Can Chickens Eat Oily Food? Can It Impact Your Flock?

Chickens are resourceful beings and can fend for themselves on their own if left in a wide range. This is what they have brought on instinctively, which is curiosity and always searching for fodder. Even some backyard chicken breeders are content with putting table scraps for their chickens.

These leftovers were safe for a long time, but with the successive modifications in the human diet, there became a danger. As many people began to consume fatty meals and junk food, which is usually saturated with fat. And given that they are expensive, some may not want to throw the leftovers in the trash but instead, serve them to chicken.

And, of course, the chicken does not refuse this delicious offer! But the important aspect here is whether these fatty foods are safe for chicken or not. This is our topic in today. Let’s discuss the effect of fatty meals on chickens.

Can Chickens Eat Oily Food?

The direct answer would be yes, chicken can eat oily foods. As the chicken is curious and grieving, rushing to eat anything you offer it. But if in fact, the chicken should not eat fatty foods because the chicken’s body cannot deal with the fats found in human food.

Although the chicken needs fats to grow well, and indeed certain oils are added to the chicken feed to enhance its growth and production. But these oils are Specific types suitable for the nature of the chicken’s body.

In addition to that, they are added according to specific and accurate proportions so that they do not have an adverse effect and harm the chicken.

Foods rich in fats, such as junk food, are dangerous for us humans, so what is the case with their effect on those small creatures that were built primarily to feed on grass and herbs? Of course, fatty meals represent a great burden on the chicken’s organs.

Health Risks For Chickens Feeding On Oily Foods:

Here are some health concerns you need to keep in mind before giving your chicken your oily leftovers:

1. Digestive Disorders 

The digestive system cannot digest these fats, and it is also a great burden on the liver which cannot break down these fats. Feeding chicken with greasy meals, such as leftover fried chicken or potatoes, also negatively affects their health

Gut bacteria present in the digestive tract of chickens help improve digestion and absorption.

2. Obesity

Excessive intake of fatty scraps leads to weight gain. Some may see this as a positive thing, as the purpose of raising poultry in the first place is to fatten them to get more meat. But this is not what happens when a chicken overeats fatty meals, the chicken really gains weight, but it is an unhealthy increase but rather it can kill its life!

Continuously fatty meals lead to the accumulation of fat in the abdomen and liver of chickens, which leads to cirrhosis of the liver. It also leads to a decrease in fertility, enlarged eggs, and multi-yolk eggs, which leads to egg binding as the vents can not accommodate the size of the large eggs, which may lead to the collapse of the vents.

3. Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome

When the liver is filled with fat, it becomes fragile and is likely to split under any movement or pressure from the internal organs surrounding it. For example, the pressure that occurs on the abdomen when laying the abdomen leads to the destruction of the liver.

Also, even the effect of slight chest pressure that occurs when breathing may lead to the destruction of the Fragile liver too. The destruction of the liver results in fatty internal bleeding that leads to the death of chickens directly.

4. Heat Stroke 

As it is known, the chicken body does not contain sweat glands but rather regulates its temperature through regular breathing. so the high temperature with the presence of thick layers of fat in the chicken’s body is a disaster!

Fat acts as a barrier to tissue respiration and the arrival of cold air to reduce its temperature, which leads to immediate death within a few minutes.

Therefore, it is not recommended to feed chickens fatty meals from human food to avoid digestive disorders and obesity that bring a host of health problems associated with it.

There is also an important point, which is that there are only a few fatty foods that humans eat that are suitable to allow chickens to eat, such as nuts, cooked eggs, fish, whether raw or cooked, and cooked meat with the removal of excess fat before giving it to the chicken.

It is preferable that these scraps be from the leftovers of food prepared at home and not from junk food. As those made at home are lighter and healthier. In general, it is not preferable to serve leftovers of junk food to chicken because they are saturated with spices, salts, and fats that harm chicken.

Important Note: Don’t Forget The Fat Is Important!

The previous statement should not be considered that fats are completely harmful to chickens, as we have indicated that fats are important for chickens. various nutritional oils are necessary for chicken.

It is the source of energy for chickens and it improves the production performance and the quality of eggs of laying hens. It also promotes the regulation of lipid metabolism and improves immune function and intestinal microbial composition.

Vegetable oils and animal oils are added to chicken feed, knowing that vegetable oils are much better for chicken than animal oils in terms of digestion and absorption.

The oils added to chicken feed are rich in a variety of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), the most famous of which are linoleic acid and linoleic acid, which are important for the growth and development of laying hens.

Linoleic acid is deposited in the yolk and increases its weight, thus increasing the weight of the egg. Linolenic acid also has an effective role in chicken growth and improves product performance. However, fats of all types should remain the smallest nutritional component of the chicken’s diet.

FAQs