Yes, chickens can eat carrot. A lot of curious chicken owners ask the question ‘can chickens eat carrot?’ The bonus to this answer is that carrot is full of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and fiber.

All of these important nutritional elements are necessary for raising happy, healthy chickens that lay an abundance of eggs.

It is best to prepare carrot in a particular way to get the most out of your chickens taking up your offer of carrot. If you haven’t given your chickens carrot yet, go ahead and give it a try and see if it is to their taste.

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Do Chickens Even Like Carrot?

Most chickens will eat carrot. However, if your chickens are anything like mine, they can be picky about what they eat.

Its possible your chickens will not eat carrot on their first exposure, but there are ways to prepare carrot to make it more appetizing to fussy chickens.

We discuss the ways to prepare carrot to make feeding easier and the food more appealing to chickens further on.

Is Carrot Good For Chickens To Eat?

Yes, carrot is a great food to give to your chickens to eat. Carrot is full of fiber, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins that help your chicken’s growth and provide them with optimum egg laying nutrients. There are no negative benefits to feeding carrot to your feathered friends accompanied with a balanced diet and high quality chicken feed.

We researched the nutritional profile of carrot to give you an overview of how good this vegetable food really is. 

Nutrition Profile of Carrot  

Serving Size: 100 grams of carrot

• Calories: 41
• Protein: 0.9 gram
• Fat: 0.2 gram
• Carbohydrates: 28 grams
• Fiber: 2.8 grams
• Sugar: 4.7 grams
• Water: 88%

Carrot has a high water content as well to help keep your chickens hydrated and is also a great source of nutrients, antioxidants and fiber. 

A diet high in fibre, antioxidants and nutrients contributes to a well functioning immunity, optimal growth, healthy egg production and numerous other beneficial health functions for your chickens. 

This study found that fiber is super important to aid healthy digestion and bowel function for chickens. The same study also found that fiber aids in cleaning the gut and that chickens with a fiber-rich diet release less ammonia in their poop.

Carrot also contains super nutrients such as Vitamin A, Biotin, Vitamin K, Potassium, Vitamin B6.

These are very important vitamins for your chicken’s immune system, growth and egg laying potential.

The antioxidants contained in carrot promote high productive and reproductive performance in your chickens. In this study chickens were given antioxidants to improve their health and reduce stresses found in a commercial poultry environment.

All in all, carrot is a bit of a super vegetable and is worth giving to your chickens as part of a healthy and well rounded diet. Just ensure you are also giving them a variety of other nutritional foods and high quality feed as well, such as this one we love for our own girls. 

How Much Carrot Should Chickens Eat?

There is no set rule of how much carrot you can feed your chickens but it should be fed in moderation. A high quality feed such as this one should make up 90% of their diet.

A variety of other fruits and vegetables such as scraps and treats should also be given as part of their diet. A diverse variety of food sources ensures your flock gets all the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients they need in their diet for great health. 

How to Feed Chickens Carrot

There are several ways you can prepare carrot to give to your chickens. By chopping the carrot up into small pieces, shredding the carrot or feeding the carrot whole. Carrot can be given to your chickens raw or cooked.

I usually chop up or shred the raw carrot before feeding it to my chickens. It will help your chickens use less energy to eat their food and also reduce the risk of any choking, plus it makes the carrot much easier to eat and therefore more appetizing.

I shred the carrot and other vegetables im feeding my chickens with this electric shredder which makes preparing the carrot and other vegetables for feeding super quick and easy.

Can Chickens Eat Carrot Tops and Carrot Peels?

Chickens can eat carrot tops including the leafy greens and carrot peels just fine.

However whether they will or not is going to depend on how fussy your chickens are. My chickens prefer it if I chop up the carrot tops into small bite sized pieces. The leafy tops and peels they will peck away at easily.

Tops and leafy parts as well as peels are very healthy for your chickens and you can confidently offer them these parts of the carrot.

So, Can Chickens Eat Carrot?

Yes! Go ahead and given your chickens the delicious and nutritious benefits of carrot.

Just remember that the vast majority of their diet should come from a high quality commercial feed with other fruits and vegetables given as well. 

This electric shredder is super handy for preparing food scraps for your chickens quickly and easily.

Chicken Care Shopping List

Are you looking for a shopping list of everything you need when caring for your precious flock? We have put together an easy reference of items for your convenience. 

• Chicken coop
• Wood shavings bale
• Feeder
• Waterer 
• Nesting Box
• Perch
• Layer pellets
• Chicken scratch/grain
• Shell grit
• Chicken Safe Disinfectant
• Coop cleaner
• Chicken dust
• Wormer
• Multivitamin
• Calcium supplement
• Insecticide
• Mealworms

Wanting to know if chickens can eat celery? Read on here!

References

Nutrition of carrot – https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/carrots#vitamins-and-minerals

Fiber Study – https://jasbsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40104-021-00576-0

Antioxidant study – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7070479/ 

Chicken Care Shopping List

Are you looking for a shopping list of everything you need when caring for your precious flock? We have put together an easy reference of items for your convenience.