Figuring out what to feed your chickens can be stressful. If you’re raising these birds their health and livelihood depends on you and you alone.

We know that humans enjoy and need wheat to survive but is this food good for chickens? This article explores the question of ‘do chickens eat wheat’ 

Chickens can definitely eat wheat, this food is a nutritious grain that is not only good for humans but is good for chickens as well. Wheat can be a substitute for corn and other grains that are usually given to poultry. It delivers good amounts of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals to your chickens 

Do chickens eat wheat?

A chicken’s diet vs grains:

A chicken’s health largely depends on what foods it eats, so giving these animals the right foods is a must. Wheat is widely consumed by humans, in fact, this crop is second only to corn when it comes to what cereal is mostly consumed by humans.

Because wheat is more expensive than many other grains it is generally reserved for humans. This is not to say that chickens can’t eat the food, they can.

Grains usually reserved for livestock and poultry include grain sorghums, corn, barley, and oats.

These grains are given to animals as they are cheaper than wheat and are in less demand by humans. That being said, wheat can be an excellent grain to feed your chickens. 

The wheat that is usually given to livestock and poultry, like chickens, is a low-grade wheat that is not suitable for human consumption.

Large scale farmers will usually feed their chickens what is cheapest. If corn is cheaper than wheat at a given time then the birds will be fed corn, if wheat is cheaper than corn, then the birds will be fed wheat.

Feeding your birds wheat can benefit the bird in a variety of ways: 

Nutrients in wheat that will benefit chickens:

Protein: Wheat contains good amounts of protein, in fact, the protein content in wheat is higher than the protein content in corn. Protein not only builds up and maintains muscles in humans, but it also builds up and maintains muscles in chickens as well. 

Fibre: Another benefit of wheat is that it is packed with fibre. This mineral is not digestible, this makes fibre great for digestion. Fibre will not only be helpful in maintaining good digestion, but it will also stimulate movement in the bird’s gastrointestinal tract. 

Minerals: Wheat can deliver a variety of vitamins and minerals to your chickens. These include folic acid, copper, B vitamins, manganese, phosphorus and selenium 

Note: Feeding birds wheat as their sole source of food is not recommended. No single food is nutritious enough to be the bird’s sole source of food. If you’re feeding chickens wheat, it is important to check the nutritional value of the wheat, once you know this, you can supplement their diet with any other nutrients it needs. Though wheat can be a good base for your chickens 

How to serve wheat to chickens: 

If your chicken has never eaten wheat you’d need to ease them into eating this food. Start by making wheat 5% of their diet, do this for the first two weeks to allow the gizzard to adapt to this food.

As the weeks go by, you can slowly start increasing the percentage of wheat that you feed them until you reach the desired amount of wheat that you want the bird to eat

Can chickens eat wheat products? 

Wheat is the base of many products including bread, crumpets, crackers, scones, biscuits, buns, pasta, cakes and breakfast cereals. All this food is processed to create the finished product.

The processing, and addition of other ingredients, make some of these foods unsuitable to give to your chickens as a major part of their diet

Foods such as scones, cakes and biscuits have high amounts of sugar. High amounts of sugars are not good for chickens.

Bread is generally low in nutritional value and will simply fill the bird up, over time, chickens that eat too much bread and not enough nutrient-rich foods can become malnourished. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, yes chickens can be fed wheat. Wheat can be a substitute for corn, corn is a typical grain that chickens are fed. Wheat offers the bird protein, fibre and a variety of vitamins and minerals.

That being said, wheat cannot be the bird’s sole source of food, supplementing the bird’s diet will ensure that it gets all the vitamins and minerals it needs to maintain good health 

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 wild strawberries?, Do chickens eat wild mushrooms?, Do chickens eat eucalyptus leaves?