Can Chickens Eat Apples?

Yes. Apples are safe, well-liked, and a classic backyard chicken treat for good reason. There’s one part you should skip, and it’s easy to remember once you know it.

The seeds

Apple seeds contain amygdalin, which breaks down into cyanide. The amount in a few seeds isn’t going to acutely harm a full-grown hen, but there’s no reason to offer them when the fix is so simple — core the apple before you toss it in, or slice around the core. Done.

The flesh, skin, and everything else is completely fine.

How to offer them

Slice or quarter before throwing in the run. A whole apple is awkward to eat and leads to one hen running off with the whole thing while everyone else chases her around the yard. (This is entertaining but inefficient.) Sliced means everyone gets some and you get a calmer afternoon.

Soft, overripe apples work great — the texture is easy to peck at and the hens don’t need them to be pretty. Windfalls from a tree are ideal if you have them. Just core them first.

In fall especially

Apples and chickens go well together in the fall when apples are everywhere and cheap. A few slices a day as a treat, alongside their regular feed, is a good autumnal routine. It also happens to be right before or during molt for many flocks — extra nutrition from varied treats isn’t a bad thing during that stretch.

Pearl is indifferent to apples, for what it’s worth. She tolerates them. She does not run for them the way she runs for grapes. Hens have opinions.

Bottom line

Safe, easy, widely available. Core them first, slice them up, and enjoy the chaos of a small flock encountering a good apple variety for the first time.

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