Quiche is loved by many, this delicious French tart can be filled with seafood, meat, cheese, and/or a variety of vegetables. 

Chicken owners love sharing human food with their chickens, this can sometimes be beneficial to the animal, but it can also sometimes harm the animal.

If you have leftover quiche that you don’t want to throw out, and chickens that are hungry, you may be considering giving the quiche to your birds, but is this a good idea? This article explores the question of ‘do chickens eat quiche’

Chickens can, will, and do and eat quiche. Quiche can be made using eggs, cheese, vegetables, and meats. All of these can be of benefit to your bird. Quiche can be given to your bird but it should only be given as a treat as it can contain high amounts of salt and fats 

Do chickens eat quiche?

Feeding your chickens, and other birds, a healthy diet is essential in maintaining the bird’s health. A well-rounded and healthy diet will give the bird all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and happy.

The typical chicken diet includes feed mixes and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. But what about quiche? 

Ingredients in quiche and how they affect chickens

A typical quiche base contains milk, eggs and cream. Additions can be added to the quiche depending on your preferences. These additions can include meats, spices, seafood, cheese, and vegetables.

Quiche can be given to chickens but only as a treat and in small quantities. This is because some of the ingredients in your quiche may nourish your bird but others may affect the bird negatively 

Eggs:

Eggs are great for chickens, both cooked and uncooked, in quiches or not. This food offers good amounts of protein, calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals to the bird.

Milk and cream:

Chickens shouldn’t be given dairy products like milk and cream in large quantities as it can give them diarrhoea. The digestive system of this animal isn’t designed to be able to digest dairy. Dairy can even be toxic if given in too high amounts.

With this in mind, it would be best to feed chickens only a small quantity of quiche 

Herbs and spices:

Some spices have been shown to be very beneficial to chickens.

Herbs and spices such as black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, garlic, ginger, and turmeric can be good for the bird, if incorporated into the quiche they can be of help to the bird 

Salt and fat:

Certain quiches, depending on the ingredients in the food, can be very salty and fatty, this can be very unhealthy for the bird if given in large quantities. Excess salt in your bird’s diet can lead to dehydration and hypertension. 

Can baby chicks eat quiche?

Baby chicks can eat quiche but it is not recommended that they do. The best food for baby chicks is organic chicken starter feed.

A baby chick will likely only eat 1 – 2 ounces of feed a day, this is true for the first 8 weeks of the bird’s life, this isn’t a lot of food. Quiche may contain some nutrients, but it is not as good for baby birds as starter feed is.

If your baby chick consistency fills up on quiche, it won’t have room left over for the starter feed and will become malnourished. 

How to serve quiche to chickens 

The best way to feed your chicken quiche is by hand. This feeding technique allows you to see exactly how much each bird has eaten, it also gives you the power to decide when it’s time to stop.

To do this, set yourself up by finding a nice place to sit, maybe in an armchair, with some grubby clothes and wait till the birds come to feed out of your hands. Your birds will come up and jump on your lap to feed.

What to avoid when serving quiche to chickens 

Be sure to not feed your bird spoilt, mouldy or rancid quiche. Just as this food can make you sick, it can also make your bird sick.

Certain molds can be quite dangerous to your bird and can cause liver cancer in a bird. If you have any moldy, spoilt, or rancid quiche simply discard it, it is not worth feeding to your bird 

Conclusion

In conclusion, quiche is a great food to give to your chicken as a treat on occasion and in small amounts. Chickens will benefit from the eggs, vegetables and meat in the quiche.

That being said, this food should still only be given in small quantities and on occasion. 

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other chicken related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in:  Do chickens eat quick oats?, Do chickens eat quinoa?, Do chickens eat wild bird seed?