in the morning when they’re slow
Crickets — easy to catch at night with a flashlight
Japanese beetles — shake them off plants into a bucket of water
Earthworms — surface after rain; easy to collect
Snails & slugs — only feed if you’re confident your land is parasite-free

You can also set simple DIY bug traps: a jar of sugar water near a light source will attract and drown moths and beetles overnight. Dump the contents into the run in the morning.

Category 4: Foraging & Free-Range Feeding

19. Free-Range Foraging — Let the Land Do the Work

This is the oldest chicken-feeding strategy in the world.

A free-ranging hen on good pasture can meet 50–100% of her nutritional needs from the land alone during warm months. She’ll eat grass tips, seeds, insects, worms, and small creatures — a perfectly balanced, completely natural diet.

To maximize foraging:

Rotate your flock through different areas to prevent overgrazing
Let grass grow to 4–6 inches before rotating chickens in
Plant diverse pasture mixes (clover, chicory, plantain, ryegrass)
Provide shade and water in foraging areas

Even on a small suburban lot, a few hours of supervised free-ranging per day can meaningfully reduce your feed bill.

20. Tree Crops — Mulberries, Apples, Persimmons & More

If you have fruit trees, you have free chicken feed.

Best tree crops for chickens:

Mulberries — one of the highest-yield, most nutritious chicken foods available; trees produce for weeks
Apples — chop or let them peck at windfalls; remove seeds in large quantities
Persimmons — wait until fully ripe; chickens love the sweet flesh
Pawpaw — a native fruit they go crazy for
Elderberries — cooked or dried only; raw berries can cause digestive upset

Let chickens range under fruit trees during harvest season and they’ll clean up every fallen fruit.

21. Wild Forage — Seeds, Berries & Native Plants

Beyond your yard, the wild landscape offers a surprising amount of free chicken food.

Safe wild forage:

Seeds from wild grasses and seed heads
Blackberries and raspberries (fresh or dried)
Clover and wild chicory
Wild strawberries
Pine needles (in small amounts — they’re antimicrobial)

Harvest tip: In late summer and fall, walk fence lines and roadsides with a paper bag. Collect seed heads from wild grasses and dry them for winter feeding.

22. Lawn Clippings & Leaf Litter

Fresh grass clippings from an untreated lawn are a nutritious, free green feed.

Important: Only use clippings from lawns that haven’t been treated with herbicides or pesticides. And keep clippings short — long clumps of grass can compact in the crop and cause impacted crop.

Leaf litter is equally valuable. Rake leaves into a pile in the run and let your chickens scratch through it. They’ll find insects, seeds, and other goodies hidden inside.

23. Nut Trees — Acorns, Pecans, Hazelnuts & More

If you have nut trees on your property, you’re sitting on a gold mine of fall and winter chicken feed.

Chicken-safe nuts:

Acorns — high in fat and carbohydrates; crush or grind for easier eating; leach tannins by soaking if feeding in large quantities
Pecans — crack the shells; chickens love the meat
Hazelnuts — crush and feed freely
Walnuts — crack and feed in moderation (high in fat)

Collect nuts in fall and store in a cool, dry place. They’ll keep for months and provide excellent winter energy.

24. Gleaning From Farms & Markets

Here’s a strategy most backyard chicken keepers never think of — but commercial farmers have used for generations.

Call your local farmers market vendors, grocery stores, and produce farms and ask about cull produce. These are fruits and vegetables that are too ripe, too small, or too cosmetically imperfect to sell — but perfectly fine for chickens.

Many vendors are thrilled to give it away rather than haul it to the dumpster.

What to ask for:

Overripe fruit
Damaged vegetables
Wilted greens
Bread and bakery items past their sell-by date

Wash everything before feeding, and freeze excess for winter use.

Category 5: Grain Alternatives & DIY Systems

25. Grain Substitutes — Cheap Whole Grains That Replace Commercial Feed

Commercial chicken feed is mostly grain. So why not just buy the grain directly — at a fraction of the cost?

Best grain substitutes:

Cracked corn — high energy, especially good in winter
Whole oats — excellent fiber and protein
Barley — one of the best all-around grains for chickens
Wheat berries — high protein, easy to sprout
Buckwheat — gluten-free, high in amino acids

Buy in bulk from a feed mill or co-op and you’ll pay a fraction of what bagged feed costs. Mix grains together for a more complete nutritional profile.

26. Duckweed — The 35% Protein Aquatic Plant

This one sounds unusual. But stay with me.

Duckweed is a tiny aquatic plant that floats on still water. It grows explosively fast — doubling in mass every 24–48 hours under good conditions — and contains 35–40% protein on a dry weight basis.

How to grow duckweed:

Fill a tub, kiddie pool, or large container with water
Add a small starter culture (available online or from ponds)
Place in a sunny location
Fertilize lightly with diluted fish emulsion or compost tea
Scoop and feed fresh daily

In summer, a single tub can produce enough duckweed to meaningfully supplement a small flock’s diet.

27. Aquaponics Integration

If you’re already running or considering an aquaponics system, chickens fit in beautifully.

The fish waste fertilizes the plants. The plants filter the water. And the plant trimmings, algae, and insects that accumulate in the system become free chicken feed.

It’s a closed-loop system that produces food for your family and your flock simultaneously.

28. Sweet Potato Vines, Pumpkin Guts & Squash Seeds

Fall is the most abundant season for free chicken feed — and squash is the star.

How to use squash for chickens:

Pumpkin seeds — a natural dewormer; feed raw seeds freely
Pumpkin flesh — chop in half and let them peck it clean
Sweet potato vines — highly nutritious; chickens love the leaves
Squash strings and guts — toss the whole mess in the run

Storage tip: Whole pumpkins and winter squash store for months in a cool, dry place. Buy them cheap after Halloween and you’ll have free chicken feed well into winter.

Seasonal Feeding Guide — What to Use & When

One of the most common questions chicken keepers ask is: “How do I feed my flock for free in winter?”

Here’s your seasonal roadmap:

Season	Best Free Feed Sources
Spring	Grass tips, clover, dandelion, earthworms, bugs, kitchen scraps
Summer	Free-range foraging, BSFL, berries, garden overflow, duckweed
Fall	Pumpkins, squash, apples, nuts, sunflower heads, gleaned produce
Winter	Sprouted grains, stored squash, mealworms, fermented feed, cracked corn

The key is to stack multiple methods so you always have something available, regardless of season.

Sample No-Feed Daily Meal Plans

Spring/Summer Plan

Morning: Kitchen scraps + fresh garden greens
Midday: Free-range foraging (supervised or in a paddock)
Evening: Sprouted grains or fermented feed

Fall/Winter Plan

Morning: Fermented grain mix + chopped squash
Midday: Mealworms or BSFL + stored sunflower heads
Evening: Cracked corn + kitchen scraps

Mix and match based on what you have available. The goal isn’t perfection — it’s variety.

How Much Does a Chicken Actually Need?

Here’s a number worth knowing: the average laying hen eats about ¼ pound (roughly 4 oz) of food per day.

On good pasture in summer, a free-ranging hen can meet nearly all of that from foraging alone. In winter, or on limited land, you’ll need to supplement more heavily.

General rule of thumb:

10 hens = ~2.5 lbs of food per day
A BSFL bin + fodder system + kitchen scraps can realistically cover 50–80% of that for a small flock

Track your flock’s weight and egg production as you reduce commercial feed. These are your best indicators that the diet is working.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even the best intentions can go sideways. Watch out for these:

Forgetting grit — non-negotiable when feeding whole foods
Too much bread or pasta — low nutrition, high carbs; treat only
Not enough protein during molt — this is when they need it most; ramp up BSFL, mealworms, and eggs
Dumping scraps in large piles — attracts rodents; spread scraps or use a feeder
Switching too fast — always transition gradually over 1–2 weeks
Feeding moldy food — when in doubt, throw it out

The Bottom Line

Here’s what I want you to take away from this guide.

You don’t have to be a prisoner to the feed store.

Your chickens are resilient, adaptable, and designed by nature to thrive on a diverse diet. With a little creativity and a few simple systems, you can dramatically reduce — or completely eliminate — your dependence on commercial feed.

Start with one method. Just one.

Maybe it’s setting up a kitchen scrap routine. Maybe it’s planting a row of sunflowers. Maybe it’s starting a mealworm bin this weekend.

Pick the one that feels most doable right now, and build from there.

Before long, you’ll have a flock that’s healthier, happier, and costing you a fraction of what it used to.

And that’s a win for your chickens, your wallet, and your homestead.