Can Chickens Have Nectarines?

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Chickens CAN eat nectarines.

In fact, they love them.

Who wouldn’t? Nectarines are sweet and summery. And they’re full of vitamins and minerals.

Nectarines are perfectly healthy for chickens to eat. So feel free to toss some nectarines into the coop.

(Of course, that means you have to share your nectarines with them!)

Can Chickens Eat Nectarine Pits?

This is where the question gets tricky. Chickens can eat nectarines, but they can’t eat nectarine pits.

That’s because the pits — like many pits from stone fruits — contain a toxic substance.

It’s a bad idea to let your chickens eat nectarine pits. The good news is that chickens usually don’t want to eat the pits.

Why?

Because they’re so big and rocky. And they don’t taste good, anyway.

Even if your chickens DID manage to eat some nectarine pits, they’d probably be just fine.

It takes a lot for nectarine pits to actually become dangerous.

Still, do your best to keep your chickens from eating nectarine pits. If possible, remove the pits before feeding nectarines to your chickens.

So, not to worry — you don’t have to peel nectarines before you share them with your feathered friends.

The nectarine fruit is generally safe for chickens to eat. But the other parts of the tree could pose a problem.

If you’ve got a nectarine tree in your yard, make sure your chickens aren’t getting the leaves, bark or pits.

These parts of the nectarine tree can contain substances that are toxic to chickens. Best to stick to the sweet part of the fruit.

Chickens can eat nectarines. As long as you’re careful about the pits and stick to the sweet, fleshy part of the fruit, it’s perfectly safe.

However:

Moderation is key. Nectarines are full of vitamins and minerals that are great for chickens. But they’re also full of sugar.

Too much sugar isn’t good for chickens.

So, feed nectarines to your chickens if you want. Just don’t do it more than once or twice per week.