If you are tired of giving the same fruits and vegetables for your backyard flocks, know that there are numerous new choices out there. As the same as humans, chickens would like to feel a taste difference at least once in a blue moon. A typical diet may not contain the essential nutritional ingredients for their growth.
Have you ever thought of feeding pineapples to your chickens? Indeed, pineapple is an excellent treat for your chickens as they contain exciting nutrients that cannot be found in a regular meal.
In this article, we will look at the possibility of giving pineapple and the benefits it carries for your chickens’ health. Keep reading.
Can Chickens Eat Pineapples?
Luckily, the answer is yes. Chickens can eat pineapples. It is one of the sugary and sweeter fruits that your chickens can ever have. It would be amazing for them to taste it.
As pineapples are rich in vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and fiber, the chickens can be healthy consuming them. Surprisingly, the chickens can eat both raw and cooked pineapples.
However, there is one barrier. As pineapples contain a high amount of bromelain, it can result in negative health conditions. Therefore, you will have to limit the pineapple portions whenever you feed the chickens.
Apparently, consuming pineapples cause both positive and negative results that I will be explaining later in this article.
Health Benefits of Pineapples
As you may already know, pineapples cause numerous health benefits. Now, let me explain how it can be benefited to the growth and health of your chickens.
- Pineapples play a major role in controlling the worms in your chickens’ intestines. It is also useful in maintaining healthy kidneys.
- Pineapples do not contain harmful elements like cholesterol or fat. It does not affect any of the heart’s functions negatively. All the nutrients in pineapples are essential for the growth and development of your chickens.
- Pineapples protect your chickens from muscular degeneration. It is an eye disease that occurs in matured chickens. Pineapples prevent your chickens from subjecting to that disease.
- The enzymes in pineapples assure you that your chicken remains healthy and strong. Also, the fiber eases the bowel movement of them. The amount of fiber in pineapples also prevents them from constipation.
- Importantly, pineapples strengthen the bones and tissues of your chickens. The chickens do not belong to the category of the strongest animals. So, strengthen their bones is vital for a long-time survival.
How to Feed Pineapples to Chickens?
It is obvious that you have to peel off the pineapple before feeding the chickens because none of us can even touch the fruit with its hard skin. But before peeling off make sure the pineapple is not over-ripened, and it is consumable. As a tip, I would say pull out one leaf from the crown. It helps you to identify whether the fruit is of good quality or not. If the leaf comes out easily, no doubts that the fruit is consumable. On the contrary, if the leave is mushy, the fruit is either over-ripened or spoiled.
After selecting a pineapple, peel it off and cut it into slices. You can put a slice in the feeder for your chickens to peck at it. Of course, the chickens are exercised unknowingly trying to eat pineapple.
The chickens are experts at pecking the slices into small, digestible pieces. Nevertheless, avoid cutting thick slices as it will be difficult for chickens to gobble.
On average, you can keep one pineapple slice for 5 – 6 matured chickens. Overindulge in pineapples is not recommended at all. Therefore, feed them with a limit.
How to Decide Feed or Not to Feed Pineapple?
It is a known fact that pineapples are beneficial to your chickens’ health. However, feeding pineapples also cause some health risks too. Keep reading to find out the good and bad sides of pineapples. It is totally up to you to decide whether feeding pineapples to your chicken is the right move.
Reasons Not to Feed Pineapples
One reason is that the chickens have a hard time digesting the pineapples. As chickens have a sensitive digestive system, they cannot eat unripe pineapples either. Unripe pineapples are poisonous and can irritate your chickens’ throat. Therefore, if the pineapple is not ripened, you should avoid feeding it.
Another reason is that the pineapples are rich in sugar, and it may result in bad health conditions. If the health of the chickens is your priority, avoid overfeeding them. Pineapples should only be treated occasionally.
Reasons to Feed Pineapples
Interestingly, pineapple involves in boosting the immunity system of your chickens. You know that if the chickens are healthy, they grow up so fast. Therefore, a healthy immune system is important. Pineapple is free from cholesterol elements, and fats.
Pineapples are also known as a treatment for cancers, inflammations, and blood clotting. Serving an adequate amount of pineapples will enhance body functions. In addition to that, the vitamin C in pineapples contributes to producing collagen synthesis in chickens’ bodies.
How Often To Feed Pineapples To Chickens
Chickens should be fed pineapples in moderation. While it’s packed with nutrition that the chickens require, it doesn’t have enough to keep the chicken healthy.
Pineapples should only make up 10% of the chicken’s entire diet. The rest should come from a quality commercial feed. These feeds have been formulated with the right amount of nutrition to meet the chicken’s dietary needs.
Therefore, it’s recommended to give pineapples to your chickens, once or twice per week.
How Much To Feed Pineapples To Chickens?
You should feed pineapples to your chickens in small quantities. This means for each chicken, they should be given a small piece of the fruit.
Pineapples don’t have any toxins in them, but it has a lot of sugar and water. Both of these can be harmful to the chickens if it’s given to them in large amounts.
Too much sugar can lead to obesity, heart problems, and high blood pressure.
When it comes to water, too much of it in their diet will cause bloating, diarrhea, and an upset stomach.
Therefore, while you may want your chickens to enjoy this tasty fruit, it’s better to feed them in a small amount to prevent any health issues.
Other Fruits That Chickens Can Eat
Mango
Mango is high in nutrition, especially vitamin C. However, it’s also high in sugars and carbohydrates. These are harmful to the chickens when they are fed too much of it. To prevent any health issues, only feed mangoes to your chickens in moderation.
Plums
Plums are small but highly nutritious. It’s packed with vitamins and minerals that the chickens can benefit from. Make sure to remove the seed from the plum before feeding the fruit to them. The seed contains a small amount of cyanide, which is enough to harm the chickens.
Pomegranate
Pomegranate makes a healthy and tasty treat for your chickens. All parts of the fruit can be fed to them without any concerns. The chicken will eat the seeds, including the husk as well.
Final Thoughts
The chickens can eat pineapples. It is true that pineapples cause both benefits and detriments. However, it is believed that feeding a small quantity will not cause any bad health conditions.
The only thing you have to make sure of is that the pineapples are not over-ripened or spoiled because chickens have sensitive digestive systems, and they cannot gobble unripe pieces.
I would recommend pineapples as an occasional treat for your chickens. You are free to schedule when to provide them for your backyard chickens.
Let us know what was the reaction of your chickens to pineapple? Did they love it? We would love to hear.
