Can chickens eat carrots?
Yes, chickens can eat carrots in small amounts. Woodgreen, a UK animal charity, lists carrots among chickens’ favorite treats.
How to serve it: raw, in pieces
Kitchen scraps: The rules depend on where you live. US extension services allow small amounts of table scraps, no more than 10 percent of the daily diet (Oklahoma State). In the UK, it’s illegal to feed kitchen scraps to chickens, even pet hens (RSPCA, APHA). In the EU, Germany’s agriculture ministry (BMLEH) says kitchen and food waste must not be fed to laying hens.
Sources
- Woodgreen Pets Charity – What to feed your chickens
- Oklahoma State University Extension – Backyard Flock Production (AFS-8202)
- RSPCA – Keeping chickens as pets: how to care for backyard hens
- APHA (GOV.UK) – APHA warns not to feed kitchen scraps to farm animals because of disease risk (2017)
- BMLEH (German Federal Ministry of Agriculture) – Animal feed: frequently asked questions (kitchen and food waste, in German)
Last checked: November 2026