Yes, chickens can eat figs whole they are a healthy treat with lots of benefits for your chickens health. They can have fresh or dehydrated/dried figs as long as there is no added sugar in them. Figs are, however, a treat that should be given sparingly.
But before you start tossing figs to your backyard chickens, you need to know how to feed them, how much to give and what their benefits are. Keep on reading to get all the details.
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Is it safe for a chicken to eat figs?
Yes, figs are safe for chickens as long as they are fed in small amounts. And, chickens quite like them due to their sweet flavor. Whenever we toss figs out to our flock they peck at them right away.
Due to the high sugar content in figs you do want to be careful just to feed them with caution to be sure the chickens don't eat too much just like when feeding chickens watermelon, feeding chickens cantaloupe, feeding chickens blueberries or feeding chickens cherries.
Make sure when you are feeding treats to also do routine health checks on your chickens to ensure that they are doing OK with these added foods in their diet.
How do you feed figs to chickens?
Figs are nice because you don't really have to due much with them before feeding them to your chickens.
- Fresh figs - whether you have your own garden harvest of figs or buy some from the store and have leftovers you can easily feed fresh figs to your chickens. Simply wash them, cut them into quarters and toss them to the flock.
- Dried figs - you need to be a little more cautious with these just like when feeding chickens cranberries or feeding chickens raisins. Drying the fruit causes more of a concentrated sugar content. If they are store bought, make sure there is no added sugar.
- Make sure they're evenly distributed - if you are tossing them to the whole flock, or putting them out for everyone in a feed dish just make sure one or two chickens aren't grabbing all of them.
- How much - you want to keep portions small, so around one fig per 4 - 5 chickens. And, don't feed these every day. Once or twice a week is more than enough.
Need some help keeping your chickens health and care taken care of? Check out the Organized Chicken Keeper for an easy to follow system.
Benefits of Figs
Figs can be a healthy snack for your flock. They contain a wealth of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in a very small package.
Some of the top nutrient benefits that chickens can get from figs are:
- Calcium: bones and egg shell strength and quality.
- Fiber: energy, growth, and digestive health. This is also a big nutrient given when chickens eat asparagus and when chickens eat bananas as well.
- Vitamin K: blood clotting, bone metabolism
- Magnesium: bone strength and development, cellular metabolism, heart health, muscle function. Chickens can eat sweet potatoes if they need even more magnesium.
- Potassium: temperature control; hydration & electrolyte regulation, metabolism and more.
And here is a quick glance at this table from the USDA FoodData Center to show you just how many nutrients are in a single fig dried fig (8..4g).
| Name | Amount | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 2.520 | g |
| Energy | 20.900 | kcal |
| Protein | 0.277 | g |
| Fiber, total dietary | 0.823 | g |
| Sugars | 4.020 | g |
| Calcium, Ca | 13.600 | mg |
| Magnesium, Mg | 5.710 | mg |
| Potassium, K | 57.100 | mg |
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid | 0.101 | mg |
| Vitamin B-6 | 0.009 | mg |
| Vitamin A, IU | 0.840 | IU |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) | 1.310 | µg |
Feeding Chickens Figs FAQs
No, chickens shouldn't eat fig leaves. Fig leaves and trees contain a substance called ficin. Which has been shown to be toxic for multiple animals such as cattle, dogs and cats. So, better to steer clear from exposing your chickens to it.
No, chickens shouldn't eat fig stems. Again, this is due to the ficin in the fig plant. Better to avoid anything that is potentially toxic to feed to your chickens.
No, chickens shouldn't eat fig newtons or fig rolls due to the added sugar content in these foods.
If you need more help with taking care of your chickens, check out The Organized Chicken Keeper for a complete system for managing their health through keeping their supplies stocked and coop clean.
