Mixing your chickens’ daily meals with a variety of fruits and vegetables is a great way to feed them. The chickens gobble almost anything they find interesting. But when you take care of them, you have the sole responsibility of providing them with healthy food. Healthy food is essential for their growth and development.
Now, you may wonder whether yams can be a healthy meal for them.
Can Chickens Eat Yams?
Yes, the chickens can eat yams. You can feed either cooked or raw yams. This root vegetable is high in nutrition which your chickens can benefit from. Due to their high amount of sugar in yams, it should only be fed to them moderation.
Can Chicken Eat Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes?
Yes, potatoes and sweet potatoes are another two root vegetables that you can feed your chickens. I know it is confusing to hear about several potatoes and yams. Let me help you with differentiating each one of them.
The yams look like potatoes, but they are much darker in color and dryer inside. The potatoes are small in size and have white to pale, yellowish skin. Sweet potatoes have a rose color skin and orange flesh. They are in fusiform shape.
How to Feed Yams To Your Chickens
The best way to feed yams to your chickens is by peeling them and chopping them into smaller pieces so the hens can eat them easily. You may also want to boil the yams before feeding them to your chickens to increase their digestibility.
If you have a large flock of chickens, you could even feed them whole yams or slices of yam if there aren’t too many in your garden. Chickens love yams because they’re sweet and nutritious!
How Many Yams To Feed Chickens?
While yams are packed with essential nutrients, the vegetable should be fed to your chickens in small amounts. For an adult chicken, a slice of yam for them to eat. For baby chicks, once they are at least 3 weeks old, you can give them a tiny piece of yam.
Yam isn’t one of their staple food, so it should be given to them only as treat. Too much yam can cause health issues due to the high amount of sugar that it has.
How Often To Feed Yams To Chickens?
Yam should be fed to your chickens in moderation. This vegetable is packed with nutrition, but the sugar level in it is very high. Chickens that consume too many yams will have health problems such as heart disease and obesity.
Like most other vegetables, yam should only make up 10% of the chicken’s entire diet. The rest should come in the form of quality commercial feeds. Feeds are what the chickens should eat every day as they contain the right amount of nutrition to support their health.
Therefore, yams are safe for chickens, but it’s best to feed them in moderation to avoid any health issues. Feed yams to the chickens, once or twice per week, but no more than that.
Benefits Of Yams For Chickens
The yams benefit your health in different ways. The followings are the advantages that your chickens can gain by eating yams.
Enhance Brain Functions
Yams contain a unique compound named diosgenin. It promotes neuron growth and enhances the brain function of chickens. Having good brain health is one of the reasons to have a long life. If you wish to see your chickens healthy every day, adding yams to their meal is the best option.
Cancer-Fighting
Yams contain several antioxidants that fight against cancer cells. In addition to that, yams reduce the colon tumor growth that causes cancers.
Reduce inflammation
The antioxidants also help reduce inflammation conditions. The inflammation cause risk conditions such as heart problems, diabetes, and obesity. The yams aid in minimizing those risks.
Besides that, yams promote healthy bowel movements. The chickens have sensitive digestive systems that are subject to unhealthy conditions easily. The yams contribute to reducing stomach ulcers and constipation.
Promotes Fertility
The best news for poultry owners is that the yams promote fertility. The key hormone required to prepare a fertile egg is progesterone which can be found in yams. So, yams are a better replacement for the alternative fertility-increasing products that you may be providing to your chickens.
Yams Control Cholesterol Level
Yams play a major role in controlling cholesterol levels. The soluble fiber in yams can reduce the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream and removes excess cholesterol from the body. So, yams are a much-needed food for your chickens’ diet.
What Other Foods Can Chickens Eat?
Besides yams, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, you can feed almost anything else to chickens. To be more specific I would say, you can give them bread, cooked meat, melons, fruits, peas, and many more. The vegetables include; carrots, cabbage, broccoli, pumpkins, lettuce, cucumbers, etc.
The Bottom Line
Certainly, chickens can eat yams. It is a nutrient-rich vegetable that causes rapid growth and development of your chickens.
However, some chickens are different, just like children. So, make sure your flocks love the taste of yams by giving them a few pieces first. If it seems like they are enjoying it, you can continue feeding them. Unless it will be a waste of food.
