Since no one seems to have had any experience with feeding fan palm fruit to their chickens, I figured I would share the limited experience I have had since originally asking the question.
As the fan palm fruit is reportedly edible, I figured I'd give it a try. They're all over my side walk anyway. I crushed several with a hammer, then offered them to my chickens. As with most new things, the chickens were a little skeptical at first. Then after the brave one tried it, the others joined in. They didn't seem to want to eat the hard little seed part (which I hoped they would). They only seemed to like the outer fruit part. Out of curiosity, I tried the fruit part. It tasted a little like a date, just thinner, tougher, and dryer. Not terrible if you're a chicken, I suppose
. I may try to crack the seeds into smaller pieces and offer them again.
Here are some pictures:
Up in the palm tree:
On the ground on my sidewalk:
Bunch in hand:
Close up cracked fruit and seeds:
