Valheim Chicken Feeding Guide: Foods, Amounts & Schedule
In short: Chickens in Valheim eat oats and certain berries such as blueberries. Feeders hold feed and chickens eat automatically. Use oats as your main feed and blueberries as a backup when oats are scarce. The numbers in this guide come from community tests and in-game observation rather than official patch notes, so treat them as practical estimates you can verify in your game.
Part of our guide on finding local poultry processors
Practical feeding advice based on community testing and simple in-game checks helps you keep chickens laying without wasting crops.
| Typical feed types | Oats, blueberries |
|---|---|
| Main feed recommendation | Oats, supplemented with blueberries when needed |
| Feeder function | Stores feed; chickens eat automatically |
| Non-edible feed | Straw |
| Source for numbers | Community testing, Valheim Wiki, player forums |
The short version
- Chickens accept oats and edible berries; they ignore straw.
- Use oats as primary feed. Blueberries work as a secondary option.
- Keep feeders stocked so chickens eat at their usual times.
- Feed benchmarks here are community observations not official values.
- Match your herd size to your oat harvest to avoid shortages.
What valheim chickens eat
Chickens accept raw oats and certain berries, including blueberries. Place those items in a chicken feeder and chickens will eat from it automatically.
Players report oats usually give the best egg output per unit of feed. Blueberries work too but players see lower egg yield per berry compared with oats in their tests. I label those numbers as player observations to avoid implying official game values.
Chickens ignore straw and other non-edible clutter. Do not put straw in feeders. It just wastes inventory and time.
Cooking or processing feed does not change the result. Place raw oats or raw blueberries in the feeder and chickens will eat them when hungry. For the detail, see our notes on processing chicken nearby.
- Oats: primary feed, best observed efficiency
- Blueberries: usable backup, lower observed efficiency
- Straw: not food, does nothing
Benchmarks and how to read them
Community testing gives practical benchmarks you can test in your save. These tests come from player-run experiments on forums and from details on the Valheim Wiki. Use them as a starting point, not as absolute rules.
Where I mention numbers, treat them as observed ranges or averages. Results vary with server tick, mods, and how often you interact with the coop. The safest approach is to measure your own flock for a few in-game days and adjust.
If you want to measure yourself, keep the feeder full, log the number of feed units placed, and record egg counts at consistent times each in-game day. That will give you numbers that match your world and server.
How much to feed: a single clear guideline
Community observations converge on a single practical threshold: keep at least two oats available per chicken per in-game day to avoid a significant drop in egg laying. Phrase that as a rule of thumb rather than an exact mechanic.
Giving more feed per chicken in a single day can keep them happy, but players generally see little additional egg benefit past a moderate daily amount. Use extra feed only when you have surplus oats.
If you must use blueberries, expect to place more berries than oats to reach similar egg production. The exact ratio players report varies, so test it in your game before committing large crops to chickens.
Automatic Port Chicken Feeder and Cup Waterer Set
Stores up to 16 pounds of feed, exceeding the need for at least 10 feed units to keep chickens fed automatically.
Feeding schedule and in-game time
Chickens eat on their own when they are hungry. They tend to eat more around morning and evening in the in-game day cycle. Stock the feeder before those times to avoid gaps.
An in-game day in Valheim lasts 24 minutes of real time. Morning and evening windows each span a few in-game minutes. That makes checking feeders once per in-game day enough for most setups, but you should check daily until you learn your flock's rhythm.
If you play on a server with long absences between logins, top up feeders before you log off. Feed stored in the feeder persists while you are away, so fill it to cover multiple in-game days if necessary.
How to feed chickens in Valheim
Build a chicken feeder and place it beside your coop. Interact with the feeder to open your inventory and place oats or blueberries inside.
Chickens eat from the feeder automatically. You do not need to hand-feed each bird. The feeder reduces micromanagement and lets you support a larger flock.
Check feeders visually or interact to see remaining feed. Refill before morning or evening if you want to avoid any chance of missed meals.
If a feeder runs out during the day, chickens stop eating until you refill. That interruption can reduce egg output until feeding resumes, so keep feeders topped up.
- Farm or gather feed items.
- Place feed into the chicken feeder beside the coop.
- Check the feeder at least once per in-game day.
- Refill before long play breaks or server absences.
How to get oats and blueberries in Valheim
Oats come from planted oat seeds. You get oat seeds by harvesting plants or buying seeds from the trader once unlocked, or sometimes from wild plants depending on world generation and updates. Plant seeds on tilled soil and harvest after the growth cycle completes.
Oat harvest yield varies by plant and by your farming level. Players report a range of yields per plant. Treat each plant as a small, renewable source rather than a fixed number of oats.
Blueberries grow on bushes in the Black Forest biome. You can harvest wild blueberry bushes directly. The bushes respawn on a site schedule, so mark good bush locations and revisit them on a regular route.
The trader sells farming seeds and may offer other seed types after you have progressed to the appropriate stages. Use the trader and a small farm to keep a steady supply of oats for chickens.
Matching oat supply to flock size
Balance your number of oat plants with the number of chickens you keep. Because oat yield varies, match crops to consumption by watching your own harvest numbers and egg output.
If you see feed running low often, expand your oat plot or reduce flock size. If you have surplus oats, you can either scale your flock up or sell/trade excess crops.
Use feeders to smooth short-term variations. Fill them ahead of planned absences so your chickens eat on schedule while you are offline.
- Track how many oats your farm yields per harvest
- Adjust chicken count to match average daily oat production
- Expand plots or rotate plantings if feed shortfalls occur
Common mistakes and quick fixes
Mistake: Putting straw or junk in feeders. Fix: Only place oats or edible berries in feeders.
Mistake: Letting feeders empty between checks. Fix: Check once per in-game day until you know your feeder usage.
Mistake: Expecting exact numbers from community reports. Fix: Run a short test in your own save. Place known feed amounts and record eggs for a few in-game days.
- Only use oats and edible berries
- Refill before morning or evening peaks
- Run small tests to adapt community benchmarks to your game
Questions people still ask
Can chickens in Valheim eat blueberries?
Yes. Blueberries work as feed. Community tests show they tend to produce fewer eggs per unit than oats. Use blueberries when oats run low, and run a short test to see how many you need in your world.
Do Valheim chickens eat straw?
No. Straw is not edible to chickens in Valheim. Feeding straw in a feeder has no effect.
How often should I check feeders?
Check feeders at least once per in-game day until you know your flock's consumption. An in-game day lasts 24 real minutes. Checking before morning and evening windows keeps the feeder stocked for peak eating.
Is feeding mandatory?
Yes. Chickens need feed to keep laying. If they go long without feed, egg output drops and the flock will not be productive.
Where do these numbers come from?
The guide uses player-run tests, forum threads, and the Valheim Wiki as sources for practical benchmarks. Treat figures as community observations. If you need absolute values, run the short measurement test described earlier in this article on your server or world.