Can baby chicks eat vegetables?

There are a wide variety of veggies that contain different levels of nutrition. However, in general, most veggies can help your poultry to maintain their good health.

Especially, for baby chickens, they require a supply of highly nutritious foods in order to get sustainable development. So are green foods like vegetables suitable to feed them?

Can baby chicks eat vegetables?

All chickens have the ability to digest vegetables at a young age. However, not all types of veggies are safe enough to use as your baby chicken feed.

Each type of vegetable contains different levels of nutrition value.

Therefore, it can have various influences on the growth of your baby chicks. However, certain veggies can also poison your chickens with some toxic compounds inside. Here’s the detail:

Why are vegetables good for your baby chicks?

The majority of raw vegetables contain a lower level of fat and calories compared to other types of food. In return, veggies can offer your baby chickens many other nutrition benefits including:

Potassium:

A high level of potassium is found in many sources of vegetables such as potatoes, white beans, beet greens, soybeans, spinach, kidney beans, acorn squash, kohlrabi, and yucca. This nutrient is important for your chickens’ blood pressure.

Dietary fiber:

With a suitable amount in your baby chicken diet, it can help to keep their digestive system healthy.

Folate:

Folate nutrients from vegetables can improve the growth and functions of your chicken blood cells.

Vitamin A:

A sufficient amount of vitamin A inside different types of veggies will be able to protect your baby chicks from several infections.

Vitamin C:

Your baby chickens can absorb Iron better with the support of vitamin C from veggies.

To be more specific, according to FDA, some vegetables suitable for your young chickens has the nutrition value as belows:

Nutrition value of vegetables

How to feed vegetables to your baby chicks?

Your baby chickens are able to eat many types of veggies. However, there are some suggestions for your chicken feeding as belows:

• Have your corn processed and cut it into smaller pieces before mixing with other safe food or their regular feed.

• Some scraps of vegetables like carrot peelings can be used as a treat for your baby chicks. It is not a good idea if you offer them a whole raw carrot. Your baby chickens are unable to break it into smaller pieces in order for them to digest all of it.

• Grass in your garden is also a good option for them to nibble throughout the day. However, you should keep it short instead of long strands so that it is easier for them to digest. Besides, make sure that there is no chemical existing before you feed your chickens.

• You can put many types of veggies such as lettuce, cabbage or spinach inside their coop. Thus, your chickens can perk it whenever they want.

• Cook your broccoli a little and give it to your chickens immediately so that it can be moldy or spoiled before eating.

You may also like: 21 Best Chicken Keeping eBooks

Which types of vegetables should you avoid to feed your baby chickens?

Here’s the list of some unhealthy veggies for your baby chickens:

• Avocado pits and skins: Those parts of avocado contain persin which can poison your chickens.
• Zucchini and cucumber: it can cause serious diarrhea for your chickens
• Pumpkin seeds, potato or rhubarb leaves: the young chickens are unable to digest all of them)
• Stale vegetables: They can partly destroy your baby chicken digestive system
• Uncooked or dry beans: A compound called hemagglutinin is available in those types of beans. It has a negative impact on your baby chicken process of digestion.
• Rhubarb: This veggie can lead to the death of your chickens when it contains a high level of oxalic acid
• Salty mixture: You should avoid mixing your vegetables with other salty foods because it is very poisonous for your chickens.

Some questions related to using vegetables as baby chickens feed

At what ages can your baby chicks eat vegetables?

Once your baby chicks are 3 to 4 months old, it is an ideal time for you to feed them with different types of safe veggies. Therefore, they can get enough protein as well as other necessary nutrients for their healthy growth.

Can your baby chickens eat raw vegetables?

Your baby chickens can eat both raw and cooked vegetables. You can consider some options including broccoli, carrots, cabbage, chard, cucumbers, kale, lettuce, pumpkins, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. Especially, for hard veggies like carrots, you should feed them cooked smaller pieces or carrot peelings.

Final thoughts

Vegetables are known as one of the most nutritious food sources for your baby chicks. However, not all vegetables are good to use as your baby chicken feed.

You can offer vegetables to your baby chickens in different forms. This depends mostly on which type of veggies you are using. Besides, you should keep in mind all types of vegetables which can be toxic for your baby chicks.

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