Most of the newbie chicken raisers think: Can chickens eat oranges? Will it make them sick? What part of the orange can they eat if they eat them?
Of course, it’s best to think of the health of your chickens, and you want to do the right thing. Don’t worry because you will have the answers to these questions in this guide.
At the end of your read, you will know everything about chickens and oranges.
Can Chickens Eat Oranges?
Truthfully, the answer is yes and no. Chickens can eat oranges but don’t need this fruit to be healthy. Oranges are great because they contain vitamin C.
Humans eat oranges and drink orange juice when they’re sick. After all, it helps them feel better. On the other hand, chickens already produce vitamin C.
Chickens are not required to have oranges as part of their daily diet. They don’t need oranges to stay healthy.
Health Benefits of Oranges to Chickens
Now that you know chickens don’t need oranges, you may worry about your chickens eating oranges. What happens if you already gave your chickens an orange?
If you willingly gave your chicken an orange, it’s time to review the health benefits. There’s no such thing as too much vitamin C.
Even though chickens naturally produce vitamin C daily, giving your chickens oranges as a treat wouldn’t hurt now and then. Since they have plenty of vitamin C, your chickens’ immune system will kick into high gear.
Some experts say that when chickens eat oranges, it kills bacteria. Other health benefits include providing health to their bones, teeth, and organ function because they can live a long and healthy life.
What Part of Oranges Do Chickens Eat?
You have the orange itself, the peel, the pulp, and the seeds inside the orange. Which one of these will chickens eat? Let’s find out.
Can Chicken Eat Orange Peel?
Chickens can eat orange peels, but be sure they are not store-bought. Just like the orange itself, don’t make it a habit to give the peels to your chickens regularly. They only get them as a treat.
Can Chicken Eat Orange Pulp?
The next part of the orange to discuss is the pulp. You may wonder what the pulp is. The pulp is the stringy substance coming from the orange.
You’ll see it after you peel the orange and cut it into slices. Chickens can have the pulp, too, in moderation, but they may not like it. It may be too sweet for them.
Can Chicken Eat Orange Seeds?
Please remove the seeds before you give the oranges to your chickens. They can’t eat those.
Since you should cut them into smaller portions, you can’t do that when the seeds are inside the oranges. You could also purchase seedless oranges, so you don’t have to worry about that part.
How to Feed Oranges to Chickens?
Now that you know chickens can have oranges, how do you feed the oranges to the chickens? The answer is simple.
You can put slices of the orange and the peels in their chicken coop. Your chickens won’t be able to eat it if it’s not cut into small pieces. Think about their beak size.
At first, they may wonder what it is and start experimenting with it. Some chickens may nibble it, while your other chickens may get agitated that the peels and orange slices are still there.
When you go back to check on your chickens, and the orange slices and peels are still there, you know they don’t like them. That sends you a big picture and lets you know not to feed them oranges anymore.
Some chickens may find the sweet treat tasty, but they don’t like the peels. Orange peels are hard and rough. It can’t be easy for the chickens to eat and digest the peels.
Another way to feed oranges to your chickens is to cut them up and serve them in small bites to your chickens. They may be more likely to eat oranges this way because chickens are used to small bites of food.
You can mix it with their regular chicken food to see if they eat it that way. If they eat it and spit it out, then you know they don’t like it.
Side-Effects of Orange Treat for Chickens
If your chickens eat the orange treat, monitor their behavior. Only give them the oranges with their food to see how they react.
Don’t introduce another new food because it’s hard to monitor your chickens’ behavior. Their behavior can lead to the chickens pulling out their wings or producing soft shell eggs.
Since oranges contain a lot of sugar, too many oranges will not be the best for your chickens. It’s best to avoid giving them a whole orange. Try half a slice, and see if this will affect your chickens. Look for things that are out of character for them.
As mentioned earlier, chickens can have orange peels. If you give your chickens oranges bought from grocery stores, those have chemicals on the peels.
Those chemicals will make your chickens sick. It’s better to feed them orange peels from oranges that come from orange trees.
My Experience on Giving Oranges To My Chickens
I cut one orange into two pieces and gave to one of my rooster and hen. You will amaze to know they not even looked towards the orange piece.
After some time my rooster Ganju just pecked once on the orange pulp but I think he dont like the taste. The adult hen also dont liked the orange.
Then I gave the other piece of orange to few 2 months old chickens which lives inside the coop. We have still not released them because lots of street dogs attacking our cockerels and pullets.
They are very happy with the orange piece and start pecking on them. So, in my experience if your chickens love eating oranges then give them otherwise don’t.
Summary
After reading this guide, you may feel more comfortable giving your chickens oranges. It’s best to have these reminders handy. Don’t feed your chickens orange peels from store-bought oranges.
It’s best to monitor your chickens behavior to see if anything seems out of the ordinary, give your chickens small amounts of oranges, and give it to them in moderation. As long as you remember those rules, you shouldn’t have any hesitations.
I hope you got the answer to the question – Can chickens eat oranges?
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