Chickens fulfill our eggs and meat needs and in return, it is our responsibility to feed them healthy. They can eat a variety of foods due to their omnivores nature for example naturally they can eat seeds, corns, vegetables, meat, worms, insects, bugs, etc. Moreover, they can eat your table scraps happily as well. There are several foods that we have to avoid feeding them like the white potato leaves etc. But what about sweet potatoes? Can chickens eat them? Not only sweet potatoes but can chickens eat sweet potato vines? Let’s explore this.
Yes, chickens can eat sweet potatoes and their vines. Sweet potatoes are not only delicious to humans but their all parts are edible to your flocks as well.
Can Chickens Eat Sweet Potato Vines?
Chickens are omnivores and can eat all the foods which they seem edible to them, including sweet potatoes, leaves and vines of sweet potatoes.
So if you are curious to know that, can they eat sweet potato vines then surely chickens can eat. And there is no threat that sweet potato vines offer them as they are not only edible to chickens but these vines are also nutritious to chickens. For example, sweet potato vines are a good source of protein and fiber to chickens.
Protein is necessary to chickens for their good health and also boost their proper body functioning. Moreover, proteins are essential for muscle building in chickens which leads to good quality meat in them.
And the handsome amount of fiber in sweet potato vines able them to normalize bowel movements in chickens.
Feeding poultry is a great responsibility as we have to fulfill their nutritional needs. And for that not a single food is sufficient that’s why we have to feed them different foods. However, you can feed sweet potato vines in different ways to your chooks, for example.
- You can grind them well after drying and then spread these sweet potato vines in front of your flocks
- You can also mix the grind sweet potato vines with other foods of chickens.
- And you can allow your flocks to peck on these vines on their own and for that, you can hang them in their coops as well.
Related: Can Birds Eat Potatoes?
Can Chickens Eat Sweet Potato Leaves?
As I earlier stated that whole sweet potato plant is edible to chickens. So, the precise answer to this question is yes. Not only sweet potato vines but their leaves are also edible to chickens.
Chickens love to eat sweet potato leaves and will gobble on them happily when you offer these leaves to them.
Moreover, these leaves are nutritious to chickens as they are 28% proteins. Proteins, essential for the good health of chickens.
So if you have sweet potato vines and leaves then don’t throw them away but make a delicious and healthy treat with them for your chooks.
Nutritional Value of Sweet Potatoes to Chickens:
For chickens, all the parts of sweet potatoes are edible including leaves, vines, skin, and fruit. But now let’s have a detailed look that, at which level sweet potatoes are nutritious to chickens.
Vitamin A:
Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin A for chickens. Vitamin A is essential for the good health of chickens and a deficiency of vitamin A in chickens can make their immune system weak.
Week immune system can cause serious effects on the growth of chickens. That’s why make sure that you are feeding enough sweet potatoes to fulfill their vitamin A needs.
Vitamin D3:
Like vitamin A, vitamin D3 is also essential for chickens. This vitamin is vital for chickens as its deficiency can cause deformation in chicken’s bones and beaks.
Sweet potatoes are also enriched in vitamin D3, so feeding sweet potatoes to chickens helps them to fulfill their vitamin D3 needs. For eggs-laying chickens, vitamin D3 is also important.
Carbohydrates:
Sweet potatoes are also a good source of carbohydrates for chickens. Carbohydrates are vital for the proper body function of chickens and necessary for egg-laying chickens.
Other Nutrients:
Sweet potatoes are also a good source of several other nutrients to chickens. For example, proteins, fiber, fat, sugar, etc., are those nutrients that your chooks can also get from sweet potatoes.
How To Feed Chickens Sweet Potatoes?
Ways of feeding sweet potato vines are discussed already but now I want to explore it deeply and want to share the ways which are useful in feeding chicken’s sweet potatoes.
However, you can feed both raw and cooked sweet potatoes to chickens. Either way is fine but as we know that raw sweet potatoes are hard and we have to make their fine pieces before feeding to chickens.
But cooked sweet potatoes are soft enough that chickens can peck and swallow them easily without any harm.
So my suggestion is that you have to feed them cooked sweet potatoes rather than raw sweet potatoes.
Read Also: Can Birds Eat Celery?
A Final Thought:
Feeding a healthy and nutritious feed to your fowls is a huge task but sweet potato vines can give you a helping hand to fulfill the nutritional needs of chickens. So if you are curious to know that can chickens eat sweet potato vines? Then a precise answer is yes.
Not only chickens can eat but these vines are nutritious to chickens with a great source of proteins and fiber.
However, all the parts of the sweet potato plant are edible to chickens including eaves, vines, and fruit.