Can Chickens Eat Eggplant?

It’s no secret that the eggplant can be perfect addition to just about any meal. But can chickens eat eggplant? Chickens are not fussy eaters. They will eat just about anything that you give them.

Generally speaking, they will have a rough idea about whether something is going to cause them health issues but, for the most part, they will try anything once. On this page, we want to talk about chickens eating eggplants.

Can Chickens Eat Eggplant?

As we said before; chickens can eat eggplant. Here, the question isn’t so much whether chickens can eat eggplant, is more ‘should they be eating eggplant?’. The answer is yes, but you still need to take a few precautions.

For example; you should only be feeding them the eggplant. You will want to remove any leaves from the plant. This is because this plant is a member of the nightshade family. If your chicken tucks into the leaves from this family of plants, then they are going to get sick. Very sick. In fact, if they eat too many of them, there is a strong chance that they may die.

The eggplant is perfectly safe for them, however. In fact, it is going to give your chickens a nice boost in vitamins and minerals. They are going to love it. However, do bear in mind that you probably do not want your chickens eating too much eggplant.

This is because it is going to fill them up; If they are full, then they are probably not going to go near the food that they are actually supposed to be eating. This can cause their production to absolutely plummet. If chickens are not getting calcium into their diet, then they probably will not be producing eggs.

Feeding Eggplants to Your Chickens

As we said before; if you are planning to feed eggplants to your chickens, then you will need to remove the leaves from the plant. If you have purchased your eggplant from the store as opposed to growing it yourself, then it is likely that this has already been done for you.

You can then cube the eggplant up. There are some backyard chicken owners who will give the eggplant to their chickens ‘whole’, but we prefer to cube it up for our chickens. This is because it makes it a little bit easier for us to serve the eggplant with other vegetables. In fact, we highly suggest that you do this.

You shouldn’t just feed your chickens the eggplant. If you want them to have a nice and balanced healthy treat, then chop up several vegetables and include them in a bowl.

We would not suggest that you feed your chickens a treat like this more than twice per week. If you do, then they may stop chewing on the other food that you give them. Obviously, this is the last thing you want to have happen!

Any Other Issues

There are no health issues tied to the eggplant. You only need to ensure that the chickens are not eating the leaves. So, if you are growing eggplants in your garden, you may want to ensure that your chickens steer clear of them.

See also: Is spinach good for chickens to eat.