All the wheat products have a common main wheat ingredient named wheat berries. And, these wheat berries are on the list of most commonly edible grains. Not only humans but animals also consume wheat berries and their products. But what about our backyard flocks? Can chickens eat wheat berries? Are these berries healthy for them? Let’s explore all these queries.
Chickens are not picky eaters due to their opportunistic behavior. That’s why they can eat wheat berries without any concern, and these wheat berries are healthy for them as well.
Can Chickens Eat Wheat Berries?
Being an edible part of the wheat kernel, wheat berries are part of numerous edible foods, not for humans but also animals and birds.
As these berries make a vital part of our food and also enrich in several nutrition’s, that’s why we can offer these berries to chickens as well.
Not only our food but the commercialized food of chickens also contain wheat. And we can also sprinkle these wheat berries on the way of chickens so that they can peck on them.
As chickens are not picky eaters that’s why they would like to eat these berries.
Read also: What Foods Can Chickens Not Eat?
Health Benefits:
Before discussing the health benefits of wheat berries for chickens let’s explore the nutritional value of wheat berries.
Wheat berries are a vital part of our food as without them there is no more flour. But these berries are healthy for us as well as they are a good source of iron, fiber, protein, vitamin E, magnesium, protecting antioxidants, carbohydrates, etc.
Being loaded with such a high nutritional profile these berries are also known as a whole grains in the form of wheat.
A good amount of fiber in wheat berries helps to promote healthy digestion in chickens and thus ensures a healthy digestive system.
Having blood sugar levels at a specific level in a chicken’s body is necessary. So if you feed wheat berries to your flocks then it would help to lower the sugar absorptions into their blood.
There are numerous other health benefits that chickens can get from the wheat berries feed, for example, strong bones, due to the presence of several minerals and vitamins. And also the high amount of vitamin C helps to enhance iron absorption in chickens.
How To Prepare Wheat Berries for Chickens?
There are two ways to feed wheat berries to chickens, (i) Raw Wheat Berries (ii) Sprouted Wheat Berries.
Let’s explore the pros and cons of both these feeding methods.
Firstly, there is no doubt that chickens can eat raw wheat berries and they are nutritional and convenient for chickens as well.
Because, if you don’t have enough time to prepare a meal of wheat berries then simply sprinkle them in front of your backyard chickens and they will eat.
Secondly, the affected way of feeding wheat berries is the sprouted form of wheat berries. According to the study, this form is offered 4000 times more concentration of enzymes and antioxidants than the non-sprouted form.
So, let’s have a look that how you can get sprouted wheat berries.
- At first, rinse the wheat berries and soak them in water into a jar or any other container that you consider suitable for it.
Make sure that you are not filing the jar full because wheat berries expand after absorbing water.
- After completing the first step successfully make sure that wheat berries soak for at least 6-8 hours.
After it, drain all the water from the jar, rinse the berries and fill the jar again.
- Repeat this process 2-3 times daily and after almost 2-3 days you will get tiny sprouts from your wheat berries.
Don’t serve all the sprouted wheat berries at once to your flocks. And you can also mix these berries with other foods like fruits, vegetables, etc. As it would help to make a delicious meal full of nutrients.
Can Chickens Eat Hard Red Wheat Berries?
A precise answer to this question is yes. As chickens can eat hard red wheat berries, without any difficulty and these berries are also healthy for them.
However, the fully grown chickens can eat a whole grain of red wheat berries without any concern. But for young chickens, you have to make them into edible size.
So that smaller chickens can eat them easily and also smaller sizes help in proper digestion.
A Final Thought:
Wheat berries are essential and also nutritious for us. But if you are curious to know that can chicken eat wheat berries? Then I would like to tell you that yes.
Not chickens can eat them, but these berries are one of the good foods for chicken with numerous health benefits.
Moreover, the nutritious value of the wheat berries enhances if you get their sprouted form. This form offers 4000 times more concentration of enzymes and antioxidants than its raw form.
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