Household Organic Waste: The Crib Sheet

This is a table I have been updating for the neighbors near my henhouse who contribute food scraps to our feathered friends. Just for comparison, I added the vermicomposting column too. Together, these 3 food waste options sure take care of almost any organic material from your household- some inedible. As I continue to learn about this topic, I plan re-post the crib sheet when new information has been added.

Organic Waste	Chickens	Compost Bin	Worms
coffee grounds	No	yes, the filters too.	Best place for coffee grounds as worms consider this bedding. Unbleached filter are OK
dried fruit	past their prime is fine, but if the dried fruit is hard and tough, then soften first before serving.	OK	OK
cheese (cream & cottage too)	OK if has a touch of mold. Hard cheeses like Parmesan or dried out cheese edges are great but need to be diced. Yogurt must be soaked up with old cereal or similar. Try to serve these early in the day so that there isn't protein sitting in the chicken run overnight attracting mice/rats.	No, attracts vermin	OK, but very liquid products should be avoided.
grain products: breads, cereal, crackers & other grain -based foods	This is the best place for grain products. Stale bread is perfect for hens, but bread can't be hard and dried out when served to chickens. Soften with leftover milk, soup, sauce. Same for hard crackers and pretzels and hard pizza crust. Best chunk up into nickle size pieces to keep squirrels from stealing it all. Rice, noodles, quinoa, oatmeal, uncooked oats, etc.	No, attracts vermin	All, but only if whole grains (100% white flour products are not good for worms, or for you)
eggs & eggshells	Hens love cooked eggs. Empty hells of hard cooked eggs are great too (no raw eggshells though due to passing bacteria). The trick is that the hens can't know that they are eggs! They will start to eat their own and its very hard to stop that behavior. Crush any shells into tiny bits. Try to serve these early in the day so that there isn't protein sitting in the chicken run overnight attracting mice/rats.Provides good calcium for layers.	Shells are OK even if raw.	Shells are OK even if raw. They provide needed calcium to the livestock.
egg cartons (and packing material made of the same stuff)	No	OK, great source of carbon	super for bedding, would need to be torn up first.
drier lint and kitchen sink gunk	No	OK	OK
meat / stockpot leftovers	Hens will definitely eat meat leftovers. Can't be rotten though, and needs to be diced if its hard or grisly. After stock-making, Hens will love to pick the bones clean (remove bones later in the day). Try to serve these early in the day so that there isn't protein sitting in the chicken run overnight attracting mice/rats.	No	OK
meat drippings	Mixing meat drippings with hen feed, or even cat food until soaked up becomes fine hen food. Think Suet served to wild birds.	no	no
nuts	Most nuts are hard, so really need to be ground up, like a coarse cornmeal consistency. Rancid is just fine. Try to serve these early in the day so that there isn't protein sitting in the chicken run overnight attracting mice/rats.	No, attracts vermin	OK
Fruit: citrus, melon (rinds & seeds too), apple/pear peel & cores (seeds removed), berries, bananas,	Fruit is a real treat! Apples must be diced in order for the hens to take much. Apple seeds are toxic, so I usually cut that part out before dicing. Grapefruit halves are welcomed, even after eating.	All can go in no matter its state	All plus worms will take peels that hens won't
paper towels, napkins and tissues	No	All can go in unless there was a chemical cleaner used on the towels.	unbleached paper products only, no cleaning product on them
take-out and plate scrapings	Generally all good. Pizza should be diced, if crust is very hard best to soften with liquid. Try to serve these early in the day so that there isn't protein sitting in the chicken run overnight attracting mice/rats.	No, attracts vermin	OK
packing material - cornstarch peanuts & egg carton materials	No	OK!	Maybe
tea leaves	hens like the size of loose leaf	OK, with any paper teabag too	OK, with any paper teabag too
pizza boxes (unrecyclable corrugated due to food residue)	No	Yes, the best place for pizza boxes. Take the time to tear up the box, but it is not necessary	No
vegetable scraps:corn lettuce, chard, beet greens, tomato, pepper seeds, cucumbers	Hens will take anything leafy without any prep and OK if they are not particularly fresh. Corn cobs with bits of left overs on them are well loved. Hard veggies should be diced. Root veggie scraps work best if cooked first to soften. I have read that folks suggest to go light on items in the cabbage family as egg flavor can be impacted.	This is the best place for onions, carrots and anything in the cabbage family, & avocados. These items are either toxic to, or not preferred by hens. Otherwise, any vegetable waste in any condition can be put in the bins.	Worms will take it all, but may have to limit onion.