Can chickens eat peppers (Bell and Hot)?

Part by part

• In moderationFruit (bell)Grubbly Farms and The Happy Chicken Coop: fruit OK.
• YesSeedsGrubbly Farms: flesh and seeds OK.
• In moderationHot peppers (jalapeño etc.)Birds' pain receptors don't sense capsaicin (Stanford); Grubbly Farms still says moderation because capsaicin may upset digestion.
• NoLeaves, stems, flowers, plantsUC ANR vets list pepper leaves among nightshade plants to avoid.

Why

Peppers are nightshades; UC Davis/UC ANR veterinarians say to avoid the leaves. Stanford researchers note chickens, like most birds, have pain receptors that can't sense capsaicin, so hot peppers aren't 'hot' to them.

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

How to serve peppers (Bell and Hot)

• Chop ripe fruit
• Remove stems and leaves

Be careful with

• University of Kentucky's Urban Poultry publication lists peppers on its do-not-feed list, without separating fruit from plant — sources disagree
• Fresh Eggs Daily feeds only ripe nightshade fruit, to adult birds

And for chicks?

Fresh Eggs Daily: keep nightshades away from chicks.

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