Thinking about bird treats, especially about your chickens, you might choose a different variety of food items that comes to your mind. Chickens can eat various things if they like, but some of your leftover items could be lethal. It’s up to you what to feed them and what not to, to fulfill their nutrient needs. Blackberries are considered among those treats that can be provided occasionally.
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Can Chickens Eat Blackberries?
You might think can chickens eat blackberries? The answer is yes, they can as they have numerous minerals, making your chickens healthy. Let’s give you a detailed answer to this question.
Are Blackberries Healthy For Chickens?
All the berries, including blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries, have vitamins, fibers, and numerous other minerals, making it the healthiest treat for your chickens. Other than this, blackberries have a sweet taste and are soft and mushy, making them more delicious. Blackberries are good for chickens because their soft feature makes them easier to engulf and digest.
If there are blackberry trees around the poultry farm, make sure to make its fences higher so they won’t jump over them because they will try to go there and destroy neighbors’ gardens.
Can Chickens Eat Blackberry Leaves?
Chickens can eat blackberries’ leaves as they haven’t had any toxins and are entirely healthy. Most chickens don’t eat them when they have delicious berries with them. Moreover, avoid chickens eating leaves because of the pesticides used on them.
Can Chickens Eat Blackberries Seeds?
Different plant seeds are hazardous to chickens because of imbalanced nutrients, but blackberries seeds are safe and nutritious. Removing seeds from berries is a significant hassle, due to which most poultry owners think that blackberries are healthy for my chickens, but don’t worry, they are totally secure and can be digested easily.
Can Chickens Eat Blackberries Stem?
Chickens can eat blackberry stems as they are healthy but they are strongly rigid due to which they can’t peck it quickly. It needs lots of effort to break it, that’s why most hens leave it and can rely upon leaves and fruit.
Benefits Of Blackberries
Blackberries have the same health benefits as they have on humans. Most human health-friendly meals are suitable for chickens, too but in limited amounts. Blackberries health benefits on chickens are as follows,
Vitamin A
Just like humans, chickens’ eyesight also gets affected. Vitamin A in blackberries will improve their eyesight and boost egg production. If you don’t want to hamper their egg production ability, then provide them with a vitamin A-rich diet.
Vitamin B
Chickens can’t tell you which disease they are suffering from; that’s why you must provide them with all the essential nutrients like vitamin B. It helps prevent multiple diseases like bowed legs, perosis, mouth lesion, mouth cavity inflammation, etc. Even if a chicken is suffering from these diseases, it needs vitamin B-rich meals for its cure.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C in blackberries helps in chickens’ proper growth with healthy bones, especially baby chickens. They also contribute to the functioning of connective tissues, blood vessels and heal all wounds.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K helps in bone metabolism and blood clotting mechanism. Their deficiency leads to numerous health problems, so the best method to find its deficiency in their body is by checking the blood spots in the eggs.
Fiber
Fibers in blackberries regulate their healthy diet and maintain their blood sugar level. Fibers prevent bowel-related diseases like constipation and help in digestion; that’s why it’s necessary to give them a 10% fiber diet daily to keep their gut healthy.
Manganese
For baby chickens, manganese is essential because it strengthens their bones, boosts the immune system, helps form cartilage, and prevents diseases. Moreover, in hens, it helps in the formation of eggshells.
Omega 3
Blackberries are rich in omega 3 that will keep their heart healthy and in the proper formation of eggs.
Minerals
Minerals like calcium, copper, and zinc are also present in the blackberry. Calcium helps strengthen their bones and healthy eggs, zinc helps to keep their feathers healthy, and copper plays a role in the digestive system.
Drawbacks Of Blackberries
As you know, some fruits are rich in sugars that are unhealthy for humans; these feathery creatures also need the sugar in a limited amount to enjoy its benefits; otherwise, it will negatively affect them. Blackberries’ drawback on chickens is due to consumption of high sugar content. It will make them obese, hamper eggs production, and affect blood sugar levels.
Moldy blackberries can affect negatively because they contain toxins. Besides this, berries should be fed in moderation to avoid health risks.
When You Feed Blackberries To Chickens?
Blackberries are safe and nutritious for chickens but can be toxic to them when fed in high quantities. You must give them blackberries as a treat once or twice a week. While providing berries to your birds, ensure that all of them eat equally.
How Much You Feed Blackberries To Chickens?
Chickens’ stomachs can digest almost most of the food they eat, but this food should be nutritious. You can feed four to six-ounce blackberries to each chicken per day, they can eat more than this, but it will affect their body leading to diseases. Moderation is essential to enjoy the benefits of the particular thing fully.
Things To Know While Feeding Blackberries To Chickens
Blackberries are given to chickens as a treat, so it’s necessary to check the nutrients content in the treat so you will not feed them more or less. You should know the following things before feeding them to your chickens.
- First, ensure that blackberries are not moldy and don’t have any pesticides.
- Blackberries should not make up more than 10% of their daily diet.
- Feed them occasionally and make sure that they eat equally; that’s why feed them at different spots.
- If you have decided to feed them blackberries and want to change their mouth taste, then make sure that the fences around the farm are high enough, so they can’t jump over them to get into the garden.
- If your chickens won’t eat blackberries or there are few berries left behind, then pick up each of them before they get moldy.
- Feed it to them in the morning, so their stomachs have much time to digest. If it affects them negatively, you can detect while at night it’s impossible.
- Blackberries might change chickens’ manure color, so don’t be tense with it because it’s normal.
- Few chickens don’t eat blackberries, so feed something else for those chickens.
Final Words
Blackberries are good for chickens to eat and can contribute to the proper functioning of their body. Feed them berries only as a treat; never add them into their daily diet. Because of their sweet taste and mushy nature, your chickens might get addicted to them, so feed them occasionally to avoid this addiction.
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