We are going to tell you everything that you need to know. Always remember that too much of something is bad even for chickens. Yes there are very few fruits (if any) a chicken will not eat and enjoy. It is a matter of instinct, so if you get to observe them closely, you will see the restrain they get when it comes to green tomatoes or eggplants. Yes, chickens can eat oranges. Oranges. Chickens should not eat anything mouldy. Avoid the pits and the skin, as they contain a substance called persin, which is known for its ability to cause myocardial necrosis in both mammals and birds. Cooking generally destroys these floras. Contrary to what you may have heard, chickens can eat oranges. Although the University of Florida says that there is not enough cyanide to kill. Chickens can eat watermelon, In fact, they love it. For the most part, the fruit is safe for the chickens to eat. You can read more about the study here. Can chickens eat oranges? This could lead to fewer eggs and as if that would not be enough, the eggs would also have thinner shells. Then, there is also the belief that citrus fruits might interfere with the absorption of calcium. Chickens can eat apples, however the seeds should be avoided as they contain cyanide (which prevents blood cells from delivering oxygen to tissue). You don’t have to peel the orange, but just make sure that the fleshy interior is completely exposed. It is safe to say that foods with pesticides are not recommended for people and foods treated with such chemicals are not suitable for your hens either. Pesticides, herbicides or any other types of chemicals are definitely not welcomed when it comes to food. However, some chickens may love to eat oranges. There is an interesting study done that emphasizes the importance of orange peels for chickens. What Other Foods Should Your Chickens Stay Away From. However, cooked veggies typically don’t have the same amount of nutrients as raw, so one option is to ferment your vegetables for 3 … You should feed your backyard flock fruits, vegetables, and other foods in moderation anyway. Chickens can also enter this category, since they are seen more and more as reliable pets, able to think and to prove that they are social animals. Chickens have been observed to refuse to eat tomatoes and eggplants, for example, because they belong to the nightshade family and are potentially harmful to a chicken’s health. Giving too much melon can lead to diarrhea, however. Chickens enjoy eating apples. While chickens may not necessarily require the same amount of Vitamin C that a human does, it is still worth getting a little bit into their diet on occasion. Can chickens eat oranges? If your chickens eat a little bit of orange here and there, they should be fine. The downside of orange peels are that they are too tough and chickens may find it difficult to eat these. The vast majority of chickens who come into contact with oranges will turn their beak up at them. Understanding what a chicken can consume will assist you much better knowing what they can … Chickens can eat oranges. The same effect has the oxalic acid in spinach, so it is recommended that this veggie should be just an occasional treat. You may try a small amount and see how your chickens behave. Although if there are a few in a fruit salad you share with the chickens, don't worry about picking them out. They may not eat the orange peel but any citrus fruit is fine for chickens. These are the best treats for flocks if given frozen in summer. Surprisingly, your chickens can happily enjoy a few pieces of oranges. Or can they eat any citrus fruits, at all? If you have orange trees in your backyard where the chickens live, they might peck on the ones that fall down from the tree. by Rebecca Nickols. Remember - mouldy feed can kill. Rotten food may contain infectious viruses or bacteria which may cause sick health to your flocks. Keep reading the article to find out what not to feed your chickens. Remember; oranges are incredibly high in sugar. A specific variety of fern called the bracken fern can cause bracken fern poisoning in chickens, which leads to anemia, weight loss and muscle tremors. There is a chance that it isn’t tied to the intake of oranges at all. They come with many minerals as well such as calcium, iron and magnesium and oranges also have other vitamins such as A, B6 or E. There aren’t any elements in citru… Oranges are super healthy for chickens, but they typically don’t like them. Chickens are not a picky eater and will eat just about anything that you give to them. Chickens generally will not eat it, but if they do, make sure they don’t eat too much as it can taint the taste of the eggs! Chicken Feed and Supplements. The small bodies of chickens are not meant to ingest large amounts of salt. However, if your hens are bored then giving these peels to them will give them something to play with. This list helps to reduce any chance of unconsciously harming them. Citrus – Some varieties of chickens can be very sensitive to citrus. No, it is not good. Regardless of being one of the citrus fruits, oranges can be an excellent option for your backyard chickens. Can Chickens Eat Oranges? But the problem is that they tend not to touch the peel or any of the rind of the orange. They can but they don’t tend to like them! Below: A chicken eating an Orange. While chickens may not necessarily require the same amount of Vitamin C that a human does, it is still worth getting a little bit into their diet on occasion. In Summary – Can Chickens Eat Grapefruit and Peels? We definitely pay a lot of attention to the things we feed our pets. http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/04/7-things-you-shouldnt-feed-your-chickens.html, http://readynutrition.com/resources/10-foods-you-should-not-feed-your-chickens_09022014/, http://www.examiner.com/article/why-feeding-oranges-to-cows-and-chickens-could-save-lifes, https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Raising_Chickens/Keeping_your_chickens_happy. A lot of chickens are put off by the scent of citrus, so if you have strong smelling oranges they may turn their beaks up. Yes – in moderation. However, it is worth bearing in mind that some people have seen negative consequences to feeding their chickens some oranges, and you may see the same. Don't feed your chickens food which has any signs of mould or is in any way going rotten. Yes! As you would have expected, there are also other foods that should be avoided when it comes to feeding the chickens. The ingestion of leaves is associated to toxicosis in animals. When adding new feeds to your birds diet, it is important to do it slowly so they can develop stomach flora related to a particular fruit or … Most chickens will probably not be into orange peels but if you can get them to eat them, the researchers have concluded that the peels have positive effects on chickens. They may not eat the orange peel but any citrus fruit is fine for chickens. It is great to give at other times of the year too, mostly because watermelon is packed to the brim with nutrition that can really benefit your backyard chickens . Chickens have a sense of what food can be dangerous for them and what food is safe to eat, which makes them excellent pets and farm animals. Chickens can eat oranges, berries, watermelon, apples, grapes, pumpkins, mangoes, tomatoes, pineapples, plums, and avocados. There have been researches done on chickens where it was suggested that abundant quantity of citric acid can cause excessive preen in chickens. Citrus juice probably won’t have any major impact on bacteria as it lacks the oils found in the peel. When they are raw, they contain a substance called phytohemagglutinin (PHA/hemaglutin), which in more simple terms is a natural insecticide which can prove to cause total damage if the beans are not soaked first and then cooked properly. Most chickens will want to eat the flesh and not the skin. Why would anyone feed chocolate or give their chickens alcohol to drink in the first place? The chickens start to pull out their feathers. Mine don’t. Try adding them to fruit salads to ensure your flock get to gain from their health benefits. The oils from citrus have cleaning properties and are known to kill pests, viruses, and bacteria. When there is less harmful bacteria produced and shed by animals, there are fewer chances for bacteria to contaminate food and cause illness. This means that, at the absolute minimum, you are going to want to cut up the orange a little bit, since chickens do not like the orange peels. 2. The best way to reduce any potential threat is to keep your chickens away from potatoes with green skin. And in reality, many chickens don’t even like them. Sprouted beans are also great, as the act of sprouting them will kill and destroy the hemaglutin. Yes, chickens can eat grapefruits. You can cut up the orange a little bit, but more about this later in the post. Is popcorn OK for chickens? Animals shed salmonella and other organisms in their feces but the research has shown that feeding citrus pulp to animals, including chickens can lower the number of harmful bacteria in their gut without affecting the good bacteria. Both of them contain a lot of vitamin C along with some sugars and dietary fibers. Yes, chickens can eat oranges. However, there are some experiments that have been conducted on these foods too and the scientists have reached the conclusion that caffeine or chocolate, which contains a substance named methylxanthines theobromine should be avoided at all costs. When it comes to kiwi fruits, they will eat as much as you give them. However, you probably do not want your chickens to be eating too many oranges each week. This is because some people have noted that a high amount of Vitamin C in a chicken’s diet can cause two things to happen: None of this information is ‘scientific’ at all. This is why we need to be careful as chicken keepers. If your chickens do like the taste of oranges, they are probably not going to eat the entire orange. When we talk about citrus we usually mean lemons, oranges, grapefruit, pomelo and limes but today we will focus on oranges and lemons since they are the most common ones. Chickens can eat oranges! The oranges, being high in sugar, can attract pests into the chicken run and coop. … Pat Floyd. Chickens can not absorb that much sugar. However, some chickens may love to eat oranges. Oranges are among the world’s most popular fruits, they are a healthy source of vitamin C and have a many health benefits. Yes, chickens can have popped or unpopped popcorn. It can make them sick. It’s still debatable because of the varying reports. So, while chickens can eat oranges, they probably won’t. By and large, your chickens can eat any vegetables you do – keep in mind that cooked, soft vegetables might go over better than raw. They like eating the flesh, and even the skin and core of the apple. However, apple seeds can contain cyanide. December 23, 2019. Feeding oranges or any other citric fruits to chickens may combat food borne illness. Try adding them to fruit salads to ensure your flock will eat them. Citrus is thought to interfere with calcium absorption, leach calcium out of bones and contribute to thin-shelled and fewer eggs, so don't feed citrus fruits regularly.. My chickens actually won't eat any type of citrus fruit - and they usually know best, so just skip the orange sections! These foods will definitely cause some troubles that might seem mild at the beginning but may get worse in time. Whether or not they want to is another question. If you have orange trees in your backyard where the chickens live, they might peck on the ones that fall down from the tree. Cut the Orange in half and freeze then give to the hens to peck at when it's hot. Oranges are fine for chickens, Try giving frozen orange as a hot weather treat. As you know, chickens prefer to stay away from the nightshade family plants. Chickens can eat a lot of different food items– don’t forget they are omnivores, so they love both meat and veggies. Now, in regards to their diet, people have often wondered: can chickens eat oranges. This could only be healthy for them. Most chickens will want to eat the flesh and not the skin. It certainly should not become a staple of their diet. Chickens can tolerate up to 0.25% salt in drinking water but are susceptible to salt poisoning when water intake is restricted. But, as robust as chickens are, there are still a few things chickens cannot eat. Although chickens can eat pineapple fruit, you may find that not all of your chickens eat when you offer it to them. These are scraps that, for whatever reason, your chickens would rather (or can only) play with instead of eat. You’ll be surprised not just by the answer, but by how wrong the myths out there about feeding citrus to chickens really are. FurryTips is reader-supported. Left over grapefruit or orange peels turn out to be excellent treats for livestock. Moldy or Rotten Food. Yes, chickens can eat oranges. But have you ever wondered if chickens can eat oranges or orange peels? Often times, I get asked what chickens can eat and what they cannot. You can always see if your chickens are willing to eat the oranges, but there are so many other fruits out there that you can give them, like: There is no sense bothering with oranges unless they are table scraps and you would have thrown them away otherwise. Can chickens eat oranges? My first house was a stick built house on a farm but not a farmhouse. Refreshing in every way. It is one of the best treats that you can give your chicken when it comes to the hotter days of the year. Well, chickens and oranges is what we are going to talk on this page. My answer is usually simple and clear; what humans can eat, chickens can also eat. It can be tempting to take a pale of leftovers out to your coop and dump everything right into their feed dish. The same story is with the green skinned potatoes which are also a part of this family. 1 2 3 Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Yes, chickens can eat orange peels because they are not toxic. Chickens are no different. While, generally speaking, the answer to ‘can chickens eat oranges’ is yes, there are some backyard chicken owners who would never feed their chickens any oranges (or anything high in Vitamin C, for that matter). Most chickens will steer clear of the citrus fruit and its peel, but there’s always an exception to the rule. TREATS - Silkie chickens love to eat, and aren’t really fussy about what they’re scoffing! However, can chickens eat oranges? Since the kiwi fruit is too large for the chickens to eat it like that, there are several methods you can try to feed them. While oranges are safe for chickens to eat, whether they choose to eat them or not is a different story. According to this study, if you are a backyard producer of eggs and meat,  you may want to give your animals citrus products when you can. You should not be giving your chickens too many oranges, or other fruits for that matter. Q: Are hedge-apples safe for my hens to eat? This includes their leaves and the vines too. As for alcohol, well, you never know what some people might try on their pets! Can oranges be included in the second category or should they be taken out of the picture completely? I know for a fact that many of my chickens love fruit scraps of any variety, and they certainly love to pick through the scraps for any hidden treats. Feeding your flock extra table scraps or goodies that haven’t gone bad is entertaining, and usually pretty good for your chickens. Typically, chickens can eat a huge variety of fruits and veggies. Some moulds, of course, are good. Chickens find it difficult to eat these because they are too tough. Yes there are very few fruits ( if any) a chicken will not eat and enjoy. But give them less because it may cause feather pecking problems if given in excessive quantity. Should chickens eat oranges or not? Oranges are super healthy for chickens but, generally, they’re not fans of this zestiest of fruits. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Chickens tend to love melons and can eat the flesh, seeds and pick at the rind. However, they are very fond of mealworms and corn. Chickens can be stubborn, and if they like the taste of something, it can be hard to get them to eat anything else. The first reaction when you probably read this was most likely a burst into laugh. source of some of the best vitamins and minerals such as potassium, fiber, chickens are happy. Can chickens eat melon? The chickens may be able to deal with them, but you still want to reduce the number of pests as much as possible, right? They contain solanine, a toxin which is known for the fact that it destroys the red blood cells, causing diarrhea and ultimately heart failure. Chickenmag.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. You should take the oranges away within a few hours if the chickens haven’t eaten them. So apples are seen as a tasty treat for … Your chickens must get the right balance of vitamins, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates from their diet … This has been a highly-intense and discussed topic. They may peck a little bit at the orange, but the overwhelming taste probably gets to them. 100 grams of crickets contains 12.9 grams protein, 5.5 grams fat and 5.1 grams carbohydrates, plus numerous minerals and trace elements. The same would happen if you gave them any sort of citrus fruit. If you are still nervous about it, just use the leftover peels to freshen your garbage disposal instead or make an all purpose cleaner. Now, when it comes to avocado, it is good to know that not all parts of this food are harmful for the chickens. This enables the birds to develop the natural flora in their stomach so they can digest these feeds. A: This reader’s question caught my attention because I have Osage Orange trees (also known as hedge-apple, bodark, bowwood and bois d’arc) on my property and, like Pat, I wondered myself if I could supplement the chickens’ diet with the huge amount of fruit these trees produce. There is some concern about citrus fruits within the backyard community, bit for most people it’s never caused their flock any issues. Frequently, we see advice online that advises us to not feed our backyard chickens things like oranges, limes, and lemons. This method requires that you give your chickens scraps that aren’t unhealthy for your chickens but they still won't eat. Cooking the potatoes at high temperatures might lower the risk by killing this toxin, but a simple boil of the potatoes is not enough to reduce the level of solanine. If your chickens eat a little bit of orange here and there, they should be fine. Afterwards, they are good for feeding. We all know that, just like in the case of any other animals, there are some foods that should be avoided, as well as some foods that are highly recommended. Crickets: Yes. At the most, you will probably want to be giving your chickens one or two oranges total per week. In moderation. I mean, who doesn’t love a bit of a variety in their diet? The fruit itself will not become harmful to the chicken according to most experts, but still, the topic has a mix of viewpoints, however, just like humans, chickens like treats. 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