Chickens can eat summer squash. In fact, they love the stuff.
Patty pan squash, green and yellow zucchini, cousa squash, crookneck squash — it’s all delicious to your hens and roosters.
A garden favorite that often overproduces, squash is safe and healthy for chickens. No part of the plant is considered toxic to poultry.
It’s actually really healthy for your flock.
So, toss your extra summer squash into the pen or yard without a care. But always make sure you’re giving your chickens a balanced diet.
Let’s dive a little deeper:
How to Prepare Summer Squash for Chickens
Chickens can eat summer squash raw or cooked.
But if you want to make sure they eat the harder parts like the skin and seeds, you might want to cook it.
You don’t have to do anything fancy. Just heat it until it’s cooked through.
And avoid adding much oil or seasoning (which can be harmful to chickens in some cases).
Also, if it’s rotten, it belongs in the trash. Not in the chicken pen.
When foods like summer squash rot, they can create toxins and other harmful substances that are not good for chickens. Just like people.
Can Chickens Eat Summer Squash Seeds?
Chickens can eat every part of summer squash — including the seeds. In fact, you might find that this is some of your hens’ favorite part of the squash.
The best part:
Squash seeds are full of healthy minerals that are great for chickens.
What About the Skin of the Squash?
It’s perfectly safe for chickens to eat the skins of summer squash.
However, if you’re tossing the squash to your flock raw, you might notice that they have some trouble eating the skin.
That’s why cooking the squash can be so helpful (but isn’t required).
Squash Leaves Are Also Safe (but Not Preferred)
When you’re digging up your raised beds for the season, you’ll have some extra squash greens on your hands.
By all means, throw them to the chickens. They’re perfectly safe to eat.
But you might find that this isn’t your flock’s favorite treat. They much prefer the sweeter fruit of the squash plant to the greens.
Some chickens will eat squash leaves with no reservations. But others will merely peck at them.
Can Baby Chicks Eat Summer Squash?
Baby chicks can safely eat summer squash. But you need to keep two things in mind:
- They need to ALSO eat a balanced starter feed to ensure they’re meeting all nutritional needs.
- Cooking and mashing the squash will make it much easier for the chicks to eat it.
Aside from those two considerations, summer squash is safe for baby chicks to eat.
Benefits of Summer Squash for Chickens
Can chickens eat summer squash? Yes. Should they? Absolutely.
Why? Because it’s really healthy for them.
Squash Might Act as a Dewormer
Chicken enthusiasts have long said squash — the seeds, in particular — acts as a natural dewormer.
And now, science is starting to catch up to that claim. Several studies have found that squash can reduce parasite loads in animals.
(This hasn’t been confirmed in chickens. But if it works for mice and goats, it likely works for poultry, too. And what’s the harm in trying?)
Packed with Vitamins and Minerals
This is just a sample of the vitamins and minerals packed into summer squash:
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Iron
- Manganese
- Thiamine
- Phosphorous
- Copper
- Niacin
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
The list goes on. But suffice it to say: Summer squash is really healthy for chickens.
In Summary
Your chickens will absolutely love the summer squash you’re going to feed them. And it’s perfectly safe (and healthy) for them to eat.
For best results, cook summer squash before serving to chickens. And make sure to watch the fun as the birds tear into it.