Can I feed chickens fruit jam?
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Question by LYN D: Can I feed chickens fruit jam?
Hello, there!
We raise chickens in our backyard, and I was wondering if it is safe to feed them some fruit jam? We recieved some as a gift and, well, we don’t like it, so we thought of giving it to our feathered friends. The jam is made from Dagwey(a fruit native in the Philippines) and it claims to have no preservatives, only Dagwey juice, sugar, spring water and pectin. Is it safe for the chickens? Thanks in advance.
What do you think? Answer below!
6 Responses to Can I feed chickens fruit jam?
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It would be fine to mix it with a Variety of food (scraps or chicken food ect..) also you could add it with a bit of weatbix all mixed up. But it would probably be fine as long as you didn’t give it to them all the time.
Good Luck 🙂
abby
June 15, 2012 at 11:00 pm
None of the ingredients in the jam are contraindicated for poultry,if is difficult however to pre judge how they will take to it.The basic rule is to start anything new by way of dietary additives in a slow,un rushed manner & see how it goes.
I have reared free range poultry at my farm for eggs & some back yard birds for breeding,i am not hesitant to try new foods for my birds,i would mix in a small quantity into their usual feed stuff & watch both for their acceptance as well as bowel action for the next day or two. though I don’t expect any thing to go wrong with jam.I would give long intervals between jam- feed days,in fact i would pull on until the use by date.
Hope it works & you will feel good about not wasting a good jam that you just did not care for.
dee k
June 15, 2012 at 11:20 pm
This is fruit on wild forest trees, The main ingredient in this jam is the fruit from the trees yes? so the birds may eat this and if do mix some seeds along with it so it wont be so over powering on the other hand the birds may not eat such fruits.
COUNTRY--GIRL
June 15, 2012 at 11:20 pm
I have never heard of Dagwey. Now I have to look it up to find out what it is.
You generally want to avoid foods with excess sugar when feeding your birds. They may like the fruit (and any seeds in it), but the additional sugar really isn’t good for them. In general, jams or jellies are perfectly safe for your birds. Is it particularly good for them? No, there are other treats that are much better to give to them instead.
If you want to give your birds a treat, try whole grain breads, vegetable scraps, fruit scraps (our particularly like pumpkins or squash split in half), even scrambled eggs, curdled milk, and scratch grains. Avoid processed foods, items that are high in sugar (no doughnuts and such), and spoiled meat products. Chickens will eat a wide variety of foods, but can get food poisoning.
If you really don’t like the jam, I’d just toss it out, and give your birds something healthier.
stonefieldhill
June 15, 2012 at 11:50 pm
yeah, we keep a bowl of leftover veg and stuff which we give to our chickens everyday
They;ll love it!
Hope this helps x
Emily
June 16, 2012 at 12:06 am
we had a lemon meringue pie ,and due to accident ,it wound up on the floor ,the chickens loved it. i really wanted that pie.i would say they could eat most anything you could ,but in moderation ,if you have dominant birds that get everything ,you might spread it around or mix with feed to dilute.
the rooster
June 16, 2012 at 1:03 am