Split peas have been served in so many dishes for so many people for a long time. And since for many other foods, chickens can enjoy them just as humans, it makes sense to ask if they can also enjoy split peas?
Can chickens eat split peas? yes, they can, but they should only be fed as a treat, not as a replacement for their normal feeds. So how do split peas benefit chickens? Let’s take a look below.
What are split peas?
Split Peas
In short, split peas are just peas that have been dried to remove the dull-color outer skin and then split in half either by hands or by machines.
With that said, split peas can have 2 varieties: green and yellow, due to the types of peas used for the process of creating split peas.
For humans, split peas have been presented in many types of dishes around the world. Some of the dishes include split peas soup, the “Tabriz koftesii” from Iran, the “erwtensoep” from Dutch, and more.
Read more: Can chickens eat lentils?
Can chickens eat split peas?
Yes, they can, one of the reasons could be because there isn’t any evidence that shows peas are bad for chickens. Chickens can safely consume split peas without problems.
Although peas are healthy food for your chickens, you should not use split peas as the main diet. Split peas alone can’t provide enough necessary nutrients for your flock.
But still, split peas have their own benefits for chickens’ health that make them feasible for chickens as a treat, especially during winter months. Here are some of those benefits:
The health benefits of split peas
High amount of protein
100g of yellow split peas contains around 5.4g of protein. A high amount of protein means your chickens’ muscle growth would be boosted. This is necessary if your chickens have lots of exercises around your backyard.
Low amount of fat
Split peas only contain a low amount of fat, about 1.8g of fat per 100g of split peas. So you won’t have to worry too much about obesity when feeding split peas to your chickens.
Benefits for hearts
Split peas also have a decent amount of omega-3 fatty acid, specifically 19mg per 100g of split peas. The omega-3 fatty acid is great for reducing coronary heart disease risk.
High amount of dietary fiber
Split peas are one of the known natural food sources to contain the highest amount of dietary fiber. They contain 5.5g per 100g of split peas.
Fiber has many benefits, including improving digestion in chickens, lowering blood cholesterol levels, and reducing blood sugar levels.
Rich in some nutrients
Split peas contain lots of nutrients, although not as rich as some other legume plants. The nutrients include vitamins like vitamins A, vitamin C, thiamin, niacin, folate (for preventing embryo loss), choline, and more.
For minerals, split peas contain calcium (for egg production), iron, magnesium, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese, a high amount of potassium (271mg per 100g) and phosphorus (117mg per 100g).
Also, when serving split peas, you should have them cooked first since dried peas like split peas may not be ideal for your chickens.
They taste OK but may not be easy to digest if you are feeding baby chickens with not-fully developed digestive systems.
Can chickens eat frozen peas?
While feeding your chickens, if you have wondered if they can consume split peas, you may also have asked if frozen peas are what they can eat.
Yes, chickens can eat frozen peas as well. Frozen peas are a great treat for chickens, especially on a hot day.
Frozen peas are delicious and can be considered one form of peas that stays on the top when it comes to freshness due to how they are made. All of the freshness and nutrients can be stored in these frozen peas for months.
Compared to fresh peas from farmers’ markets, frozen peas are tender and sweeter, which makes them more desirable for your chickens. And on a hot day, frozen peas are like ice cream for your chickens.
It is ideal to grow some peas since now the peas are just a few away from your flocks, just pick the peas from the pods and serve them to the chicks. But if you are not growing peas, then frozen peas are flavor-rich and convenient for you.
How to feed your chickens peas?
You can have your chickens eat either raw peas, fresh peas, or frozen peas. If you grow your own peas, just remove them from the pods and feed them to your flock.
For split peas, you can serve them as they are. If your chicks have trouble with indigestion in general, you can try to cook those split peas.
And remember, split peas or peas, in general, are not sufficient as a standalone ingredient in a chicken’s diet. You can serve split peas after the main diets or mix them with the main diets to feed the chickens at once.
For normal peas, since they have a ball shape, you can use them to amuse the chickens. The peas are like little balls and will make your chicks chase them around as they tried to get their beaks on the balls.
Conclusion
Chickens can eat split peas as humans, along with many other types of peas like raw peas, fresh peas, frozen peas.
Peas, whether raw, fresh, or split, contain a high amount of protein for muscle growth and dietary fiber for benefiting the chickens’ blood, hearts, and digestive system.
You can also find a lot of other great nutrients like vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, and more. But, as a standalone ingredient, split peas are not enough for a chicken’s diet, so try to incorporate them into your main diet.