We eat celery and it’s healthy for us and our backyard chickens.
I think we know it’s low in calories.
Did you know it’s also high in antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and other goodies?
Well it is.
So as you start buying more celery for yourself, don’t forget about your feathered friends.
Yes…
The ones with the beaks who look at you to see what you have when you enter your garden.
Did you know that celery actually contains about 12 types of antioxidants and is also high in vitamins A, B, C and K?
And…
It’s also a great source of calcium to top it off!
I knew just because the celery plant wasn’t packed with loads of flavor, it still packs a punch when it comes to goodness for us.
And so it is with our chickens.
Apparently, in ancient times this plant was grown in the swamp as a vegetable.
Interesting fact…
Had to plug it in.
Spring…
There are people out there who would be interested in this information.
like myself
How to feed chickens with celery
Now that we know celery is good for chickens, how do we give it to them…
We all know celery is stringy.
We know that well…
Because it really gets caught in our teeth.
But we know our chickens don’t have teeth.
Those are the platypus…
So…
No celery threads get caught here.
But celery strings can be a problem for your chickens as they don’t have teeth to grind up those fibrous bits.
Can chickens eat celery with those long strands in it, they really just get in the way?
Shall I suggest you pull them all out of the celery before feeding it to your chickens?
No…
I hear a sigh of relief…
So…
What now.
I would just chop the celery into small pieces.
No long ways.
As you will still get long strands.
They may not seem so long to us.
But a chicken?
These strands just go on and on if you have a beak.
These strands will be shortened after you cut them.
And if it slips into the chicken’s stomach, the stomach will deal with breaking it open afterwards.
And is very good at it, may I say…
Is Celery Ok for Chickens?
As we have already established above.
Celery is indeed very good for your backyard chickens.
What about all the many vitamins and nutrients that are going on here.
But as with everything…
You have to give it to them in moderation.
It has to be a treat, they have to stick to their main diet of chicken feed.
E.g. too many vegetables and fruits after adapting to a grain-based diet.
Will end up with big butts.
yes folks
Diahoreah!
Can chickens eat celery sticks?
I think we already touched on the fact that celery is good for chickens.
And that the stringy bits that run down the celery stalk are full of it.
And we don’t want our chickens trying to swallow these threads as they can’t chew them up.
have no teeth.
All you need is to get to the chicken coop and find a chicken looking at you with a string of celery hanging from its beak.
Because it couldn’t swallow it.
Now there is a view!
Then you have to catch the chicken and pull it out.
However…
You bit into a celery stalk.
Some chewing is required to break it open as it is quite chewy.
So beaks won’t actually cut it.
You might get a peck here and there and even break off a bit.
But it could just stay there for you to clean up.
Being abandoned by your hens in a basket that is too hard.
In fact I know.
So no whole stalks of celery thrown in you chicken coop people.
Can Chicken Eat Celery Leaves?
Now this part of the celery plant.
Being the celery leaves might be a little tough when they are older and a little tougher.
However, these leaves also contain the most potassium, vitamin C, and calcium, so this part of celery is even better for your chickens.
Here is the same question asked again in a different form…
Can Chickens Have Celery Tips?
It’s all the same…
Be sure to give your chicken the celery tips/celery leaves.
We usually cut these off when cooking anyway.
So you might as well throw them in the chicken coop than on the compost heap.
And the younger, lighter celery leaves are softening.
And therefore most likely to be the first to go.
But it’s the darker ones that contain the most nutrients.
Your chickens will likely opt for the lighter, softer ones.
Try explaining to your chickens that the darker, tougher ones are better for them…
Thanks to Andrea Balch
