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

All of these things are necessary for raising happy, healthy chickens that lay an abundance of eggs. Chickens also love to eat broccoli and will flock to it when it is given or available. If you haven’t given your chickens broccoli yet, go ahead, you are doing them a favor!

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Is Broccoli good for chickens to eat?

Yes, broccoli is a great food to give to your chickens to eat. Not only do chickens love broccoli but broccoli is full of minerals and vitamins that help your chicken’s growth and provide them with optimum egg laying nutrients.

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

Nutrition Profile of Broccoli  

Serving Size: 1 cup

• Calories: 31
• Water: 89%
• Protein: 2.5 grams
• Carbs: 6 grams
• Sugar: 1.5 grams
• Fiber: 2.4 grams
• Fat: 0.4 grams

Broccoli has a high water content as well to help keep your chickens hydrated and is also a great source of protein and fiber. 

A diet with sufficient and quality protein – such as that found in broccoli, 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.

Broccoli also contains super nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin K, zinc and potassium. These are very important vitamins for your chicken’s immune system, growth and egg laying potential.

The antioxidants contained in broccoli 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, broccoli 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 Broccoli Should Chickens Eat?

There is no set rule of how much broccoli you can feed your chickens but it should be fed in moderation and alongside a quality chicken feed such as this one.

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 Broccoli

There are two main ways you can prepare broccoli to give to your chickens. By chopping the whole broccoli (florets and stalk), the broccoli kept whole or the broccoli broken up into florets. 

Chopping broccoli before feeding it to your chickens will help your chickens use less energy to eat their food. Chop up the whole broccoli – including the nutritious stalk, for your chickens into chicken bite sized pieces. We love this kitchen tool at our place and use it for chopping our vegetables into small chicken friendly pieces within seconds. 

Feeding your chickens a whole head of broccoli will give them a very stimulating activity and will allow them to gradually peck away at the broccoli head with great enthusiasm. 

Breaking up the broccoli head into smaller florets allows them to eat the broccoli quicker than a whole head, but still be able to peck away at the food and have some extra stimulation. 

Broccoli can be fed to chickens raw or cooked. It’s best to give your chickens broccoli without any salt or spices added to it as this can irritate the chickens digestive system. It’s safest for your chickens to give only plain and unseasoned broccoli to them. 

So, Can Chickens Eat Broccoli?

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

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. 

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 tomatoes? Read on here!

References

Nutrition of broccoli – https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/broccoli#nutrients

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.