Can Chickens Eat Apples

It is fun to spoil our chickens. Yes, treats should only make up 10% of our flock’s diet. But variety helps distract them from eating our garden. But the storybooks were lying when they depicted hens able to gobble all household scraps. Unfortunately, not all human food is chicken friendly.

But as the weather cools and farmers begin offering apples by the bushel (around 40lbs), giving the fruit as treats is tempting. After all, there is only so much applesauce one family requires. Still, you need to be safe. Thankfully, chickens can eat apples. Well, mostly.

Can Chickens Eat Apples?

Chickens can eat apple flesh and skin. However, your flock should not be given seeds, leaves, or the apple’s stem, as they are toxic for our bird-friends. Nor should apples make up the bulk of their diet. Apples are classified as “treats,” which should be restricted to 10% of their total food intake.

Can Chicks Eat Apples?

New chicks should not eat apples or extra treats for the first few weeks after hatching. It’s best to get them started on their feed first before introducing other foods. But once they’ve got the hang of this living business, you can start offering them treats. However, cut apples into tinier chunks before serving. You might also want to hang them lower down, so the babies can reach them.

Benefits Of Feeding Chickens Apples

Apples have minerals and vitamins that are healthy for humans and their chickens. These include:

• Calcium
• Copper
• Vitamin B1
• Vitamin B6 (Thiamine)
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Fiber
• Pectin (Prebiotic)
• Polyphenols (Antioxidant)
• Potassium

Can Chickens Eat Apple Skin?

Chickens can eat apple skin, but not all of them enjoy the taste. Instead, many prefer the apple flesh. Thus, if you’ve tossed in scraps of apple skin and they were ignored, don’t assume this means your flock doesn’t like apples.

Also, as with people, it is best to wash apples before feeding them to chickens. Apple skin can have chemicals left over from where they were farmed. These chemicals were meant to kill pests, not for human or animal digestion. Besides, if you are eating your hens’ eggs, then, in many ways, you’re consuming what they eat.

Will Eating Apples Make Chickens Fat?

Obesity isn’t good for chickens, which is partly why owners are cautioned from giving their flock too many treats. Thankfully, apples are not high-calorie food. Also, while they have natural sweetness, most of it is naturally occurring fructose.

But as much as chickens find apples delicious, the treat is pretty filling, similar to bananas thanks to the fruit’s fiber content. Apples also keep a flock’s digestive system moving along, helping them avoid constipation.

What Are Safe Ways To Give My Chickens Apples?

It’s safest to give you chicken apples with the core removed. It ensures that the apple is rid of seeds, its stem, and any random leaves. Also, chickens often find it easier to peck them if the fruit is sliced.

Once you’ve cut the apple into a few pieces, you can serve it a few different ways. For example, you can place the chunks on a dish. However, chickens tend to scratch, even when unnecessary, leading to apple slices coated in dirt. 

Thus, most chicken owners prefer to serve apples to their flock on a string or secure them to the chicken wire. This allows the chickens to peck at the fruit without getting it filthy.

Some owners just core the apple and then fill the center with other chicken-friendly treats. For example, adding sugar-free, plain yogurt to the center of the apple and sprinkling it with seeds is a hen hit. They’ll love it. Just ensure you’ve secured the apple well enough that they won’t send it rolling across the dirt.

Lastly, try to give your chickens firmer apples. Soft ones don’t last long outdoors, especially when sliced. Mushy apples turn sour and bad quickly.

Help! My Chicken Ate An Apple Seed

Apple seeds are toxic to chickens. However, you don’t need to panic over a single seed. But if you suspect a member of your flock has eaten many seeds, contact your vet immediately.

The reason apple seeds are dangerous is that they contain amygdalin, as does the stem and leaves. The chemical isn’t harmful when the seed is whole. But if it is chewed or broken down, the amygdalin degrades into hydrogen cyanide. As any dedicated Agatha Christie fan knows, cyanide is poisonous.

An apple seed contains 1-4mg of amygdalin, depending on the variety. Thus, to murder a human adult, you’ll need 150 to a few thousand apple seeds. Also, they need to be crushed, or the person must be a fastidious chewer; otherwise, they are likely to pass through the digestive system without causing harm.

However, chickens are much smaller than human adults. Even so, it would take at least five of the most potent apple seeds to hurt a 5-pound chicken, and more likely five times that. Also, the chicken will need to have ground it which is difficult for it to do.

Nonetheless, while it is unlikely a chicken can harm herself from the odd apple seed, it is safer to avoid tossing them the core. Should your chicken have managed to gorge itself on apple seeds, signs of cyanide poisoning are:

• Panting (beak is open)
• Comb discoloration, such as blue or purple
• Death

Help! My Chicken Ate An Apple Covered In Peanut Butter

Almost anyone with toddlers has watched peanut butter slices of apple tumble to the ground. Nor does the 5-second rule count with these snacks since the peanut butter collects every molecule of dirt, hair, and identifiable grit the moment it splats.

But the pets come running before you can even begin to pick up your kid’s snack, including chickens. They will dive bomb those peanut butter slices, acting as if you haven’t allowed your flock to eat in weeks.

Thankfully, your hens are going to be okay. Peanut butter is perfectly safe for chickens. Sure, added sugar isn’t ideal in your flock’s diet. Thus, if you want to give your feathered-friends peanut butter, it’s best to provide all-natural brands devoid of added sugar, salts, and oils. But the occasional feast of toddler-adored sugary peanut buttered apple slices isn’t worth stressing about.

Conclusion

Chickens adore apples, although not all are delighted to feast on the skins. However, make sure you don’t feed your flock the apple’s seeds, stem, or leaves.