Can chickens eat pasta or noodles?

My chickens eating some pasta leftovers.

Chickens can and will eat pasta and noodles but you should only feed limited quantities as they are very low in proteins and high in carbohydrates which makes for a poor chicken feed. Pasta and noodles tend to be low in nutrients as well.

Below: If you watch mine you can see they will eat as much as they can as fast as they can.


Coloured pasta is fine for chickens, they can have red, green and black pasta but limit the quantities.

If feeding kitchen scraps is allowed where you live then you can give your chickens any pasta or noodle leftovers. 

Pasta, spaghetti noodles and ramen swell when cooked because it absorbs moisture and soft foods are not good for chickens in great quantities, they cause all sorts of crop problems.

Is pasta and noodles good for chickens?

Pasta is predominately a carbohydrate and all pasta's and noodles have a protein content of less than 5% which means they are not a good and nutritious food for chickens. Chickens need food with a minimum of 16% protein.

Below: Pasta and treats always cause plenty of interest in the flock.

Another problem with pasta is it tends to be coated in sauces that are very high in sugar and salt which is also not good for poultry of any kind.

Diets high in carbohydrates and fibre can be a cause of dirty bottoms in chickens.

Can you feed pasta raw?

It is fine to feed chickens raw pasta but it must be broken up into small pieces. You can give your hens broken raw spaghetti noodles but they won't be able to eat raw whole macaroni.

Pasta can be fed raw or cooked to chickens, just be sure to break it up into bite sized pieces first.

Can baby chicks have pasta or noodles?

I would not give pasta or noodles to baby chicks or growing chickens, they need high protein food to sustain their growth.

For a full list of what food chickens are allowed.