Can chickens eat tomatoes?

Part by part

• In moderationRipe fruitASPCA: ripe fruit is non-toxic. Fresh Eggs Daily feeds very ripe tomatoes in moderation to adult birds.
• NoGreen/unripe fruitCornell: solanum-type glycoalkaloids are highest in tomato vines and green tomatoes. (The Happy Chicken Coop lists green tomatoes as OK — a minority view.)
• NoLeaves, stems, vinesUC Davis/UC ANR vets: avoid tomato leaves. ASPCA lists the plant as toxic (solanine).

Why

Tomatoes are in the nightshade family. The plant and unripe fruit contain glycoalkaloids (ASPCA names solanine; Cornell names tomatine for tomatoes), which Cornell says are not destroyed by cooking or drying. Ripe fruit is considered non-toxic by ASPCA and is fed in moderation by many keepers.

Watch out for solanine / tomatine (solanum-type glycoalkaloids). If a bird may have eaten a lot of it and seems unwell, call a veterinarian who treats poultry.

How to serve tomatoes

• Only fully ripe fruit
• Chop or halve
• Never toss whole vines or plant trimmings into the run

Be careful with

• University of Kentucky's Urban Poultry publication lists tomatoes (without distinguishing ripe fruit) on its do-not-feed list — sources disagree
• Fence chickens out of tomato beds so they can't eat leaves or green fruit

And for chicks?

Fresh Eggs Daily advises keeping nightshades away from chicks; Lisa Steele (via Chewy) says avoid unripe tomatoes.

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