is there any way to help chickens to develop taste for bell peppers?

[thepick4uchicks]

The way I'd do it is not to feed them until they eat the bell peppers, maybe cut the peppers open for them? Mine will eat anything, as long as it will fit in their mouth.

A lot of folks say that nightshade plants aren’t the best foods for chickens.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Mine enjoy the seeds most, but also eat the flesh. Maybe buzz one up in the food processor to see if they develop a taste for it?

I hate to be a buzz kill again but just because the love the seeds doesn’t mean they know what the seeds are and that they know these pepper seeds are good for them. They are not going to digest anyway. They are not like a grain. They are of no nutritional value and are just going to pass through hopefully and hopefully not harm them if you are lucky. Forcing nightshade fruits on them is dangerous in many instances and can put them in detrimental situations to their health. However, they are your chickens. If you don’t have anything else to feed them then I guess they have to just take what they can get.

 

[K0k0shka]

I hate to be a buzz kill again but just because the love the seeds doesn’t mean they know what the seeds are and that they know these pepper seeds are good for them. They are not going to digest anyway. They are not like a grain. They are of no nutritional value and are just going to pass through hopefully and hopefully not harm them if you are lucky. Forcing nightshade fruits on them is dangerous in many instances and can put them in detrimental situations to their health. However, they are your chickens. If you don’t have anything else to feed them then I guess they have to just take what they can get.

The ripe fruit of nightshade plants are not harmful - not to humans, and not to chickens either. This includes both the fruit and the seeds. The levels of solanine are only high enough to be a problem in the leaves, stems and (some) unripened fruit or tubers (like green potatoes). So don't feed your chickens tomato leaves (they probably won't eat them anyway), but peppers are fine. Chickens eat seeds of all kinds and do digest them - even harder seeds with shells, like sunflower. That's why they eat all those rocks (grit). It's us humans who can't digest seeds very well, which is why you may find whole pepper seeds or even corn kernels in your own poop, but not in your chicken's.

Peppers are fine for chickens to eat.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

The ripe fruit of nightshade plants are not harmful - not to humans, and not to chickens either. This includes both the fruit and the seeds. The levels of solanine are only high enough to be a problem in the leaves, stems and (some) unripened fruit or tubers (like green potatoes). So don't feed your chickens tomato leaves (they probably won't eat them anyway), but peppers are fine. Chickens eat seeds of all kinds and do digest them - even harder seeds with shells, like sunflower. That's why they eat all those rocks (grit). It's us humans who can't digest seeds very well, which is why you may find whole pepper seeds or even corn kernels in your own poop, but not in your chicken's.

Peppers are fine for chickens to eat.

I realize that you have your opinion and I respect it but I have done a great deal of research on the topic as well because I have a large garden with nightshades and I wanted to feed mine out of it as much as possible and had to stop myself after finding information on here BYC that stopped me. Even about the sunflower seeds. So I would just encourage you to possibly do some more before you fed them piles of peppers. But I respect your opinion and you have a right to it and like I said they are your chickens and I wish you the very best with them and hope they remain happy and healthy at all times no matter what they eat from peppers to tomatoes to sunflower seeds of all types.

 

[K0k0shka]

I realize that you have your opinion and I respect it but I have done a great deal of research on the topic as well because I have a large garden with nightshades and I wanted to feed mine out of it as much as possible and had to stop myself after finding information on here BYC that stopped me. Even about the sunflower seeds. So I would just encourage you to possibly do some more before you fed them piles of peppers. But I respect your opinion and you have a right to it and like I said they are your chickens and I wish you the very best with them and hope they remain happy and healthy at all times no matter what they eat from peppers to tomatoes to sunflower seeds of all types.

If the extent of your research is BYC, and not a scientific research project, then your opinion is no more than that, an opinion. Which you are entitled to, of course, just as much as I am to mine. I just want the readers to understand that these are just opinions, not actual fact, so they can draw their own conclusions and go with their own preferences.

I grew up with farm animals and the chickens always ate peppers and tomatoes, seeds and all. Never had a problem with them. My current chickens also eat peppers and tomatoes, with the seeds, and have never had a problem. I am very interested in a real scientific study on the matter though, so if your online research leads you to one, definitely do post it here.

 

[CHlCKEN]

Our chickens never eat or peck bell peppers and we are getting lots of them (both red and green) in discarded produce - they all become worm food. Bell peppers and root veg are about only things they won't touch. There are plenty of people at BYC who say their chickens love bell peppers. Is there a way to help chickens to develop taste for certain produce such as bell peppers?

They don’t really like to eat the skin, so I always smash them open so they can see the good stuff. Some chickens have standards though and bell peppers just don’t reach them!

 

[Tonyroo]

Dicing the bell pepper into small bits helps them to eat it.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

If the extent of your research is BYC, and not a scientific research project, then your opinion is no more than that, an opinion. Which you are entitled to, of course, just as much as I am to mine. I just want the readers to understand that these are just opinions, not actual fact, so they can draw their own conclusions and go with their own preferences.

I grew up with farm animals and the chickens always ate peppers and tomatoes, seeds and all. Never had a problem with them. My current chickens also eat peppers and tomatoes, with the seeds, and have never had a problem. I am very interested in a real scientific study on the matter though, so if your online research leads you to one, definitely do post it here.

I will.

 

[DaisyG2317]

Mine go bonkers for diced green bell peppers.

Now apples on the other hand, not very interesting to them

 

[NatJ]

Our chickens never eat or peck bell peppers and we are getting lots of them (both red and green) in discarded produce - they all become worm food. Bell peppers and root veg are about only things they won't touch. There are plenty of people at BYC who say their chickens love bell peppers. Is there a way to help chickens to develop taste for certain produce such as bell peppers?

Do you cut the peppers open? I would expect the chickens to like the seeds better than the flesh, so cutting the peppers open will let them get to the seeds.

About the flesh of the peppers--I see several people already suggested cutting it into small pieces or using a blender to make it easy to eat.

Also, do be realistic about how much of what you are expecting your chickens to eat. Each chicken is only able to eat a certain amount of food in a day. And nutritionally, a bell pepper is not the same as a complete chicken feed. So even if your chickens do decide they like bell peppers, they may not eat as many peppers are you are able to bring home.

Root vegetables would have a similar texture problem: they are just hard for chickens to eat. You could consider cooking the root vegetables until they are soft. Yes, that's a lot of bother, so just leaving them to compost in the chicken run might make more sense. And if the composting things attract bugs and breed worms, then the chickens can eat the bugs and worms, so at least you get some benefit from them that way.