Broccoli is one of the world’s most popular vegetables. We all know how beneficial health effects it has, but can chickens eat broccoli?
While your chickens are going to have a staple diet of chicken feed, it is important that this is not the only thing that they live on.
Sure, it is possible that the feed that you are buying them has been perfectly formulated to give a chicken everything that they need, but they are never going to be able able to have fun.
Chickens are just like us. They do need a treat every so often. Why not give them something?
On this page, we are going to help you to establish whether chickens can eat broccoli or not.
Can Chickens Eat Broccoli?
Absolutely! Chickens can eat broccoli. We know that some humans don’t like broccoli, but chickens love it. It is going to be good for them too.
Remember, broccoli is absolutely jam-packed with all sorts of nutritional goodness, which means it is going to be a true joy for your chickens to feast upon.
However, it is important that you remember that chickens should not be eating too much outside of their chicken feed. The feed is still going to be a major part of their diet.
It is going to be providing them with all of the nutrition that they need to produce eggs. The whole reason we are going to be giving them broccoli is so that they can spice up their diet a little bit and, perhaps more importantly, have a bit of fun.
Chickens can have fun! And, if chickens are having fun, they are going to be a lot more productive for you.
How Can You Feed Your Chickens Broccoli?
While there are some people who will just feed their chickens fresh broccoli, either raw or cooked, we prefer to give our backyard chickens some broccoli as part of our table scraps.
This is because, more often than not, there is going to be a whole lot more than the broccoli left on the plate. Probably a few more vegetables and a few other things the chickens can eat.
This means that they are going to be able to tuck into a good variety of nutrients. Remember, just because broccoli is healthy for your chickens, it doesn’t mean that it is going to contain everything that your chickens need to be healthy!
If you do give your chickens the broccoli straight, then you do not really need to do all that much with it. Just cut it up in the same way you would cut it up if you were serving it to your family.
They can just peck away at it, and they will eat almost all of it. It is probably a bit better to make up a salad from the broccoli, but you do not need to go to that extent.
We would not recommend feeding them a ton of vegetables throughout the week. It should only form about 10-20% of their diet.
Chickens can eat broccoli, but remember, they are going to be messy eaters. Fresh vegetables are going to rot. This means that you will need to clean up after your feathered friends. If you do not, then you will be attracting pests into the chicken coop!
See also: Can Chickens Eat Asparagus?
