Celery is essentially a nutrient-rich vegetable, and there is certainly nothing out there that can compete with it. Most people around the world love eating this nutritious veggie due to its nutritional benefits. But, what about chickens? Can chickens eat celery?
“The answer is, A BIG YES! Chickens can safely eat celery if fed in moderation. It is an excellent means of numerous minerals and vitamins for animals, including chickens. But, you can only feed it in moderation. Overfeeding this will make your chicken sick.”
If fed in moderation, there is nothing for you to be worried about. But if you do not control the amount of celery your chicken eats, your chicken will have to suffer the consequences. Without any further ado, let’s dive into everything that you need to know about celery and chickens.
Chickens Eating Celery – 2 Facts You Need To Know
Chickens are a fun pet to have. Compared to most other pets, chickens have a sense of knowing what they should and what they should not eat. They will like eating some foods and dislike eating others.
This is because they can tell what food will take a toll on them and make them sick.
For instance, you can try feeding your chicken an eggplant. Your chicken will most probably turn its head around and do not eat it. But, if you feed them celery, they will not think twice before eating it.
Celery is rich in essential nutrients. It contains vitamin A, C, and K. It also contains a decent amount of vitamin B. Vitamin B is also referred to as riboflavin. Apart from these, celery also contains calcium. In case you did not know, calcium plays a vital role in maintaining your chicken’s health.
Feeding calcium-based foods to chickens will lead to better and healthy eggs.
But, do not let this fool you. You cannot overfeed your chickens with celery. Overfeeding them celery will directly impact the quality and quantity of eggs.
1) Is Celery Something That Chickens Would Like?
Based on what we said earlier, chickens have a tendency to tell what foods are safe and unsafe for them. But, just like us, every chicken has its own likes and dislikes. Surprising, right?
If you introduce your chicken to celery, they may like or dislike it. If your chickens like eating celery, you’re in luck. Even if your chicken does not like to eat celery, you still do not have to worry about it.
In case your chickens turn their head away from celery, you can mix it in a combo with other fruits and vegetables. This will ensure your chicken can benefit from the healthy nutrients of celery.
But, you should remember that chickens do not have teeth. This makes it difficult for them to eat celery. This is why you should always cut celery into pieces prior to feeding them to your chickens.
2) Can Celery Be Harmful to Chickens, Or Is It Safe And Recommended?
To simply put, “Celery is perfectly safe for your chickens, and it is absolutely recommended due to it being nutrient-rich.”
Not only is it safe and recommended for chickens, you and your family can also eat celery. Celery consists of a decent amount of nutrients, including riboflavin. Riboflavin is found to improve your chicken’s health and boost their growth.
Besides this, celery comprises healthy nutrients such as calcium, vitamin B6, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and various other minerals.
Considering these nutrients, you can safely introduce your chickens to celery. But keep in mind, it should only be served as treats rather than a part of their main meal.
Introducing Chickens To Celery – Serving Frequency And Steps To Prepare
It might seem a good idea to throw celery to your flock in unlimited amounts but this certainly isn’t the case. Here’s how much and how to feed celery to your flock.
1) How Much Celery Should I Feed My Chicken?
In short, “Keep your chicken’s celery intake to a minimum. Only feed your chicken celery of the size 1/6. This will also allow you to safely combine it with other fruits and veggies that your chickens love.”
Feeding them a combo of different foods will ensure your chickens receive all of the nutrients that they need in order to stay healthy.
Since celery is rich in calcium, you should ensure that the secondary food that you are adding to the combo has a lower amount of calcium.
Another important factor that you need to consider is that when introducing your chickens to celery, you should start slow.
Feed your chicken flock a small amount of celery and watch their health overnight. Keep an eye out for 24 hours and look for any unusual adverse effects.
Introducing your chickens to a new food may result in digestive issues. This is especially true since chickens have a very sensitive digestion system.
In case you see any signs of diarrhea, you should stop feeding them celery.
2) 4 Steps To Prepare Celery For Your Chickens:
It is not as simple as throwing them sticks of celery. In fact, it requires a rigorous process.
Here are some steps you can take prior to feeding celery to your pet chickens.
A) Inspect The Celery To Make Sure It Is Good To Eat:
The first and foremost step that you need to take is to inspect the celery. Make sure it is safe for your pets to consume.
Take a look at it and determine if it is fresh or stale. Feeding mold-infected foods to your chickens will take a toll on their health. This is why you should only be feeding them fresh fruits and vegetables.
B) Chop The Celery Into Tiny Pieces:
Chickens do not have teeth. We all know that, right? Since they cannot bite on celery sticks, you need to make it easier for them.
Prior to feeding them celery, cut it into small pieces. The size of the celery pieces should be smaller than the size of your chicken’s beak. This will help them consume celery safely. It will also eliminate the risk of them choking on celery.
Fun Fact: Always cut celery sideways. This will ensure your pets can eat it safely and comfortably. This will also make sure your pet has no trouble digesting it.
C) Combine It With Other Treats:
While they can eat it as a standalone treat, but it is always best to mix things up a little. Feed your chicken flock a combo of celery and other fruits and vegetables.
The primary reason for doing this is to lower the wastage of food.
D) Feed Them In Moderation:
Your chickens will not stop eating celery. They will get to the bottom of it and stop only when they have finished eating it.
But do not let that distract you from the fact that they cannot eat it in large amounts.
Chickens love eating treats, and celery is most definitely their favorite treat. This is why you need to focus on the amount of celery that you feed to your chickens. It should only be fed in moderation and never in large amounts.
Your chicken’s diet should contain only 10 percent of these treats. Anything more than this will make your chicken sick. Or worse, it will impact the quality of eggs that your chickens lay.
What Is Considered Safe For Chickens To Eat? – Chicken Diet
Anything that we humans can eat, chickens can eat as well. But, there are certain factors that come into play when choosing food for your pet chickens.
The first and foremost factor that you need to consider is that chickens should never be fed foods that have a high concentration of sugar and salts.
When it comes to the sugar and salt content of celery, it is perfectly safe for your chickens.
To ensure your chickens receive all of the nutrients that they need, you can feed them pellets. This will certainly make sure your chickens stay healthy and have a balanced diet.
Here’s a fun fact for you.
“Allow your chickens to walk around the backyard. This will allow them to peck on anything that they like from mother nature and benefit from it. Since chickens have a tendency to tell what foods are harmful to them, there is nothing for you to be worried about.”
Chickens love to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. If you’re not sure what to feed your chickens, you can try one of the following foods.
- Strawberries
- Bananas
- Grapes
- Apples
- Broccoli
- Carrots
Just make sure you do not feed your chicken raw green skins. These include:
- Green potato skins
- Lemon
- Oranges
- Other citrus fruits
Nutritional Facts Of Celery – 4 Potential Gains!
When introducing your pets to new foods, you should always have a look at their nutritional facts.
Here are the nutritional facts of celery.
| Nutrition | Nutritional Value | Nutrition | Nutritional Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium | 40 mg/ 100 g | Fiber | 1.6 g/ 100 g |
| Carbs | 2.97 g/ 100 g | Sugar | 1.34 g/ 100 g |
| Calories | 14 Kcal | Vitamin C | 3.1 mg/ 100 g |
| Fat | 0.17 g/ 100 g | Vitamin K | 29.3 µg/100 g |
| Water | 95.43 g/ 100 | Folate | 36 µg/ 100 g |
| Phosphorous | 24 mg/ 100 g | Potassium | 260 mg/ 100 g |
| Protein | 0.69 g/ 100 g |
1) Folate:
Celery is nutrient-rich, and there is no denying that. These also include folate. It is essentially referred to as Vitamin B.
Vitamin B plays a crucial role in your chicken’s body. This includes the most important function that is to help boost the process of conversion of carbs to energy.
In addition to this, it also helps in the formation of red blood cells in your pet’s body.
2) Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is also an important part of your chicken’s diet. Since celery is a good source of vitamin C, your pet can significantly benefit from it.
It will also result in a boost in the overall health of your pet chicken. Vitamin C is proven beneficial when it comes to making the immune system of your pet stronger.
A strong immune system will lower the risk of your pet chicken suffering from many health complications.
3) Vitamin K:
The vitamin K content in celery is beneficial when it comes to the recovery of wounds. It is also helpful in the clotting of blood.
4) Antioxidants:
If there’s anything that can convince you to feed celery to your chickens, this has to be it. Celery has over a whopping 14 different types of antioxidants. These include beta carotene and flavonoids as well.
The 14 different antioxidants found in celeries help maintain your chicken’s immune system. It also gives strength to your chicken’s immune system and protects the vital organs from oxidation.
2 Problems That Chickens May Face Due To Celery – Tips To Avoid Them
If you feed celery to your chickens in moderation, there is nothing that can go wrong. Your chickens will stay healthy and have a strong immune system.
But in case you overfeed them, the same healthy vegetable can become a nuisance for your flock. Anything in excess is bad, and the same goes for celery as well.
Here are some of the possible risks that are involved with feeding celery to your chicken flock.
1) Formation Of Stones And Urinary Complications:
Bladder stones and urinary complications are some of the most common health complications that chickens suffer from. This is primarily due to the amount of oxalic acid and calcium in their diet.
Celery is rich in both calcium and oxalic acid. The duo can lead to the formation of stones in the bladder and kidneys of your chickens.
All of this can be avoided if you feed them in moderation and not in excess.
In addition to this, you should always try to mix things up for your chickens. Add a combo of any other fruit or vegetable with celery for your chickens. However, you should remember that only mix food that has a lower concentration of calcium and oxalates.
Doing this will lower the risk of bladder and kidney stones in your chickens.
2) Diarrhea:
Diarrhea is another common health complication that your chickens may face often. This is mainly due to their diet, but it can be controlled.
Chickens have a hard time digesting complex foods. This is why you should always break them down for your chickens to help them digest such foods better.
Feeding them foods that are complex and filled with complex compounds will lead to severe digestive discomfort in your chickens. It includes diarrhea, as well.
To avoid all this, always make sure you gradually introduce them to treats. Do not rush into things or overfeed them. Always start slow and eventually increase the dosage up to the recommended intake of that food.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Can I Feed My Chickens Celery Leaves?
“In short, YES!” Your chickens will love to eat celery leaves. However, they should only be fed in small amounts and never in large amounts.
This is due to the fact that celery leaves too contain oxalic acid and calcium. Overfeeding them, the leaves of celery will lead to bladder and kidney stones.
2) Can I Feed My Chickens Celery Tops?
“To keep it short, YES!” Celery tops are perfectly safe for your pet chickens, and they will love to eat them. Celery tops, leaves, and stems, all are safe for your chicken flock.
However, just like any other treat, these too need to be fed in moderation, or you might be risking your chicken’s health.
3) What Is The Correct Way Of Feeding A Celery To My Chickens?
Since chickens do not have teeth, they have a hard time eating foods like celery. The correct way to feed them celery is to chop them down into small pieces.
In addition to this, you can also add them to other fruits and vegetables to make up for a nice new treat for your chickens.
This will allow your chickens to digest it better and lower the risk of them choking on it.
4) Will Celery Be Harmful To Your Chickens?
“In short, No.” However, this is only true if you feed them fresh celery.
Feeding them rotten or mold-infected celery will make them sick and put them in severe discomfort. This is why you should always inspect celery prior to feeding it to your pet chickens.
Other than that, there is nothing that can go wrong with feeding celery to your chicken flock.
Can Chickens Eat Celery? Conclusion:
Can chickens eat celery? Of course, yes. As long as you feed them in moderation, your chickens will absolutely benefit from eating celery. It is rich in all of the essential nutrients that your chickens need to stay healthy and lay healthy eggs.
You should never overfeed them, or your chickens’ health will deteriorate in the long run. The recommended and safe amount of celery that you can feed to your chicken flock is 1/6 of celery. Anything more than this will be considered an excess of celery.
In addition to this always make sure to chop it down into small pieces to ensure your chickens have no trouble digesting it. Limit your chicken’s celery intake to one or two times a week since it may lead to stones in the kidneys and bladder.