Can Chickens Eat Cabbage? Yes — A Great Winter Green

Why cabbage is safe for chickens

Cabbage is not on any of the extension lists of foods to keep from chickens. UC Davis warns against avocado, raw beans, chocolate and the leaves of tomato, pepper, potato and eggplant, and Texas A&M AgriLife adds onions, salty foods, rhubarb and stone-fruit pits. The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine counts leafy greens among the extras that are fine when fed in moderation.

Chickens are natural grazers. Washington State University master gardeners describe how desperately chickens love greens when a small patch of grass shows from under the snow, and the poultry extension network calls young, tender plants a valuable source of nutrients for chickens. Cabbage keeps well and is cheap in winter, which makes it a practical way to give a confined flock something green.

Keep it an extra, not a meal

The poultry extension network warns that excessive table scraps and greens can adversely affect egg production, and lists regularly adding green chops or other low-nutrition ingredients to the diet as a common feeding mistake. A hen that fills up on cabbage eats less of the layer feed that supplies her protein and calcium.

UC Davis explains that scraps are not balanced, and that letting them displace too much of the main diet can cause nutritional disorders. The University of Illinois puts greens, vegetables and scratch grains together at no more than 10 percent of the diet, so cabbage shares that small allowance with every other treat the flock gets.

How to serve cabbage

Raw cabbage is fine. Peel off a few outer leaves for a small flock, or hang a whole head on a string a little above the birds' heads so they have to stretch and peck for it. That turns a cheap vegetable into hours of work on a cold day, and keeps the leaves off the bedding where they would be trampled and soiled.

Skip coleslaw and cooked cabbage dishes such as sauerkraut or cabbage rolls, which bring dressing, salt, onion or meat with them; UC Davis advises avoiding fatty foods and Texas A&M lists salty foods and onions as foods to avoid. Throw away cabbage that has turned slimy or smells off, since the poultry extension network warns that rotting scraps can lead to botulism.

Scattering a small handful across a chicken run gives the flock something to scratch for; their complete layer feed still belongs in a covered feeder.

How much cabbage to give

UF/IFAS Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife say treats should stay under 10% of the diet, and the poultry extension network suggests offering only as much as the flock will finish in about 20 minutes. University of Minnesota Extension estimates a 6-pound hen eats roughly 3 pounds of feed a week, which puts her whole weekly treat allowance at about a third of a pound.

In practice, a few leaves per hen several times a week, or one small head hung for a flock of four to six and taken down when it is mostly stripped, is plenty. Serve it after the layer feed rather than first thing. If egg numbers drop or the feeder stays full, cut back on greens before anything else.

Cabbage and chicks

Chicks need their starter feed above everything. UC Davis recommends a chick starter of about 20% protein for the first six weeks, and UF/IFAS Extension notes that baby chicks need a higher-protein starter to support growth. Greens dilute that protein, so a brooder does not need a cabbage leaf in it during the early weeks.

Once chicks are a few weeks old and eating well, a little finely chopped cabbage is a reasonable taste. Provide chick grit with it: UC Davis explains that birds eating anything other than a pelleted feed need grit to grind food in the gizzard, since chickens have no teeth. Keep the starter as nearly all of the diet.

Signs of trouble, when to call a vet, and other greens

A big feed of greens can loosen droppings for a day, which usually settles once treats are cut back. Droppings that stay watery, or that contain blood or mucus, need a vet: UC Davis lists mucoid or bloody diarrhea among the signs of coccidiosis. Texas A&M AgriLife adds that sick chickens hold their head low, look fluffed out, are lethargic, stop eating, lose weight or limp.

For variety, Washington State University master gardeners also suggest lettuce and wheatgrass, and University of Vermont Extension notes that chickens love blueberries. Keep tomato, pepper, potato and eggplant leaves, rhubarb, onions and avocado out of the greens bucket, since UC Davis and Texas A&M list them as foods to avoid.

This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace advice from a veterinarian who treats poultry.