Can chickens eat strawberries or are these tiny fruits a bit too much for them? Strawberries are some of the best sweet and delicious fruits on the market. Not to mention the incredible aroma they have but are they as delicious for chickens as they are for humans?
Can Chickens Eat Strawberries and How Much?
Yes, strawberries fit in the good food category for chickens. In fact, chickens seem to go crazy about these red small fruits. Once they have a taste of strawberries, they can’t help but eat the whole tray of them. Make sure the strawberries are fresh and not moldy at all before you give them to your chickens.
However, moderation is the key here. Strawberries should be fed as occasional treats not an everyday staple food for chickens.
What Other Foods are Safe for My Chickens?
Although, you might think your birds can eat almost anything, you are wrong. There are a lot of things chickens are forbidden to eat. But there are also a lot of foods good for them.
Here is a list of foods that you birdie can eat:
- Beets
- Asparagus – in moderation. It affects the taste of the eggs.
- Beans – cooked, never raw
- Brussel sprouts
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Corn
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Eggplant – only ripe.
- Garlic – good for the immunity system
- Bell peppers
- Peas
- Popped popcorn
- Pomegranate
- Potatoes – not white ones. Avoid peels.
- Squash
- Pumpkin
- Turnips – only cooked
- Zuchinni
Fruits:
- Peaches
- Raising
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Melons
- Berries – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries
- Apples – with no seeds
Bread/Grain:
- Pasta – cooked
- Sugar free cereals
- Whole grains bread
- Brown rice – cooked
- Grits – cooked
- Quinoa
Dairy:
- Cheese – in moderation. Most chickens can’t digest lactose.
- Plain yogurt – in moderation. They may not be able to digest it. If you see any negative effects on your chicken, avoid the yogurt for a while.
Interesting Facts About Chickens
Chickens are not some of the dull animals everyone perceives them. In fact, there are some interesting facts about these animals that will make you love them even more.
- Chicken are like human mothers – they talk to their baby in the eggshell. When the baby chick is born, it will recognize their mama chicken’s voice. At the same time, hens protect their young ones from possible dangers.
- Chickens have a great memory – who thought that chickens have a small memory could not be more wrong. In fact, chickens can distinguish up to 100 faces in their own species. They are a serious competition for the elephants.
- Chickens know their place – these birdies actually form complex social structures and every chicken knows who is in charge of the whole group. Each one of them knows its place and respects it all the time.
- Full vision – chickens do not suffer from color-blindness and can actually distinguish every color out there.
- Chickens can dream – if you thought chickens can’t have dreams, you are definitely wrong. They experience Rapid Eye Movement and they enjoy dreaming as much as we do.
- They can fly – chickens are not completely flightless. They can fly over a fence or into a tree.
- Chickens can feel the pain – due to their pain receptors, chickens can feel pain and distress. This is why it is advisable to let your chickens free not to keep them in small cages.
- Multiple partners – female chickens will mate with more than just one partner and then decide whose babies they want to have. They can actually eject sperm and this thing happens when the male is lower in the pecking order.
- Chickens are omnivores – they will eat seeds, they will eat fruits and veggies but they will also feed on small animals such as lizards and mice.
How To Keep My Chickens Healthy?
In order to ensure your birds’ health, you need to keep them on a balanced diet. Do not feed them fattening products, such as fat meat, sugar, fried foods, fast food or anything that you know it can get them fat. They will start to get fatter and fatter and eventually will have health issues due to obesity.
Keep your chickens away from any forbidden food. If you are not aware of the foods your birdie should or should not have, please consult an expert or look it up online. Print the list, write it down or memorize it, whatever suits you. Just make sure you know which foods they should stay away from. Whenever you want to feed them something new that is not on the list, ask someone that knows about chicken’s diet. The Internet can provide you with great answers as well. All you have to do is to research it.
Give them everything in moderation. Do not feed them too many fruits or veggies, too much of your table scraps or anything else. Everything in moderation should keep them as healthy as they can be. At the same time, if you have people coming over, be sure that you clean after your guests or that you do not let your guests feed the chickens. Keeping track of what they are eating at all times is the first step on the health track.
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