Can Chickens Eat Garlic: These 8 Things You Should Know!

Garlic is a common household ingredient that we use for cooking and known for many health benefits. In this blog post, we will explore the topic of whether can chickens eat garlic, benefits of feeding and as well as how to added it into their diet safely.

1) Can Chickens Eat Garlic?

The short answer is yes, chickens can eat garlic. In fact, garlic is known to have many health benefits for chickens. Garlic has natural antibiotic and antifungal agent, which makes it an excellent addition to chicken’s diet.

Feeding Garlic to chickens can help to boost immune system, work as anti-parasites and improve their overall health. Garlic has present Anti-viral, anti-bacterial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory etc. properties, which helps to keep chickens healthy.

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2) Benefits of Feeding Garlic to Chickens

Feeding garlic to chickens can provide many health benefits in chickens and other poultry birds. Here are some advantages of adding garlic to chickens feed:

1. Boosting Immune System
2. Natural Dewormer
3. Respiratory Health
4. Improve Digestion
5. Increase productions

I) Boosting Immune System:

Garlic is believed to have immune-stimulating effects due to its antimicrobial properties. When its added into chicken’s diet, it may help to support their immune system and making chickens away from infections and diseases.

II) Natural Dewormer:

Garlic has long been used as a natural deworming agent in livestock, including chickens. It contains sulfur compounds that are thought to have anthelmintic properties, which helps to fight against internal parasites in poultry.

III) Respiratory Health:

Some chicken keepers claim that feeding garlic to their chickens can improve respiratory health, especially during colder months. Garlic’s antimicrobial properties might help alleviate respiratory issues caused by bacteria or viruses.

IV) Improve Digestion:

Regularly feeding garlic to chickens helps to increase digestive enzymes or amounts of good bacteria in the gut of the chickens, which helps the chickens to digest well of whatever they eat.

V) Increase productions:

Adding garlic in chickens diet will helps to keep chickens healthy and it has been studied for its potential stress-reducing effects in chickens, reduced stress levels can positively impact factors such as weight gain, egg production, and feed efficiency.

Here’s a table summarizing the nutritional value of garlic per 100 grams:

Nutrient	Amount
Calories	149
Carbohydrates	33.06g
Protein	6.36g
Fat	0.50g
Fiber	2.1g
Vitamin C	31.2mg
Vitamin B6	1.235mg
Manganese	1.672mg
Selenium	14.2µg
Iron	1.70mg
Calcium	181mg
Potassium	401mg
Phosphorus	153mg
Copper	0.299mg
Zinc	1.16mg

3) Risks of Feeding Garlic to Chickens

While garlic can have many benefits for chickens, it is important to feed it in moderation and with caution. Too much garlic can be harmful for chickens health and it can cause number of health problems,

• One of the main risks associated with feeding garlic to chickens is that it can cause anemia. Garlic contains a compound called thiosulfate, which can damage red blood cells in chickens.
• Another risk associated with feeding garlic to chickens is that it can affect the taste and smell of their eggs. If chickens consume too much garlic, it can lead to eggs that have a strong garlic flavor or odor.

4) How to Feed garlic to chickens?

Feeding garlic to chickens can be done in a few simple steps. Here’s a guide on how to added garlic into your chicken’s diet safely:

1. Start with small amounts: Start feeding garlic gradually to your chickens. Start with small quantities and gradually increase the amount over time. This will help to digestive system to adjust.
2. Use fresh garlic: Fresh garlic is the best option for chickens. Choose fresh, complete cloves of garlic.
3. Chop or crush the garlic: Before feeding garlic to your chickens, chop or crush the cloves. This makes easier for your chickens to digest and absorb the nutrients.
4. Mix with other foods: Mixing garlic with other foods is the another and easier process of feeding to chickens.

5) How much garlic should i give my chickens?

When it comes to feeding garlic to chickens, it’s important to provide it in moderation. As a general guideline garlic can be feed @5gm for Chicks, @10gm for Grower and @15gm for layer chickens. Initially Start with smaller amounts and gradually increase the quantity over time.

6) Process of Feeding Garlic to Chickens

There are 3 best way to feeding garlic to chickens, such as 1) feeding raw garlic 2) feeding garlic juice 3) feeding garlic powder to chickens.

A) Feeding Raw Garlic to Chickens: 

Feeding raw garlic to chickens can be done by following these 4 steps;

1. Choose fresh garlic: Fresh garlic is the best option for chickens, Select fresh garlic cloves. Fresh garlic contain more of its beneficial properties.
2. Prepare the garlic: Peel the garlic cloves and finely crush them. Crushing the garlic helps release its active compounds, which helps easier for chickens to consume and digest.
3. Doses of garlic pest: Recommended dose of garlic for “Chicks” use @5gm per kg of feed, for “Grower” use @10gm per kg of feed, and for “Layer” can be use @15gm per kg of feed 
4. Mix with chicken feeds: Mix well the garlic pest with chickens regular feed or you can mix it with their pellets, grains, fruits or vegetables then keep it in-front of your chickens to eat.

B) Feeding garlic juice to chickens

Feeding garlic juice to chickens can be done, but it requires proper administration and steps to follow, here are 5 steps to follow,

1. Choose fresh garlic: Chose fresh garlic cloves.
2. Prepare the garlic juice: Crush the fresh garlic cloves and extract the juice. You can use a garlic press or blender to obtain the juice. Alternatively, you can purchase commercially available garlic juice specifically made for animals.
3. Mix garlic juice fresh water: Once your garlic juice is ready, its important to mix garlic juice with water to create a diluted solution.
4. Doses of garlic juice: Recommended dose of garlic juice for “Chicks” use @5ml / liter of water, for “Grower” use @10ml / liter of water and for “Layer” can be use @15ml / liter of drinking water.
5. Offer mixed water: once you have mixed garlic juice with fresh drinking water, allow chickens to drink or you can keep mixed water to the chicken drinkers for 2 hours.

C) Feeding garlic powder to chickens

Feeding garlic powder to chickens can be done by following these 5 steps;

1. Choose fresh garlic: Select fresh garlic cloves from the market.
2. Prepare garlic powder: In this process, garlic is first dried in the sun or other dehydration process, than its powder is prepared or you can select a reputable brand of garlic powder specifically meant for consumption.
3. Mix thoroughly with feed: Once your garlic powder will be ready, just Sprinkle the garlic powder evenly over your chickens’ feed and mix it thoroughly. This ensures that the garlic powder is well-distributed.
4. Doses of garlic pest: Recommended dose of garlic powder for “Chicks” use @5gm / kg of feed, for “Grower” use @10gm / kg of feed and for “Layer” can be use @15gm / kg of feed
5. Feed your chickens: When all the process will be completed, you just have to provide the processed feed to all your chickens.

7) When garlic should be given to the chickens?

Garlic can be given at various times but Morning is the best time to feed garlic to chickens. When the chickens are given first food and first water in the morning, add there garlic supplement so that chickens can eat garlic mixed feed or water easily without any hesitation.

8) How long should chickens be fed garlic?

The time and duration for which chickens should be fed garlic depends on the purpose and intended benefits.

• To keep the chickens always healthy, garlic must be fed for 3 consecutive days in every week, but according to the season sometimes garlic feeding may have to be stopped or fed less days.
• In summer season garlic should fed 2 times in a week, but in the winter, chickens can be fed garlic for 3 to 4 days in a week.
• During times of stress, such as molting or extreme weather conditions, or when chickens are recovering from illness, garlic can be beneficial to support their immune system. In such cases, you can feed garlic for a limited duration until the stress period or illness subsides.
• When using garlic to support respiratory health during respiratory issues like colds or respiratory infections, the duration of feeding garlic can vary depending on the severity and progression of the condition.
• If you are using garlic as a natural dewormer, feeding garlic periodically can be helpful in reducing the risk of parasitic infestations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, garlic can be a valuable addition to a chicken’s diet, it can provide many potential health benefits to the chickens. It is important to choose fresh garlic, whether in raw, powdered or juice form, and ensure that it is quality.

When start feeding garlic to your chickens, Starting with small amounts and gradually increasing the quantity to adjust the addition of garlic in their diet. Monitoring their response and watching for any adverse effects is also important.

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