If you’re a fan of Mexican dishes you likely have some tortillas in your kitchen. This flatbread accompanies many Mexican dishes as it used to scoop a variety of sauces and stewed dishes. Whether you’re into flour tortillas or corn tortillas, this food is delicious all the same.

Tortillas are so delicious that you may be considering feeding some to your chickens. Chickens can eat more human foods than many of us expect. So, do chickens eat tortillas? This article explores this topic.

Chickens can definitely eat tortillas, chickens will flock to any tortilla given whether it is a corn or a flour tortilla. Chickens may love tortillas, but, this food is only moderately nutritious and should only be given as a treat. Also, if you choose to feed tortillas to chickens, avoid giving them tortillas with seasonings or salt 

Do chickens eat tortillas? Nutrients, Serving, and What to avoid

Chickens need a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and grains. This combination of foods ensures that the bird gets all the nutrients it needs to maintain good health.

Whole foods are also recommended for chickens as they don’t have any preservatives, colorants, or additives in them. Anything other than these foods should only be given on occasion and in moderation, that includes tortillas 

Chickens can definitely eat tortillas, whether flour or corn tortillas, chickens will love them. Just as with any other type of bread, chickens enjoy and will happily eat tortillas.

Nutrients in tortillas:

Unfortunately, this bread isn’t the most nutritious food that you can feed these animals. Depending on the tortilla type and size, it can, at best, be moderately nutritious. Tortillas can deliver small amounts of B vitamins, protein, iron, and fiber to the birds.

The ingredients in the tortilla can give you more of an indication of whether the food will be good for the bird or not.

During production, many flour tortillas are made using saturated fats like lard. Unlike with humans, saturated fats, like lard, are healthy for chickens. Birds eat suet cakes as treats, lard is a major ingredient in suet cakes.

Corn tortillas or grain tortillas contain minimal fats but the chickens can still benefit from this food all the same 

Moderation when feeding tortillas to chickens:

Chickens may enjoy tortillas, and this flatbread may be a source of some vitamins and minerals, but this food should not be given to chickens as a sole food source.

Tortillas simply are not nutrient-dense enough to be your bird’s main food source. If the bird eats solely tortillas, it can develop malnutrition over time and even die. 

In addition, the tortillas can fatten the bird unnecessarily, this extra fat can hinder the bird’s movement and an overly fat chicken can develop the fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome. Too much fat on the bird’s body can be fatal 

Can baby chicks eat tortillas? 

Although tortillas aren’t bad for chickens, and although this food can deliver a moderate amount of nutrients to the birds, tortillas should not be given to chicks. Chicks don’t eat much food in the first place, a young chick will only eat 1-2 ounces of food a day. If a baby chick fills up on tortillas over many days or weeks, and does not get the amount of starter feed that it needs, the bird will become malnourished 

How to serve tortillas to chickens 

Chickens are not very fussy about how they are fed. If you give them a whole tortilla they will simply peck at it piece by piece until the pieces are small enough for them to swallow. If the tortilla is on the drier side, you can crumble it up into smaller pieces and add some kitchen scraps onto it. 

What to avoid when serving tortillas to chickens

If you do decide to feed tortillas to your bird it is important that you keep the serving size small and only feed them on occasion. Tortillas are a treat to birds, treats should only account for 5-10% of the bird’s diet. Overly feeding chickens treats can cause the bird to become obese and this can lead to a number of illnesses 

In addition, do not feed these birds salted tortillas or tortillas that have flavourings. Chicken’s bodies cannot process large amounts of salt. If salts are given in too large amounts, the salt will become toxic to the bird, excessive amounts of salt can even be fatal to the bird 

Conclusion

In conclusion, yes, chickens can eat tortillas. This food may not be the most nutritious food option for the birds, but chickens will still enjoy eating it. That being said, this food should be given as a treat rather than a main meal

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 rabbit pellets?, Do chickens eat raw red potatoes? , Do chickens eat tortilla chips?, Do chickens eat radish greens?