Can Chickens Eat Jackfruit? Is it Healthy and Safe?

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In less than a minute, I’ll answer your aching, itchy question, can chickens eat jackfruit?

Yes, you can feed your chickens jackfruit, but beware of the high sugar content…

Though sweet, this exotic fruit is fossil fuel for chickens — nutritious and a great source of vitamins.

If you’re psyched to know more (I know you’re hooked), keep scrolling…

Key Takeaways:

• You can feed your chickens jackfruit, but do so sparingly!
• Ensure that the fruit doesn’t exceed 10% of their diet.
• Jackfruit is filled with nutrients and vitamins that can serve as an exceptionally delicious treat for your chicken.

READ: Can Chickens Eat Spinach?

Is It Healthy For Chickens To Eat Jackfruit?

So, really? Can chickens eat jackfruit?

Surprisingly, jackfruit, rich in antioxidants, proteins, and carbohydrates, has many nutrients from which chickens can benefit. 

Below are some of these juicy pluses [1]:

• Digestion improver. Jackfruit contains a good amount of fiber. Fiber helps the overall health of the digestive system.
• It will help improve bowel movement and protects the colon by removing the carcinogenic chemical from the extensive system.
• Eye and skin maintainer. Thanks to vitamin A, jackfruit promotes healthy eyesight by enhancing eye vision and healthy skin by keeping the skin healthy.
• Besides calcium, jackfruit also contains vitamin C and magnesium, further assisting in calcium absorption.
• Prevents heart disease: Remember that little red heart you drew for your high school sweetheart?
• Jackfruit makes that heart beat faster, better, and smoother kudos to its high vitamin C content and carotenoids.
• Provides Energy. Jackfruit is high in carbohydrates. Do you know what this means? Energy! Chickens are active creatures that are constantly foraging for food.

CHECK: Coconut Oil for Chickens: Is it Safe?

Can Chickens Eat Jackfruit Seeds?

Don’t feed your chickens raw jackfruit. First, cook these seeds and then feed them.

If raw, the seed contains tannins, a poison to your chickens that you will also find in acorns.

Tannin is poisonous to humans, and so is it to chickens (so be careful!)

Fortunately, you can feed these seeds to your chickens by following a simple nifty process:

• Boil the jackfruit seeds for 20-30 minutes to get rid of those toxins. (The heat will lower the tannin levels to make these beauties safe to feed for your chickens.)
• Let the seeds cool down to room temperature.
• Cut them into smaller pieces or mash them into seeds.
• Place these pieces in their feeder or mix them with the commercial feeds.

Now, go ahead and feed your chickens this tannin-free yummy treat!

Interestingly, jackfruit seeds are nutritious. The seeds contain high levels of antioxidants, carbohydrates, protein, minerals, and vitamins.

What’s more, chickens eating jackfruit seeds will benefit greatly from their nutrition.

How To Feed Jackfruit To Chickens

If you offer something to your chickens, you can bet that they will eat it. When it comes to jackfruit, it’s no different.

They will consume it all. But, you’ll want to feed them the flesh, or the fruit pod as it’s sometimes called.

The rind has a sticky latex substance that can be messy when feeding them. The seeds are only safe to eat after you have boiled or roasted them first.

If not, the toxin in the seeds could harm the chickens.

When feeding jackfruit to the chickens, you have several ways of feeding them. Below are some of the methods you can try and see which works well for you:

• Cut the jackfruit into small cubes and place them on their feeder.
• Slice the jackfruit into long slender pieces and put it on their feeder or mix it with their commercial feeds.
• The last method is to give them the entire fruit pod. You can either hang it with a string from a branch or place it in their feeder.

Guess what? The chickens will start pecking at it and eating it!

How Much And How Often To Feed Jackfruit To Chickens

Jackfruit is high in sugar, so they shouldn’t overeat jackfruit. Too much of it could lead to them becoming overweight and having other health issues.

Also, jackfruit and other fruits should be given to them as a treat only.

As for the amount, this fruit should make up no more than 10% of your chicken’s entire diet.

The rest will be in the form of quality commercial feeds.

Depending on your flock’s size at each feeding, you can give 1 fruit pod for every 5 chickens. This amount will be enough for them as a treat.

You don’t want to give them too much of it, or they will not eat enough commercial feeds.

FAQs

1. Can Chickens Eat Jackfruit Skin and Rind?

Yes. Thankfully, all parts of the jackfruit are edible to chickens.
But the rind and the seeds will require prepping to remove the harmful substances so they will not harm the chickens.

2. Can Baby Chickens Eat Jackfruit?

No, don’t feed the babies jackfruit. 
Sadly, their digestive systems aren’t developed enough for this kind of delicacy yet. But, the good side is: feel free to give bite sizes of jackfruit to them once they reach 3 weeks.

Conclusion

So, really? Can chickens eat jackfruit?

The short and sweet of it is ‘yes.’

But don’t let your chickens eat too much of this fruit. Feed it as a treat and not as their staple food.

For more glorious ideas, please do me a favor: share your comments, tips, and questions below, and tell me how much you enjoyed my article.

Until next time…

Resources

1. Elliott B. Why Is Jackfruit Good for You? Nutrition, Benefits and How To Eat It [Internet]. Healthline. 2018. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/jackfruit-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3

Ben Roberts

My name is Ben Roberts, and I absolutely love animals. So, naturally, I love writing about them too! As far as my animals, I have a Pit-bull, a Beagle-lab mix, a Chihuahua, and one old cat. Each one of them provides me with a new adventure every day. And the best part is they’re all best friends. Well, except the cat when he gets a little annoyed.
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