There are a lot of different foods that you can feed your chickens. It’s a good idea to feed them other food than commercial feed. When it comes to red cabbage, you may wonder if you can feed them to your chickens.
In this article, I’ll go through the details on whether your chickens can eat red cabbages or not. Also, I’ll go into detail on how much, how often, and how to feed them the nutrient-rich vegetable.
Can Chickens Eat Red Cabbage?
Yes, chickens can eat red cabbage. Red cabbage, often known as purple cabbage, has ten times more vitamin A than green cabbage. Cabbage is abundant in minerals and vitamins, is easy to consume, and is a nutritious treat for your flock.
While it is safe for hens, moderation is essential. Cabbage is one of the most popular treats among many chicken breeds. Cabbage is high in nutrients and simple to prepare. Furthermore, it is widely available and reasonably priced.
Cabbage is a dependable treat for your avian companions. When they consume it, it can keep them happy, pleased, and active. In exchange, they will provide you with great eggs and meat.
That is why raising chickens is such a profitable business. Chickens may become bored, especially during the winter months. Or they may become anxious if there is nothing to divert them. They may turn to hostile conduct unless you take severe steps to keep them occupied.
Is It Safe For Chickens To Eat Red Cabbage?
Yes, red cabbage is safe for chickens to eat. The only thing it might cause is changing the color of their poop. Instead, of the usual color, you may notice their poop is darker.
There’s no harm to them and after all the red cabbage is out of their system, their poop will turn to normal color.
Another thing to be aware of is the source of the red cabbage. If it’s store-bought, most of the time, the cabbages are grown using pesticides. This chemical is harmful to the chickens. In small amounts, they may have diarrhea and an upset stomach. In larger amounts, it could make them sick, even death can occur.
After buying red cabbages that you are unsure if chemicals are used or not, wash the vegetables thoroughly before feeding them to your chickens.
Is It Healthy For Chickens To Eat Red Cabbage?
Cabbage is low in calories, high in fiber and nutrients, and abundant in minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients.
Red cabbage has more than ten times the vitamin A concentration of its more famous relative, green cabbage. It also contains several extra minerals, which are beneficial – but not required for hens consuming a high-quality diet.
Feeding cabbage to your chickens is an excellent method to guarantee they’re getting healthy food rather than insufficient food, and provide some diversity to their diet.
Can Baby Chickens eat Red Cabbage?
A newborn chicken’s stomach is quite fragile and sensitive when they are born. Vegetables, if given to chicks before a particular age, might induce diarrhea.
Instead, baby chickens should be on a strict diet of starter feed. The feed is formulated with the proper amount of nutrition to meet the chick’s dietary needs.
When the chicks are three weeks old, it’s time to start exposing them to veggies. You may now feed cabbage to them, but only in moderation.
Therefore, allow their gut and body to grow and mature to the point where they can eat red cabbages after they hatch.
How To Feed Red Cabbage To Chickens?
Feeding cabbage to chickens is the enjoyable part and one of the reasons we provide our backyard hens items other than pelleted feed.
You may feed them cabbage in various ways:
- Scatter the leaves about to give them something to hunt for and play
- Shred-it into tiny pieces
- Place it in their feeder (ideal for lazy chickens)
Alternatively, you may drill a hole through the entire cabbage, thread some rope or stout twine through it, and hang it for them. This is a great way to keep them busy for a while and keep them active.
How Many Red Cabbages To Feed Chickens?
Red cabbages, like other treats, should be given to the chickens in moderation. Too much might deprive your chickens of the nutrition they require.
In addition, too many goodies may also lead to obesity, which has health consequences and may reduce the life expectancy of your flock.
A chicken’s diet should generally consist of 90 percent full chicken feed and 10 percent treats.
Chickens that consume cabbage and similar items regularly may develop thyroid issues. For that reason, you should feed red cabbages to your chickens in small amounts.
How Often Can Chickens Eat Red Cabbage?
As previously said, you do not want to feed your hens too much cabbage each week. At most, cabbage (and other vegetables) should account for around 10% of your chicken’s diet.
If you find that your chickens are hardly touching their feed or that their consumption of it has decreased, there is a good possibility that you are giving them too many rewards.
Remember, towards the end of the chicken’s eating session, you’ll want to wipe out any remaining cabbage. If you don’t do this, the cabbage will begin to decompose. If your chickens consume it, they may become sick.
Therefore, red cabbages should only be fed to your chickens once or twice a week.
Other Vegetables That Chickens Can Eat
Celery
Celery makes a good treat for chickens due to their nutrition. In order to make it safe for them to eat, you’ll need to remove the fiber from the celery first. Then cut them into small pieces or dice them. This will make it easy for them to peck and eat it.
Lettuce
Lettuce comes in different varieties and all are safe for the chickens to eat. However, one variety which is the iceberg lettuce isn’t healthy for them to eat. This lettuce has very little nutrition, and it’s high in water content. Too much water will cause the chickens to have diarrhea and other digestive issues.
Instead, feed them Romaine lettuce, which has more nutrition and less water.
Radishes
Chickens enjoy eating radishes, even the radish leaves as well. The whole vegetable will be too difficult for the chickens to eat. Instead, you’ll need to grate or chop the radishes first. This will make it easier for them to eat.
Conclusion
Red cabbages make a good treat for chickens since it’s packed with nutrition. Like other treats, the cabbage should only be fed to them in moderation. This means giving your chickens small amounts of red cabbages at each feeding, and once or twice per week.
