Can Chickens Eat Prunes? Sure, Without The Pits!
Prunes are a nutritious firm-fleshed type of fruit with excellent nutrients for health benefits. So, chickens might get something healthy and tasty if you offer it!
But Can Chickens Eat Prunes? Yes, chickens eat prunes, which are basically dried plums. You can feed such fruit to let the chicken get high fiber for proper digestion, along with multiple benefits. But ensure you don’t overfeed and provide them the flesh with pits. Because pits have toxic cyanide compounds, a fatal part for chickens!
However, I have proper feeding tips for the chickens. I’ll tell you how chickens gonna love such sweet-flavored prunes in the yard!
Table of Contents
Can Chickens Eat Prunes? Is Plums Safe For Chickens?
Certainly! There is no problem if chickens or ducks get some dried plums or prunes. From fresh plums to dried plums or prunes, feeding in moderation is a wise move to ensure the chickens’ balanced diet.
According to ResearchGate, they hypothesized including dried plums or DP in the meal would lessen the heat stress on broiler chickens.
Furthermore, a research study published in the journal “Poultry Science” discovered that prunes are a good source of nutrients. It’s quite good for the chickens to have a nutrition boost!
But there is a little difference between plums and prunes! My research found prunes are better than plums for preventing constipation in chickens. But how?
Since prunes have more fiber, they are typically thought to be more effective for constipation. It is easier for chickens to pass due to the bulk that fiber adds to their stool. This helps chickens to regulate their digestion.
Prunes additionally include sorbitol, a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that has laxative properties and promotes bowel motions. However, I’ll bring the beneficial facts soon! Till then, be sure that prunes are much more than dried plums.
For your kind information, not all the dried plums become prunes. And it’s true!
Related reading: Do Chickens Eat Plums
Can Baby Chicks Eat Prunes? 3 Considerable Facts Before Feeding!
Yes, baby chickens can eat prunes but never keep the pits inside. But there are some considerable facts!
- Feed your baby chicks when they are at least 6 months old.
- Their sensitive digestive system cannot handle high fiber intake from the prunes.
- Offer in a way that won’t cause choking as they’re likely to suffocate due to the wrong size of prunes.
However, I suggest not to feed such healthy treats until they are completely mature. Why take risks when you have more nutritious diet options? Offer the starter chicken feed until they are an adult.
Nutritional Value Table Of Prunes For Chickens
You decided to offer some nutritious treats like prunes to your chickens. But do you know what nutrients are present in such fruit? Check out the nutritional value of prunes, according to USDA Food Data.
| Nutrient | Amount (100 grams) |
| Water | 30.92 g |
| Protein | 2.18 g |
| Fat | 0.38 g |
| Carbohydrate | 63.88 g |
| Fiber | 7.1 g |
| Sugars | 38.13 g |
| Calcium, Ca | 43 mg |
| Vitamin C | 0.6 mg |
| Vitamin B-6 | 0.205 mg |
| Vitamin A | RAE – 39 µg |
| Vitamin K | 59.5 µg |
| Vitamin E | 0.43 mg |
7 Health Benefits Of Eating Prunes For Chickens
Here comes the section to know how chickens gonna get health benefits. Don’t miss out!
1. A Proper Digestion
Prunes are known to have rich dietary fibers. Such nutrients can contribute to ensuring a better digestion system for chickens. This fiber also has an impact on maintaining:
- Regulate bowel movement
- Prevent constipation
- Promote healthy gut microbiome.
2. Reduce Stress
As I stated before, feeding some dried plums to your poultry chicken can be something that relieves them from stress. So, when they get relief, chickens are less likely to show aggressiveness or feather-pecking problems.
3. Boost Immune System
Vitamins and minerals always play a role in ensuring better immunity. Same case when you offer some prunes to your chickens.
Essential vitamins and minerals like the rich amount of potassium support their muscle functioning and nerve transmission. On the other hand, vitamin K is there for blood-clotting bone health, whereas vitamin C ensures better immunity.
4. Egg Production
Prunes can increase a chicken’s egg output and quality. Prunes help improve chick development and hatching success because they produce larger, stronger eggs with stronger shells from hens who eat such fruits as part of their regular diet.
5. Soften Stool
Sorbitol, a sugar alcohol found naturally in prunes, has a slight laxative effect. In the intestines, sorbitol draws water, which softens stool and encourages regular bowel motions.
6. Proper Weight Management
A chicken’s diet can include prunes without causing it to gain undue weight. Their high fiber content makes you feel full, which lessens the temptation to eat too much.
7. Improved Resistance to Disease
Chickens’ immune systems can be strengthened and rendered more disease-resistant by the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities of prunes. Meanwhile, the anti-inflammatory qualities lessen inflammation, and antioxidants fight dangerous free radicals.
Important Note: People often think dried plums or prunes are toxic for chickens. However, feeding in moderation is necessary due to excessive sugar intake. It’s also okay if you add dried plums into commercial feeds.
9 Potential Drawbacks Of Feeding Prunes By Chickens
Everything has some good and bad facts. So, when feeding prunes to chickens, you need to keep some possible risks in mind.
- Prunes have high sugar amounts, so excessive feeding is bad. It can lead to weight gain, obesity, diabetes, or heart disease.
- High fiber is okay until the chickens overeat. It can cause digestive distress that will lead to diarrhea, loose stools, or other difficulties.
- Cyanide or amygdalin is a toxic thing in prunes. So, we remove the seeds and pits first.
- It can surely gonna make a choking hazard. Young chicks are more prone to have this.
- Prunes for chickens can attract pests like flies, rodents, or ants. Such pests can be bad for the chicken’s yards. So, we need to store prunes in a covered place.
- Keeping such a dried form of fruit can produce alcohol or ferment when left for an extended period of time. So, be an observer!
- Excessive consumption also affects the chicken’s egg production. Either you see less production or poor egg quality.
- Chickens getting prunes too much can cause nutritional imbalance as they get habituated to consuming prunes.
- Prunes can also be dehydrating as it’s a dry form of plums.
These are potential risks, so don’t worry about it! Feed prunes to your chicken in the right way and see how chickens are getting big so fast with nutrition.
How To Feed Prunes To Chickens?
To feed your chickens, you have to have knowledge of the amount and frequency of offering prunes. Let me share some more valuables in the next section.
How Much To Feed Prunes To Chickens?
The weight of the bird determines how many prunes are fed. Giving them no more than 5% of their daily calories from prunes is ideal. For instance, don’t offer 3 prunes each day when the chicken is 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lbs).
How Often To Give Prunes To Chickens?
Once or twice a week is a standard practice to feed prunes to your chickens. Give prunes to your chickens as a treat now and then, but never as a staple of their diet.
Although they can be a nutritious treat for hens, too many of them should not be provided. An excess of prunes can lead to many health issues, including an unsettled stomach.
The given table below may help you out!
| Chicken Weight | Maximum Prunes per Day |
| Less than 1 kg (2.2 lbs) | No need to feed |
| 1-2 kg (2.2-4.4 lbs) | 1 |
| 2-3 kg (4.4-6.6 lbs) | 2 |
| More than 3 kg (6.6 lbs) | 3 |
Feeding Prunes To Chickens – Tips and Steps
Prunes are a great addition to any chicken’s regular diet if you follow these procedures.
- Soak the prunes in water for hours for easy digestion.
- Then, take off the prunes’ pits.
- Finely chop the prunes.
- As needed, progressively increase the amount from a small starting point.
- Keep the water beside such dried plums to avoid the chickens’ choking hazard.
- It can be combined with another feed they provide.
- Keep an eye on things to make sure your hens can consume the prunes without any issues.
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FAQs
We are not done yet! Check out these frequently asked questions to have more knowledge about chicken diets.
Q. Can I feed raisins to chickens?
Yes, as you can feed dried plums or prunes, offering raisins from dried grapes is also safe. But the sugar amount is to be considered and given in moderation.
Q. Is prune juice safe for chickens?
Sure. You can give the prune juice, but don’t give it too much. The high sugar can make them fat and cause other health difficulties.
Q. Can chickens eat cooked prunes?
Whether cooked or uncooked, prunes are safe and easy for chickens to eat. But cooked prunes are raw prunes that are softer and easy to digest.
Final Say
Now, what do you think? Can Chickens Eat Prunes? Yes, they do, and it’s completely safe to consume such a dry form of plums. But never ever offer them prunes with pits or seeds. It’s surely gonna cause suffocation or choking.
Plus, you need to offer a moderate amount. Like offering them once or twice a week, with precautions and potential risks in mind, of course. Nonetheless, the health benefits like proper digestion for fiber and less stress are my favorite point. So, I would definitely gonna feed my poultries some prunes if I were you!
Sources & References:
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350497598_Dietary_supplementation_of_dried_plum_a_novel_strategy_to_mitigate_heat_stress_in_broiler_chickens
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8532940/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579120309810#
