Can chickens eat cherries?

Part by part

• In moderationFleshNo added sugar (The Happy Chicken Coop).
• NoPitsCyanogenic when crushed or chewed.
• NoStems and leavesMerck: Prunus leaves have high cyanogenic potential, increased by wilting.

Why

UF/IFAS lists cherry pits among pits that release cyanide when crushed or chewed. Merck lists wild black cherry and chokecherry among cyanogenic plants and says seeds and leaves typically carry the most.

Watch out for cyanogenic glycosides (pits, leaves). If a bird may have eaten a lot of it and seems unwell, call a veterinarian who treats poultry.

How to serve cherries

• Pit and halve

Be careful with

• No maraschino or syrup-packed cherries
• Grubbly Farms contradicts itself on pits — follow the extension advice and remove them

The treat rules for every food

1. 1Scraps are not nutritionally balanced. Letting them displace complete feed can cause nutritional disorders and lower egg production; hens that fill up on treats can run short of calcium and draw it from their bones, weakening shells.
2. 2Never feed moldy, rotten or spoiled food. Molds can produce mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin on corn, peanuts, nuts, rice) that harm poultry, and University of Kentucky notes mycotoxins remain even if visible mold is removed. Rotting food can also be a source of Clostridium botulinum (botulism, 'limberneck'). Stale or wilted (not moldy) produce and bread are generally considered fine.
3. 3Avoid very salty, sugary, fatty, fried or heavily processed human food (chips, fast food, candy, heavily salted leftovers). Merck notes salt above about 2% of the diet is usually considered dangerous for poultry, that birds under 21 days old are more susceptible, and that restricted water access makes salt problems worse.
4. 4Provide insoluble grit (granite grit or small stones) whenever chickens eat whole grains, scratch, seeds or forage; birds that can reach the ground usually find their own. Oyster shell is a calcium source, not grit (it is too soft). Birds eating only a complete pelleted feed do not need grit.

All 10 rules · How much feed they need