Can Pigeons Eat Chicken Scratch?

Welcome to the club of pet parents trying to find the best possible food for their pigeons. We understand it’s extremely important that your pet receives an adequate diet for it to grow and live up to its true potential every day. Along with that, being a pet parent, you are naturally inclined towards the wish of providing your pet with the best of both worlds. After all, it deserves that for fulfilling your day with joy and positive energy, doesn’t it? At the same time, the biggest hurdle between serving your home pigeon what you want and not being able to do so is safety concerns.

Naturally, a bird is not internally capable enough of digesting and making the best of several varieties of human foods. On the contrary, they may be a source of harm to your precious bird in some cases. Owing to this reason, it is of dire necessity that your parently instinct is entirely satisfied before your pigeon gets a munch of anything. Having said that, let us see if the chicken scratch is fit for the consumption of your hungry bird.

What Is The Ideal Diet Of A Pigeon?

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Naturally, pigeons are known to be seed eaters and so, seeds are what they take a keen interest in eating. In addition to this, they also enjoy relishing insects in scarce numbers. Ideally, most of their diet, about 80% daily, consists of seeds and insects. In addition to this, you may delight your beloved bird with some fruits and vegetables as treats and snacks occasionally.

As a pet parent, the only thing that you need to be exceptionally mindful of while deciding the dietary regimen of little Kevin is that it is balanced. How is it supposed to be balanced? Allow us to explain, an equilibrium will be maintained throughout if the bird is being fed proper meals that contain all of its dietary requirement supplements. If, on the other hand, it is being fed fruits, vegetables, and other snacks, even if in a surplus amount, your bird will likely grow deficient. This is for the reason that not all food items contain the right quantity of nutrients that a pigeon needs to strive and thrive.

What Is Chicken Scratch?

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Chicken scratch is a mixture of a vast variety of seeds and grains that hens conventionally enjoy eating. Barley, wheat, oats, sunflower seeds, milo, millet, barley and cracked corn are a few grains that are processed and prepared to ultimately form chicken scratches. Aside from the rich diversity of nourishing grains, it contains, chicken scratch gets most of its popularity among pet parents from the fact that it is inexpensive. Other bird and pet feeds are comparatively more pricey in comparison to chicken scratch.

Can Pigeons Eat Chicken Scratch?

Without any further ado, let’s get right down to answering the question we’ve all been waiting for to answer. Cue the drumroll, please! Yes, you can feed your pigeon chicken feed without having to worry about the bird’s health. It is prepared in a manner to not only meet the passing criteria for hens but also birds. Pet parents who own a good number of backyard birds prefer to feed the birds chicken every once in a while.

Do Pigeons Like Chicken Scratch?

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If you’ve been a pet parent for a while now, you would be aware of the fact that pigeons aren’t picky at all when it comes to what they eat. They will eat almost anything they come across, quite literally! Subsequently, if they refuse to let go of a particular cuisine, it sure has won the heart of your pigeon. Not too surprisingly, chicken scratch is one such food. So, to answer the question, pigeons like all other backyard birds adore chicken scratches. You can easily grab a bag of chicken scratch from your nearest grocery or pet store and allow your pet to dig right in.

Can Chicken Scratch Replace The Usual Diet of A Pigeon?

Now that’s a tricky one, let’s start from the very beginning. To make the best of its circumstance and not be weakened a pigeon needs to have a sufficient intake of foods that provide it with the following necessary nutrients;

  • Carbohydrates
  • Proteins
  • Fats
  • Vitamins
  • Minerals

If there is a lack in even one of those, it can become a huge and upsetting obstacle in your pigeons’ daily life. Its probability of falling prey to health risks and concerns may also increase as the bird’s immune system might not be strengthened enough to fight health hazards it comes across daily. Keeping all of this in strong consideration, it can not be denied that your pigeon needs a diet that is specialized for its physical needs and specifications. Chicken scratch, on the contrary, is fed to all sorts of small birds leaving behind a lot of room for deficiencies to creep in. For example, it may not contain protein content that is enough for your pigeon to fulfill its internal requirements.

Subsequently, it can rightfully be concluded that chicken scratch should not take the place of any pigeon specialized feed you may already be feeding it. You may use chicken scratch as a healthful starter for your pigeon instead. To illustrate the idea better, if you are feeding your bird 3 portions of bird seeds, you should incorporate 1 portion of chicken scratch along with the main course meal. In this manner, it will play the role of an extra boost for the bird with a bonus of its scrumptious taste. There’s no such thing as too good when it comes to the diet of your beloved bird best friend, right?

We hope you enjoyed reading this article just as much as we did writing it. If you did, don’t forget to share it with other pigeon parents you may know.

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