As a chicken owner, you will always have it in mind to serve treats that will enhance the health of your chickens.
If it happens that you have sugar in abundance at your disposal, you might be wondering if you can serve some cubes to the chickens as treats.
Perhaps this is the reason why you are here. Well in this blog post, you are going to discover if you can serve sugar to the chickens or not.
Can chickens eat sugar? You should not serve sugar to the chickens. Sugar will cause gastro-intestinal problems in chickens. Sugar can lead to diarrhoea in chickens.
You should stay away from serving any treats that contain a lot of sugars for the chickens. Treats like cookies, candy, sugarcane etc should not be served to the chickens.
Table of Contents
Is it OK for chickens to eat sugar?
It is not good for chickens to eat sugar. Sugar is bad for the chickens digestive system. You should never let your chickens have access to sugar not to talk of consuming it.
If the chickens manage to eat sugar, they are going to give out foul poop and this can lead to weight loss as a result.
You have to watch after the kids and prevent them from serving foods that contain sugar in them.
The kids here usually watch over when I am feeding the chickens, especially on weekends. You know kids learn by watching, so they will want to repeat things you do in their present.
There was a time when the kids gave cookies and candy to the chickens. The chickens managed to eat the candy and they developed diarrhoea.
It was probios that served as a life saver for those chickens and they as they give gave out foul poop.
Is sugar good for broiler chickens?
Some people put sugar in the water they serve the broiler chickens. They are doing this with the purpose of aid the digestion of the feed consumed by the chickens.
I think this practice is not good enough. The reason is that sugar has a way of destabilizing the stomach of the chickens.
There are some supplements you can add into the waters for the broiler chickens in order to improve their digestion rate.
You can simply ask the nearest vet to recommend some of the supplements you can serve the broiler chickens.
Is too much sugar bad for chickens?
Chickens are going to eat most of the things that go down well with our body system.
Likewise the chickens will be affected by the food which stabilizes our body system.
In this case, too much sugar is bad for the chickens. The chickens are going to develop a series of internal ailments if they manage to eat sugar to some extent.
What does sugar do to chicken?
The chickens are going to develop diarrhoea if they consume too much sugar. You will notice this when the chickens are giving out watery poops.
When the chickens give out excessive watery poops, it will drain their energy and they might find it difficult to move around. You might see the chicken stay in one place for a long time as a result.
The chickens are likely to develop faulty liver if they consume excessive sugar.
Heart disease is one of those effects that may likely occur to the chickens when they manage to eat sugar.
Can you mix sugar with feed for chickens?
You should not mix Sugar with the feed you serve the chickens if you care much about their health and well-being.
Honestly I don’t know the reason why anyone would decide to add sugar to the feed serving to the chickens.
I said this because the chickens don’t have a taste bud just like humans, so there is no need for them to crave for sweetness in every treat or feed you serve them.
Can you add sugar to chicken water?
There is no point in adding sugar into the water you serve the chickens. I understand that weird things can come into your mind especially when you are just starting out to raise chickens as pets.
Adding sugar into the water does not come with health benefits for the chickens except you no longer value the life of your pets.
Other treats you can serve the chickens
It is good to have varieties of healthy treats which you can serve the chickens in order to improve their meal plan.
Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation whereby the main feed you serve the chicken has been extracted.
Healthy treats will stand in for you before you get another feed for the chickens. Here are some of the healthy treats you can serve the chickens instead of sugar.
Cabbage
Cabbage is one of the healthy treats you can serve the chickens. You can hang cabbage in the air for the chickens or you slice it into smaller pieces before you put it in the feeders for them.
Corn
Corn is one of those treats you can send the chickens. In fact, corn is the best treat you can send the chickens during the winter because it provides them with enough heat to stand the coldness outside.
Peanuts
Peanuts are one of the treats you can serve the chickens. Peanuts are a good source of protein for the chicken. The chickens are capable of eating both raw cooked peanuts.
Cooked beans
It is true that raw beans are not good for the chickens because they contain lectin toxic substances. But the case is quite different with cooked beans. Cooking helps to minimise the toxin in the Beans.
Bread
You can serve bread to the chickens as a treat. Chickens can eat all kinds of bread except for the moldy bread. Next time you are buying bread for your family, you can include the one you are going to serve the chickens as a treat
Yogurt
Yogurt is one of those healthy treats you can serve the chickens. The best you can serve the chickens is plain yogurts as they do not contain sugar or any other sweeteners.
Bananas
Bananas are one of favorite treats for the chickens. Bananas are a good source of fibre for the chickens. It is only the fruit inside if you serve the chickens. The peel of the bananas are good for the chickens.
Treats you should not serve the chickens
It is also good to know some other treats which are poisonous to the chickens so that you should avoid them.
Avocados
You should never serve a fruit and peel of avocados to the chickens as they contain a toxic substance called Persin.
Salty food
You should not serve food that contains salt. Salt is capable of causing gastrointestinal disorder in chickens.
Green beans
Do not serve green beans to the chickens as they contain a toxic substance called solanine. Solanine is a pesticide which can cause a series of effects when the chickens consume them.
Conclusion
Sugar is not good for the chickens. Chickens can develop heart disease if they manage to eat. Sugar can also cause diarrhoea in chickens. You should never attempt to add sugar to the chicken water just like some people do.
Reference
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/how-sugar-affects-your-body
