Can Chickens Eat Plums? One Part Is Harmful

Plums are a fruit that has a soft texture with a sweet and sour taste. This makes them popular to eat fresh or used to make desserts and smoothies. Plums are safe for humans to eat, but what if you want to feed your chickens too?

Yes, chickens can eat plums, which include the skin. While most of the fruit can be eaten safely by the chickens, you should discard the pit inside it. The pit contains a toxin that can harm chickens. Other than that, the fruit offers plenty of nutrition that the chickens can benefit from. Like any other fruit, plums should only be fed to them in moderation. This means a small amount of plum, once or twice per week.

Are Plums Healthy For Chickens To Eat?

Plums are healthy and safe for the chickens to eat. It’s a good source of many nutrients that includes vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, copper, and manganese. It’s also a good source of fiber and sugar.

However, too many of these nutrients can be harmful to the chickens. To prevent any health issues, feed them plums in moderation.

Plums are rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are important for the overall health of the chickens. This compound helps prevent free radicals from damaging the cells in the body. When there are too many free radicals in the body, the chicken is more prone to disease and illness.

Plums boost the immune system. Plums have a good amount of vitamin C. This vitamin helps strengthen the immune system of the chicken. This means the chicken will be less likely to become ill. If they do become ill, giving them plenty of vitamin C will help them recover back to good health quickly.

Plums improve digestion. Plums are a good source of fiber. Fiber plays a vital role in the health of the digestive system. It helps promote regular bowel movement and prevent constipation. This will help move food through the digestive tract smoothly.

Can Chickens Eat Plum Seeds/Pits?

When it comes to the pit of the plum fruit, you should not feed them. The pit or seed of this fruit contains a compound called amygdalin. It’s also found in cherries, peaches, and other fruits.

The seed when ingested will break down into hydrogen cyanide. Cyanide is a toxin that is harmful to chickens. In small amounts, it might give them digestive issues, but in large amounts, it can be fatal for them.

Therefore, when feeding plums to the chickens, make sure to remove the pit and discard it far away from the chickens. These animals are curious and will try to peck at the seeds of the plum.

How To Prepare Plums To Feed Chickens

Plums should be washed thoroughly first to remove any contaminants that may be on them. Then cut the plum in halves and remove the pit from it. The pit should be discarded away from the chickens to prevent them from trying to peck and eat it.

Using a knife, cut the plums into smaller pieces. It should be cut into small cubes or slices. This will prevent the chickens from choking on it. Then toss the plums to the chickens for them to eat.

You can also give them the plum as a whole fruit, but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to peck at it due to the tough texture of the fruit.

Another way to feed plums to them is to mix them with other fruits. Besides plums, you can add strawberries, blueberries, and apples to the mix. Cut the fruits into small pieces and mix them all together. Then place it into a bowl and feed them to your flock of chickens.

How Much Plum To Give a Chicken?

Plums are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are healthy for the chickens. However, plums don’t have enough nutrition to meet the chicken’s dietary needs. For that reason, plums should be fed to them in small quantities.

For baby chickens, you can give them a small piece of plum. Make sure to cut them into small pieces, so the chicks won’t choke on them.

For adult chickens, you can give half a plum to each chicken. This is enough for them to enjoy.

How Often To Feed Plum To a Chicken?

While plums are safe for chickens, the fruit should be given to them in moderation. This means that once or twice per week is enough for the chickens.

Plums aren’t one of their staple food, so they should not be considered something that should not be fed to them daily. This fruit should be given to them as a treat.

Like most other fruits, plums should make up only 10% of their entire diet. The other 90% should come from commercial feeds. These feeds are high in nutrition since it’s formulated for chickens. Make sure to choose the correct feed for your type of chicken.

Other Fruits Chickens Can Eat

Apples

Apples are great for feeding chickens. It makes a healthy snack for them. Since it’s not one of their staple food, apples should be fed to them in moderation. This means giving them apples once or twice per week. Also, make sure to remove the seeds from the apple before feeding the fruit to them. The seeds contain cyanide which is a toxin that is harmful to chickens.

Bananas

Banana is a tropical fruit that’s packed with nutrition and a healthy treat for the chickens to eat. You can give them ripe bananas to eat, but not unripe bananas. Unripe bananas are too bitter and a bit tough for them to eat. On the other hand, ripe bananas are soft and full of nutrition. However, avoid feeding the chickens too much of this fruit. It’s high in sugar content which could lead to obesity and high blood pressure in chickens.

Strawberries

Strawberries are plentiful during the summer. This is an excellent time to feed strawberries to your chickens. The fruit is high in water content which can help keep them hydrated. Also, it’s a good source of vitamin C, potassium, folic acid, and fiber. All of which are important for the health of the chickens.

Conclusion

Plums are healthy and make a great snack for your chicken. The only thing you want to make sure of is to remove the pit from the fruit. Other than that, you can feed the plum with or without the skin. Chickens will enjoy it and benefit from some nutrition the fruit has.