Kiwis would be hitting the market quite soon, last year I and my fellow chicken keepers in the neighborhood took advantage of their arrival to the fullest. Frankly, we are planning to do the same this season as well. In this brief post, we would be discussing whether you can feed Kiwis to your chickens as well, if you can, what do you need to know, and what nutrients it has and how are they beneficial. Starting with the question that is coming to our readers’ minds right now;
Can chickens eat Kiwi fruit? Yes, Chickens eat Kiwi fruit, which is one of the highly nutritious fruits that are safer to feed. It must be noted that Kiwi can only be fed as a “treat”, not a meal. It’s a healthy treat but a deadly meal.
Yes, most chickens do seem to enjoy it. There is no legitimate reason to hate this perfect blend of strawberry, banana, pineapple flavor. Let alone chickens, some other farm animals do appreciate receiving Kiwi as a treat.
Chickens can eat lettuce, turnips, kale, carrots, broccoli, pumpkins, cucumbers, strawberries, watermelon, and several other fruits and vegetables. Some typical chicken treats are expensive, there are some cheap treats as well. As far as Kiwis are concerned, it’s a cheap, healthy, and easy-to-store treat.
As now it’s your responsibility to keep your chicken healthy, do not head out to feed right away. There is still a lot the overprotective chicken keeper needs to know.
The fruits and vegetables are made for humans, only a typical chicken food(wheat, barley, sorghum, etc) can be served as a meal.
The fruits and vegetables can also be added but in moderation. Just like any other fruit and vegetable that can be considered, kiwi must also be fed in moderation.
The said fruit contains a noticeable amount of sugar that can harm the poor bird if the” feed-in-moderation” rule is neglected. Other than the high sugar content, the chickens’ digestive system is not capable of handling human food in huge quantities.
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Kiwis can be served peeled or unpeeled. The skin and the seeds are just as nutritional and delicious as the flesh. It’s even better to serve Kiwi with the skin and seeds. It’s important to mention here, most chickens avoid eating fruit and vegetable skins as they prefer flesh more. So, do not get bothered if your flock eats or leaves the skin or seeds.
The whole Kiwi fruit is safe to eat. It’s now up to you, what would you prefer feeding peeled and seedless or unpeeled with seeds? We would be delighted to know.
If you love Kiwis to the point that it’s hard to feed it to someone else, there is no issue in the feeding scraps. It’s better to feed the scraps to chickens than to keep them aside to throw them into the trash can.
The rotten and unripe Kiwis are just as trouble-causing for chickens as they are for us. The rotten or unripe Kiwis can cause digestive issues, if you do not want to see your backyard chickens suffering we would suggest choosing the fresh Kiwis instead.
All fruits and vegetable trees are treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides to boost production, it’s bitter but true. You would hardly find a bunch of Kiwis that have never been chemically treated even once. Fortunately, if you are successful in finding a few, it’s still mandatory to wash them off thoroughly.
Now that the chicken keepers have got an idea what they are supposed to do and what they are not supposed to do while feeding Kiwis. Let’s move ahead and see how Kiwis are beneficial for these poor birds.
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Kiwi is a small fruit but it is loaded with;
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Potassium
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin E
Just before we head out to discuss what these nutrients are needed for or what they do for the poor bird. We would like to mention here that kiwis would make a healthy treat for laying hens as all the above-mentioned nutrients are needed for sufficient egg production and better egg quality.
One average cup of sliced kiwis can supply 0.56 milligrams of iron effortlessly. It’s one of the fruits that are often suggested to anemic people.
Anemia is just as common in chickens as in other farm animals and it is usually treated with iron supplements.
Kiwis might not contain as much iron as the medicated iron supplements have but it can help in fulfilling a noticeable part of the iron need.
Chickens are usually believed to have high magnesium requirements. Some classes of chickens need around 500 to 600 ppm magnesium to live a healthy balanced life.
The chicken keepers often try to supply it through the feed. Kiwis are a cheap and forgiving source of magnesium.
Feeding Kiwis once a week would boost metabolism and help in healthy bone development. Read our complete guide Can chickens eat green beans as a source of Magnesium.
Even naive poultry keepers know calcium is a vital part of commercial poultry feed. This shows how important it is for the chickens’ health and wellness.
It is required not just to develop healthy bones but to produce hard eggshells as well. Eggplants for chickens are the best alternative to calcium.
The chicken’s calcium needs can be fulfilled in a variety of ways and Kiwis are one of them. The chickens that are being raised at commercial feed may not need Kiwis to supply calcium, it would rather help the other case more. So, if you are trying to raise chickens on natural grains, adding Kiwis to their diet would be fruitful.
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Potassium is also demanded by chickens in great amounts, the laying hens need at least 150 mg potassium every day to lay eggs regularly. The potassium need is also tried to be fulfilled through the feed. If Kiwis are fulfilling some part of need harmlessly why should it not be considered? You can feed raisins to chickens as a source of potassium.
Vitamin C is needed by chickens for the healthy functioning of several important functions. This rewarding vitamin majorly improves the laying hen’s performance and egg quality.
Whereas, vitamin K helps with blood clotting and bone health. Vitamin E is required by the laying hens to improve egg production and quality. Kiwis are bombarded with all these three vitamins, so feeding them once or twice would bring fruitful results for sure. Try other Vitamin-rich foods like Papaya for chickens.
In brief, Yes, Chickens can eat kiwis but in moderation as the said fruit is high in sugar. It is considered a high dose of iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, K, and E. It’s super beneficial for laying hens as it contains all nutrients that are proven to improve egg production and quality. Kiwis are entirely safe(if fed in moderation) the skin and the seed are just as beneficial for the chickens as the flesh.
