Can chickens eat dandelions?
Yes, chickens can eat dandelions in small amounts. Switzerland’s Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) shows dandelion and grains offered alongside layer feed.
How to serve it: fresh, unsprayed
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
- BLV (Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office) – Animal welfare information 10.4: keeping chickens as a hobby (in German)
- 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