Does fruit really stop their egg laying?

[SassyKat6181]

I gave the girls 1/2 of a small watermelon as a treat a few days ago. Looking through the Meyer Hatchery catalog today, it says not to feed fruits to layers as it will stop their egg production. Is this true? They've only been laying about a month and now I'm worried.

 

[Judy]

Never heard of this, and a hatchery is saying it? Why don't you let us know whether you saw a difference?

 

[19hhbelgian]

This is a question that's been on here multiple times... I'm not sure if there's a certain fruit that might not be good for them, but I give mine fruit all the time and still have so many eggs I don't know what to do

we will buy the birds watermelons during the summer just for them, grapes, oranges, apples... They LOVE it and have never stopped laying for me. If I believed in conspiracy theories I'd say they are being paid by feed mills to say that

In all seriousness though, it has never affected my birds.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I don't think it's true and Meyer is the only source I can find for this idea.

 

[SassyKat6181]

Thanks!

 

[jbowyer01]

Mine get strawberries, apples, bananas and lots of other fruits.

 

[kla37]

Mine get fruit a few times a week and still lay lots of eggs. I think it must be a myth.

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

mine eat tons of fruit (well maybe not tons, but...) and even my 2 1/2 year old hens lay an egg almost everyday.

 

[bethandjoeync]

mine love apples, and melons

I have read that it's not recommended to give them citrus, because too much vit C can block the absorbtion of protein therefor causing them to take longer to form an egg

do a search here and see what you come up with.

HTH!

 

[Trunkster]

I seriously doubt that is true if you consider all the chickens from the past free ranging and raiding gardens and roaming orchards having a feast. Surely if it were a problem, free range would not be an option. I would question the source of this information and demand proof.