Fruits and Veggies?

[chickencoop789]

What fruits and veggies can I give my chicks/chickens?

 

[americanvalkyrie]

No avocados or raw potatoes.

There are some things that they will probably decline, like carrots. They don't like hard things like raw carrots, but also don't like really mushy ones, either. They love greens, and reds come in second. My chickens love lettuce/spinach, apple cores, cucumbers, cooked potatoes, and broccoli (the tops and insides of the stems.) They're not fond of bananas or strawberry tops. Melons are a toss-up... they love them on a hot day, but if it's not too hot then the gooiness might turn them off.

Also, I've noticed that younger chicks might refuse something that mature hens love. Since chickens usually know better than humans what's good for them, I'd just let that be a good indication. My daughter wanted to give my mama hen and her baby some old corn cobs yesterday, but I didn't know if the baby's digestive system was ready, so we gave them to the grown hens.

 

[KansasKate]

In this heat, my gals love watermelon. Like, CRAZY love.

 

[donrae]

Pretty much anything you'd eat. Mine get all my peelings/rinds/scraps/caps etc.

You should have heard the fussing this afternoon when I had the nerve to walk PAST the run with watermelon rind! I'd decided to give it to the goats instead--I thought those hens were coming through that fence.

 

[Vicky2479]

Mine get any peelings and left overs from making dinner, anything in the fridge that is past it for us to eat and any stray plants like the silver beet that keeps springing up all over the yard, anything they don't want jus ends up raked into the compost heap in the corner of thier run.

 

[chickencoop789]

Thanks! Can chickens eat things like cores and pits? If I threw a peach or an apple in their run, will everything disappear? Or will the pit and core be discarded?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mine eat it all. They get peaches and plums and the pits disappear. I once found a plum pit in the gizzard of a chicken I butchered.

Not all chickens are identical. Some flocks will eat things that others won't. I don't know what yours will do, but with mine the pits and cores disappear.

 

[flowerchic]

I have a question, myth or fact: Are apple seeds poisonous?? Some say they are even to humans and others say no problem. Now I know from experience of eating a ton of apples as a child that I probably digested an apple seed or two, don't recall any ills afterward. Maybe not enough, or they are not poisonous?? I've been feeding them apples but taking the time to core them first, sure would be allot easier to just throw them the whole apple, sliced into 4 pieces....versus the time it takes to core the darn things.

 

[fiveladybugs]

Mine love watermelon & grapes (I cut them up).

 

[americanvalkyrie]

You're right, flowerchic. Apple seeds contain cyanide, just like peach seeds do. Eating a few won't hurt you, but a large buildup could be dangerous. I knew that about peach seeds, but didn't know it about apples until I looked it up.

http://marleneb.hubpages.com/hub/Apple-Seeds-Poisonous