As someone who enjoys bananas quite often, I asked myself “Can chickens eat bananas as well?” at least once, and I assume you have as well. If you did, you must be very impatient to find out!
Well, the good news is that they most certainly can. Bananas are highly nutritional and very healthy when eaten in moderation. This is exactly what you have to keep in mind when informing yourself about this topic.
There are some other things you need to know about this fruit before you give it to your chicks. If you’re keen on finding out how to feed your chickens some bananas and how to make it fun in the process, grab your favorite food (perhaps a banana) and keep scrolling!
Bananas – A Fantastic Choice For Your Chickens
Bananas are an amazing source of many nutrients that fit right into your chick’s diet. You all know how energetic chickens are and how much energy they need. The fruit in question is not only nutritious and a good source of high energy levels, but it also contains so much more:
| INGREDIENTS | VALUES |
|---|---|
| Energy | 89 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 22,84 g |
| Sugars | 12,23 g |
| Dietary fibers | 2,6 g |
| Fats | 0,33 g |
| Protein | 1,09 g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0,4 mg |
| Vitamin C | 8,7 mg |
| Iron | 0,26 mg |
| Magnesium | 27 mg |
It’s obvious from this table that bananas are more than sugar. This is a common misconception that people make, but don’t be mistaken – it’s not all sugar!
For example, the amount of magnesium that is contained in 100 grams of a peeled banana is quite enough to meet the daily dietary requirements of the chickens. To supplement this, you’d need to make a mix of food that is quite unpractical to make and feed your chicks with.
Vitamin C is also an excellent example of the high nutritional value of bananas. You all know as well as I that vitamin C is a crucial part of every animal’s diet. It helps regulate the immune system and keeps anyone that makes it healthy and happy!
Essentially everything that is found in this tasty and sweet fruit is good for chickens. Running around on the field all day and laying eggs is not an easy task to complete after all.
But don’t be confused by this, you’ll still need to feed your chickens some other foods if you want to keep them healthy and fit.
If you make a mistake and feed your chickens only fruit, they’ll have sugar crashes and be extremely energetic in one moment, and in the other – they’ll be exhausted.
Foods That Compliment Bananas
To avoid sugar crashes, you’ll need to combine bananas with other food to “spice up” their diet.
Some of my favorite foods to give alongside bananas are:
Some of the choices I’ve listed here make a fantastic combo with bananas (although I’d never eat them), but keep in mind chickens have a very different food pallet than humans.
A diverse diet is recommended when talking about chicks because it ensures they get everything they need and that they don’t get bored from eating the same food over and over again.
Another thing that’s amazing about bananas is that they go well with almost any food you give to your chicks beside them. So you can’t make a mistake when trying to pair bananas with anything.
Can Chickens Eat Banana Peels?
I get asked can chickens eat banana skins quite often by people who find out that I feed my chickens with bananas.
The answer is quite simple, chickens won’t show any interest in banana peels for the most part. If you don’t want to throw these out, you can grind them up in a blender and give the banana peel smoothie to your chickens alongside some grains of rice.
So, it’s not a bad idea, but just keep in mind that they are bitter in taste and don’t have almost any nutrients compared to the main part of the banana.
Ways To Serve Bananas To Chicks
There are a lot of ways you can feed bananas to your animals. Taking this into consideration, there is no bad way of serving bananas to your chicks.
The easiest way to do this is to peel the bananas and just throw them in the yard. Chickens will rush towards the banana and tear it apart. You can also make a wire hook and hang it in the chicken coop.
This’ll allow the chickens to make an effort and gradually eat the banana. Doing this might also slow the eating process, giving your chick’s stomachs some time to get used to the food when you first start feeding them bananas.
Another thing you can do (this is great to do in the beginning to let your chicks get used to the taste and smell) is to blend the bananas with some oats or grains and make a delicious smoothie for your animals. You can pour this over any other food and make it extra tasty!
You can also chop the bananas into small circles, leave them in the sun to dehydrate, sprinkle them all over the coop, and let your chickens hunt the little banana chips!
You don’t even have to dry them if you don’t want to, you can slice them and throw them around. It’ll stimulate your chicks to hunt the little pieces.
Potential Side Effects Of Bananas
There’s only one thing you should keep an eye out for, and it’s sugar. This is the only thing that poses a threat to your chicks when taken in larger amounts.
Chicken’s diet revolves around protein and fiber, but some sugar here and there is welcome. If you measure very carefully the amount of sugar you give to your chicks, you won’t have any problems.
One-fifth of a banana is the recommended daily intake for any chicken. Take into consideration that if you feed them all at once that some chicks will get more and some will get less than that. To avoid this, I advise you to measure one-sixth of a banana per chick you want to feed.
By following this guide, you are making sure that some of your chicks don’t get their beaks on much more sugar than recommended.
If by some miracle, some of your chicks eat more than recommended you can expect some extra energy from them – but they’ll crash very soon.
Another thing that can happen from the surplus of sugar is that your chicks can experience diarrhea. This won’t last long, but just remember this is a possibility.
In my experience, sugar churches are the worst to deal with. Your chicks will (in case they get a sugar rush) run around like crazy for a good half an hour, but you’ll see them sitting exhausted not long after this occurs.
What To Do If A Chicken Eats Too Much Banana?
If this happens, you shouldn’t panic. Nothing that can happen as a result of your chick consuming too many bananas is too serious. Some bloating and diarrhea can be seen, but nothing more serious than that.
There are only two things you can do if this happens to ensure you’ve done everything you could:
- Give it a fresh source of water – if a chicken ingests too much sugar, it’ll probably be very thirsty. Make sure it has enough fresh water to resolve this.
- Let it run in the open – this is a fantastic way to let your chicken spend all the excess energy it has by running and playing with other animals in the yard.
If by some unfortunate occasion you notice that your chicken is having a bad reaction to too much sugar, you should contact your vet and ask for further instructions. Remember, trained professionals know much more than you and me!
Can Chickens Eat Bananas? – Summation
In case you’re still not sure if chickens can eat bananas, I’ll tell you that there’s virtually nothing to be worried about. Bananas are probably the best sweet treat that you can give your chicks when you want them to get some extra sugar in their body.
The preparation process is easier than most food preparation processes, and you have a variety of ways to make it fun.
I bet you’d like to see your chicks devour a banana, so I suggest you go to the nearest supermarket, get a few bananas, measure them and enjoy the show! And remember, always keep it in moderation.