Can chickens eat grapes? This is a question that crosses your mind whenever you want to toss these treats to your chooks. Unfortunately, you are not sure about it and decide not to.
Chickens are naturally omnivores. They eat a wide variety of foods may they be grains, worms, nuts, mangoes and small plants.
It is due to modern farming where different chicken breeds are raised for meat, eggs or both and fed on manufactured feeds. This leaves people doubting if treats like grapes can be fed to these feathered heroes.
Can Chickens Eat Grapes?
Yes! Grapes are healthy treats for chickens and they can be fed ton your birds. These savory fruits contain essential vitamins that are very important to the health of your flock.
However, they should be fed in moderation because they are treats and are meant to supplement their diet. Grapes should not be turned to be the main feed.
Chop your grapes into pieces to make it easier for your chooks to swallow. Whole grapes can choke them to death. When chopped grapes are tossed on the ground, they will get dirt which is not good. Serve these tasty fruits to your birds in chicken feeders or bowls.
What types of grapes are good for chickens?
There are various types of grapes. They differ in color, size and sugar content. Seedless grapes are the best to feed to you chickens. Seeded ones can easily choke the birds or block their digestive system leading to serious health problems or even death.
Even though chickens have gizzards special organs that help in food digestion, some varieties of grapes have seeds that are very hard. Such seeds are not easy to digest bearing in mind your chooks do not chew food.
Can chickens eat grape stems?
Grape vines are healthy and can be fed to chickens. Your birds will do great damage to these plants if they get a chance to sneak in the vineyard. Believe me they will peck at the young shoots and leaves leaving behind what they cannot eat.
But be happy if your vineyard is infested with worms, and other insects. Chickens will eat these free protein rich snacks smiling.
Notorious chickens like Hamburg’s will fly easily and do the leaf pruning for you. What they will not eat are those that are high out of their reach.
What grapes are bad for chickens?
Watch out the kind of grapes you feed to your chickens. Some are loaded with farm chemicals and dangerous pesticides. These types of fruits are not healthy not just to your birds but to you too.
Packed grapes bought from supermarkets are full of additives that are unhealthy for chickens. When such foods are being packaged, preservatives are added to give them a longer shelf life.
How should grapes be fed to chickens?
As I earlier said, grapes are treats and should be fed in moderation. Because you are feeding these fruits to your birds, do not mean that you should scrap of other foods on their menu.
Grapes are very rich in sugars which are not good if consumed too much by chickens. Sugary foods will make these birds gain too much weight rapidly. Overweight chickens will easily develop leg and back problems.
What fruits can chickens eat?
Although not all fruits can be fed to chickens, there is a wide variety of them that can be fed. Fruits like mangoes, apples, watermelons, bananas, pears, peaches, strawberries, pineapples and many more are nutritious to your birds.
Fruits should be fed sparingly as treats but not as their main diet. Chickens will also eat grains like oats, wheat, rice, corn, millet and sorghum. Cooked Irish potatoes and root tubers like cassava, yams and sweet potatoes are tasty meals for chickens.
What fruits are toxic to chickens?
Apple seeds will interrupt with the metabolism of your chickens because they contain cyanide in them. These seeds will make your birds sick and are not good for them. The pits of fruits like apricots, plum, cherry and peaches are not good food for chickens.
Just like apple seeds, these pits also contain cyanide in them. Plum pits have a hard outer shell that is very hard for chickens to digest. They will block their digestive systems and cause death.
Can chickens eat cucumber?
These succulent vegies are good food for chickens. They are packed with vitamins and fibre that are very important for the health of your chickens. They also contain much water in them which helps keep the birds hydrated.
Fibre helps prevent constipation by ensuring that undigested food is removed from the body smoothly. In addition to that, the water in these treats keeps their bodies cool during summer.