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Can Chicken Eat Plum – Is It Safe?

As a chicken keeper, I’m always curious about the different types of fruits and vegetables my chickens can safely enjoy. Plums, with their juicy sweetness, have often made me wonder if they’re a safe treat for my feathered friends. Have you ever considered feeding plums to your chickens and pondered about their safety?

Chickens can safely eat plums in moderation. Plums offer vitamins and hydration but should be given without pits, as these can be toxic. This treat should be part of a balanced diet, not a staple food.

Top view of wood table with bowls of plums

Plums can be a delicious and nutritious treat for chickens, providing them with hydration and essential vitamins. When offering plums, it’s important to remove the pits, as they contain compounds that can be harmful to chickens.

Cutting the plums into smaller pieces can make it easier for them to eat. However, due to their sugar content, plums should only be given in moderation to avoid health issues like obesity or diarrhea.

While plums are safe for chickens, they should not replace their main diet, which should consist of a high-quality commercial poultry feed. This feed is specially formulated to provide all the necessary nutrients for a chicken’s health and well-being.

Additionally, always ensure that the plums are fresh and free from mold or pesticides before feeding them to your chickens. Introduce any new food slowly into their diet and monitor for any adverse reactions.

Fresh, clean water should always be available, especially when feeding them fruits, to aid in digestion.

Is It Safe for Chickens to Eat Plums, Should Your Chickens Have It?

Fruits and vegetables need to be a part of your chickens’ diet along with their regular feed.  This includes plums.  Serving your chickens fresh plums on occasion will break up the monotony of their regular menu items.

Yes, it is safe for chickens to eat plums.  Chickens should definitely have them sometimes.  Even baby chickens can have plums as long as they are cut up into small pieces.

Your whole flock of chickens will benefit from the nutritional value of the plums.  Don’t forget to cut up the plums into tiny pieces for the babies.  Otherwise, they could choke on the plums.  Always stay safe!

What To Look Out for When Feeding Plums to Chickens

There are two main things to look out for when feeding plums to chickens.  As long as you pay attention to these words of caution, it is perfectly safe to feed them the plums on occasion.

One thing is, don’t let the chickens eat the pits.  The plum pits contain small amounts of poison.  The other issue is don’t feed them plums too often.  Plums contain natural sugars which are not good for them to have in excess.

You really would not want your chickens to eat the plum pits anyway.  Besides the dangers just mentioned, plum pits are hard, and your chickens could choke on them.  Always supervise your chickens when they eat plums to ensure they do not try to eat the pits. 

Can Chickens Eat Plum Pits/Seeds?

Plums cut with pit showing

There are some fruits and vegetables where it is perfectly safe for chickens to consume the pits/seeds.  Plums are NOT one of these.  The pits must be discarded when you give plums to your chickens.

NO, chickens or any other animal should NOT eat plum pits.  The pits contain a substance known as amygdalin.  When this substance is broken down, it becomes cyanide.

As we all know, cyanide is a form of poison even in small amounts.  You do not want your chickens to have these.  What you should do is remove the pits and discard them prior to feeding the plums to the chickens. 

Can Chickens Eat Plum Leaves?

Plum and leaves

The literature available for this question does not specify whether eating plum leaves is safe for chickens.  Therefore, we would err on the side of caution.

For safety reasons, avoid allowing your chickens to eat plum leaves.  They are not likely to want to eat plum leaves anyhow.  Chicken owners who have observed their flock closely have never seen them bother with the leaves on the plum trees.

It is better to be safe than sorry.  Due to the fact that nobody specifically says plum leaves are okay for chickens to eat, it is best to avoid doing this.  Keep your chickens away from those. 

Can Chickens Eat Old Plums?

Top view of wood table and bowl of plums

No living being whether animal or human should eat anything that is old or moldy.  This includes the concept of chickens eating old plums.

If you fail to ignore this advice and feed old plums to your chickens, the chickens can get very sick.  Even the smallest amounts of old fruit can make your chickens ill.  Do not do it!

What you should do is inspect the plums before feeding them to your chickens.  Moldy and rotted spots are very visible to the human eye.  If you have any doubts about a particular plum, discard it immediately. 

Can Chickens Eat Unripe/Green Plums?

Unripe green plums on tree

Once again, the available literature on chickens eating plums fails to answer this question.  So, once again, we say to use caution.  Since nobody has said this is safe, it is likely best to avoid doing it.  You do not want sick chickens.

We say no, do not feed unripe plums to your chickens.  They probably would not even taste very good to the chickens.  Plus, unripe fruit tends to be hard and tough to swallow.  You don’t want your chickens to choke.

This article was first published on September 2, 2022 by Pentagon-Pets.

Avoid giving unripe plums to your chickens.  On the other hand, if unripe plums fall to the ground, and your chickens eat them, the chickens probably will not be harmed.

Can Chickens Eat Dried Plums?

White bowl of dried plums

Dried plums are better known as prunes and are sold in food markets separately from plums.  Prunes are able to be fed to humans and animals such as chickens.

It is safe for chickens to eat these and can provide additional nutrients that are not found in their plum form.  Whether your chickens will want to eat the prunes may be a different story altogether.  If you can get your chickens to eat the prunes now and then, they will benefit.

As with this fruit in its plum form, prunes should only be fed to chickens in moderation.  Otherwise, excess amounts of the sugars naturally contained by the prunes could be harmful to your chickens.  Moderation is the key to most things chickens can eat. 

Can Chickens Eat Cooked Plums?

Putting peeled plums into a pot of boiling water

So, why would you cook plums?  Perhaps in a pie or a pudding.  Can chickens eat these?  Chickens can eat just about any type of fruit or vegetable, and do so in its plain form and cooked forms.

Pentagon Pet is the owner of this article that was first published on September 2, 2022.

Yes, chickens can eat cooked plums.  You may not want to feed it to them in a pie or pudding form though.  Those contain other additional foods that chickens should not have such as the pie crust.  Be sure the chickens do not gorge themselves on the plums.  Too much is not good.

What you can do is take your cooked plum dish and scoop out the plum, keeping it separate from the crust.  Then it will be safe to feed this to your chickens.  Do not leave your chickens unsupervised around the plums or else they might eat too much of it. 

Can Chickens Eat Raw Plums?

Bowl of plums with one cut

The term raw plum is used to describe this fruit in its ripe natural uncooked form.  It is an example of one kind of fruit or vegetables that can be fed to chickens in addition to their regular high-quality feed.

Yes, chickens can eat raw plums and rather enjoy them.  Although it is safe, unless you have separated and discarded the pits from all the plums, please supervise your flock.  You do not want them to peck at and consume any part of the pit.

If you have a small flock of chickens and a little time on your hands, you can hold the plums in your hands and allow them to peck away at the fruit.  Your chickens will love this as an occasional treat.  Again though, not too often is the recommendation.

Can Chickens Eat Red Plums?

Red plums with white background

As we have been discussing, it is beneficial to your chickens if you feed them a diverse diet that includes fruits.  Plums are a fruit and red plums are a variation of this fruit.  Therefore, it is safe.

Yes, chickens can eat red plums.  Again, make sure the chickens cannot eat the pits, do not have plums too often, and that the plums are not rotten in any way.  Red plums are just as good as the purple variety.

Also, until an expert says otherwise, avoid letting them have the plum leaves.  It is unclear whether these could be harmful, so it is best to stay clear of them for the safety of your chickens. 

Can Chickens Eat Wild Plums?

Close up of wild plum tree

Plums grow on trees.  Unless you have plum trees on your property, your chickens are unlikely to encounter wild plums.  An exception could be if a neighbor has wild plum trees and your chickens stray over there at times.

Yes, chickens can have wild plums.  In any variety, plums are healthy for chickens to have as a treat now and then.  The only problem could be that some wild plums could be rotten.  You would not necessarily know about this until your chickens get sick.

A way to prevent this scenario is not to let your chickens have unsupervised access to plum trees.  Whether on your property or nearby, you want to keep an eye on what your chickens are feeding on.  Then you can prevent any problems from occurring. 

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This article and its contents are owned by Pentagon Pets and was first published on September 2, 2022.

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