Apples

[Moonowl999]

So, we have a lot of apples this time of the year here in Maine. Is it okay to feed apples to the chickens? Like maybe a cut up apple a day or so.

 

[KingD]

So, we have a lot of apples this time of the year here in Maine. Is it okay to feed apples to the chickens? Like maybe a cut up apple a day or so.

Yes it's fine. Just make sure to remove the seeds first. They can be poisonous to some birds.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

My chickens go into my orchard and eat any fallen apples they want.

 

[Moonowl999]

Good to know thanks

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Apples are just fine. Just remove the seeds.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Apple seeds aren't poisonous in any quantity a chicken might eat.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

After making apple cider, I regularly feed this much apple “squeezins” to the flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When you were a kid did you ever swallow an apple seed? I did. If they are poisonous why am I not dead? Dosage. There simply isn't enough poison in an apple seed or several apple seeds to kill a kid. There is not enough to kill a chicken either.

Practically anything you eat has something in it that can harm you if you eat enough of it. Potatoes, for example. A normal adult human would have to eat over 50 pounds of potatoes in one sitting to get enough of that to be affected. I can't eat that much at one sitting so I still eat potatoes. I don't know hw many apple seeds a human or a chicken would have to eat to get a dosage that would harm them, but it would be a lot.

Mine get all the apples, pears, peaches, and plums they can find, including seeds. Those seeds all have that poison in them. I've found plum pits in chickens' gizzards when I butcher them so I know they eat them. It doesn't hurt them.

@Moonowl999 if you really want to you can peel that apple, remove all seeds, and chop it up or turn it into apple sauce, they will eat it. I'd just toss the apple in the run and let them eat it that way. I've seen them use their beaks to rip apart a frog or mouse to get it into bite-sized pieces. They can easily eat an unpeeled whole apple.

 

[Folly's place]

Mine also glean under the apple trees, it's fine.
Mary