Chickens are those curious and strange creatures that can eat everything fed to them. Mainly kitchen scrape is used to provide them. If you don’t feed them properly, they will search for their food independently. Their exploration of food might destroy your lush green garden. So provide them with a proper nutritious meal to protect them as well as your garden.
It might surprise you, but yes, chickens are omnivores who can eat meat and veggies. This helps their ancestors to survive in the wild. While thinking about this, sometimes different questions hit our minds about their meal; one of them is can chickens eat potatoes. Today we will talk about potatoes for chickens and their health benefits.
Contents
Do I Feed Potatoes To Chickens?
Yes, its apparent chickens can eat potatoes. In fact, potatoes are included in most meals, and you might be addicted to potato fries. The same chickens might get addicted to mashed potatoes. Sometimes potatoes could be dangerous because they belong to the nightshade family, which is relatively high in solanine, a neurotoxin, a considerably harmful substance for chickens.
Feeding potatoes to your chickens is not a bad idea, but feeding in moderation and in the best way is more beneficial for their health. Moderation of all the chicken food items is essential and key to benefiting because sometimes potatoes are toxic to chickens.
Are Potatoes Good For Chickens?
Yes, potatoes are healthy for chickens, only when they have lower solanine. You can feed them cooked or raw potatoes just by following some vital instructions to reduce the solanine ratio. Potatoes are good for chickens when they have a low solanine level, no extra spices, and are in limited quantities.
Can Chickens Eat Raw Potatoes?
Yes, chickens can eat raw potatoes, but avoid green potatoes as they are toxic. If you see any green potato or potato with molds on it, throw it in the trashcan right away as they have a significant amount of solanine. While white and sweet potatoes are safe for your chicken.
Chickens have beaks instead of teeth. They feel difficulty chewing their food, especially when it comes to raw potatoes—That’s why it is recommended to feed them a partially cooked meal so they can enjoy their meal delightfully.
Can Chickens Eat White And Yellow Potatoes?
Yes, they are safe for chickens when you take all the measures to reduce the solanine level in these potatoes. White and yellow potatoes belong to the nightshade family; that’s why it is crucial to get rid of solanine first before feeding it to them. Solanine is a neurotoxin that causes diarrhea, convulsions, respiratory distress, neurological issues, and sometimes could be fatal.
To avoid it, boil white potatoes for your chicken to lower the solanine. And peel them off before feeding them to your chickens. If you want to make your treat more effective, mix some extra veggies.
Can Chickens Eat Sweet Potatoes?
Sweet potatoes are the safest of all kinds of potatoes for chickens. Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious for humans without side effects. Their leaves, stems, peel everything is healthy for your chicken, while white potatoes can be harmful in some cases. That’s why you must use sweet potatoes for your own use to feed them to your chickens without many inspections.
Sweet potatoes are only toxic when they have molds on them or start turning green because of your carelessness. If they have a small mold sign, throw them away. It would be best to shift your diet plan from white potatoes to sweet potatoes; it will be beneficial for you as well as for your flock.
Can Chickens Eat Rotten Potatoes?
No, chickens cant eat rotten or old potatoes having mold on them. Usually, rotten potatoes become green forming molds on them. You must not feed any rotten food to your chickens. Though they look strong as they can eat everything, their internal organs are still fragile. You must not throw rotten food items on the heap in their reach. Chickens will try to explore it and might eat them.
Can Baby Chickens Eat Potatoes?
Baby chickens can eat potatoes; they help them fulfill their nutrition needs quickly, but it’s good to feed them in tiny slices because large chunks might lead to choking. They are greedy by birth, so you’ll have to take care of it. Other conditions are the same; you must boil them, don’t feed rotten ones, and reduce the solanine level first, then provide.
How Many Potatoes Should You Feed To Chickens?
To achieve better results, feed everything in moderation. Potatoes are loaded with nutrition; excessive nutritional food can create numerous diseases. Potatoes are enriched with carbohydrates and starches; you should not feed them more than three servings per week. You can add them to the tenth part of their diet. More than this will lead to heart diseases, obesity, and many more.
Health Benefits Of Potatoes To Chickens?
Potatoes have multiple nutrients like vitamins, carbohydrates, potassium, and others. Potatoes are used worldwide and loved by everyone because of their availability year-round and can be cooked quickly. If fed in moderation, potatoes have multiple health benefits to chickens. A few of them are as follow;
Immune System
Potatoes’ nutrients help boost chicken’s immune system, protecting them from numerous diseases. In potatoes, a pigment named Quercetin kills cancer cells, reduces swelling and chances of heart diseases. Alpha-lipoic acid maintains energy levels and fatty acids in the body. Other than this, vitamin C protects chickens from cold.
Metabolism And Healthy Digestive System
The high fiber content in potatoes helps digestion by reducing the chances of getting constipation. At the same time, vitamin B6 breaks bigger chunks of food into smaller ones. Therefore both of these work together to make chickens’ digestive systems healthy.
Healthy Heart
Due to the high-fat ratio in chickens, they might suffer from heart diseases like heart attack. Potatoes lack cholesterol and other nutrients that increase fat in the body. Even potatoes have nutrients that maintain fat in chickens’ bodies, reducing health problems.
Healthy Bones
Minerals like potassium, iron, calcium in potatoes help to strengthen chickens’ bones. Their skeleton becomes more robust, and the chances of fractures or other bone problems during their flights from elevation decrease.
Prevent Inflammation
Potatoes contain anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants that play a role in proper muscle movements and cell membrane functions. It also reduces irritation and swelling in their body.
How To Feed Potatoes To Chickens?
There are many ways to feed potatoes to chickens, like feeding in chunks, hanging somewhere so they will eat by pecking, or many others. But the best and safest one is cooking these potatoes. Let’s discuss how to cook potatoes for chickens to reduce solanine. Follow the following given steps to make them more healthy for your birds.
Choosing And Washing Potatoes
At first, you’ll have to choose the right potato that must be fresh, doesn’t have signs of mold on it, and must not be green. Then, wash them thoroughly to remove dust if you want to boil them without peeling. It would be more nutritious to feed them with peel.
Cut Them Into Pieces
Now cut all the potatoes into small pieces; it makes it easier for chickens to swallow and their digestive system digest them faster. Moreover, they will be cooked more quickly, saving you time.
Boil Potatoes
After cutting, put them in a pan and add water covering all the potatoes. Turn on the heat and boil until they get soft. Check them after every five minutes so that they won’t become squishy. When they are tender, turn off the heat and rinse the water.
Mash Potatoes
At last, mash all the potatoes and serve them. You can feed them in cubes, but mashed will be preferable by them and are easily digestible.
Conclusion
Chickens can eat all the potatoes; some need care and need to be adequately fed. Potatoes are healthy for chickens; they are a cheap and nutritious diet that you can afford easily without breaking the bank. Consider potatoes as a treat and feed them frequently but not regularly.
Other Posts:
Leave a Reply