When have chickens ever said no to food?

But, not all foods are made equal, and as you can imagine some are more healthy than others.

Normally leafy greens are certainly considered to be healthy. But, where does bok choy fit into the mix?

If you grow your own you might know already, but, for those that have leftover bok choy, whether it’s cooked or raw, you may be thinking can chickens eat bok choy?

Here’s everything you need to know about feeding chickens bok choy, what the health benefits really are for your flock, and how to safely serve it to your chickens.

Can Chickens Eat Bok Choy?

Any backyard chicken owner will tell you that these things love to forage and generally ravish their garden favorites while they do it!

Going through grass, soil, wildflowers, geraniums, goji berries, and all insects in their path.

You would think then that chickens eating bok choy could even be healthy, considering what else they eat!

And that’s completely true.

Chickens can eat bok choy, and will happily eat it raw or cooked, and even eat it straight off the bok choy plant! Bok choy or Pak choi contains countless antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, great for all-round health and well-being for your flock.

Plus your chickens absolutely love it!

Can Chickens Eat All Varieties Of Bok Choy?

You’ll normally find bok choy in two main types. Your classic white-stemmed bok choy, or Shanghai bok choy which has emerald green stems. There’s also baby bok choy and dwarf bok choy too!

The good news?

Chickens can eat all varieties of bok choy. No types of bok choy are known to be toxic to chickens, and they are actually considered healthy so long as it’s in moderation (like everything!).

Health Benefits Of Bok Choy For Chickens

It’s pretty well known that bok choy is super healthy for us humans. But, does bok choys health benefits really transfer to chickens too?

Well, as it turns out it does. In fact, so long as it’s only fed in moderation to your flock, as a treat or part of a biweekly, bok choy is considered wonderfully healthy for chooks.

This is because bok choy contains a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which have significant health benefits for chickens.

Bok choy has high levels of vitamins A and C, which are excellent for your chickens’ eyesight and immune systems respectively. It also has a high content of vitamin K.

Not only that but bok choy is also packed with beta-carotene and lutein, which are antioxidants known to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer in chickens.

And if that wasn’t enough, to top all of this off, bok choy is also high in dietary fiber and essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, and folate.

How To Serve Bok Choy To Chickens

It’s clear that bok choy is healthy for your chickens. But, there are still a few things to be wary of when preparing it for your flock.

For one, always wash your store-bought bok choy thoroughly before feeding it to your chickens. You want to be sure there are no remnants of pesticides or bacteria.

In terms of how to best serve it? Well, here are three safe and rather effective ways of feeding bok choy to your chickens

As A Treat

Chickens love bok choy. They’ll have it whole, raw, or cooked, they don’t mind.

But, when feeding it to your chickens, you should either dice it up first or at least feed it one leaf at a time. 

This will just mean your chickens will be able to eat it easily!

As a treat, you can chop off roughly one leaf and stem per chicken, chop it up finely, and throw it into the backyard for your chicken’s foraging pleasure. 

If you feed bok choy as a treat, you won’t risk your chickens going without their normal formulated feed. Therefore, they will be able to enjoy the benefits of bok choy without missing out on any essential nutrients.

Within A Fruit & Vegetable Mix

Bok choy can be served to chickens as part of a vegetable cocktail along with lettuce, cabbage, kale, and spinach. Slice these veggies up, mix them together, and feed it to your chickens!

You can even add some healthy seeds or nuts, from chia seeds, to poppy seeds, to hazelnuts or pecans!

Hang It Up!

One way you can provide a tasty activity to your flock is by tying bok choy leaves to the side of the coop or hanging it up somewhere!

Your chickens will reach up, and sometimes even jump up to nip some off!

You can also do this with most leafy greens or fruits like cabbage and Brussel sprouts. It’s fun, promotes exercise in your chickens, and is healthy for them too.

Other Healthy Leafy Greens for Chickens

Cabbage

Cabbage is an excellent leafy green to feed chickens. It’s rich in minerals, vitamins, and plenty of micronutrients that’ll boost your chickens’ health.

Broccoli

Broccoli is another great option to consider when deciding on what to feed your chickens. It’s full of vitamins C and K1, as well as folate. Chicken can eat raw broccoli or cooked.

When chickens eat vegetables with high levels of vitamin K1, the eggs they produce will have high levels of vitamin K. So not only is feeding your chickens broccoli healthy for them, but it’s also healthy for you!

Kale

Kale is arguably the best leafy green you can serve your chickens. It’s another superb source of vitamin K, which allows your chickens’ blood to clot effectively.

The benefits of this vitamin, and in turn kale, really become apparent in the unfortunate case where your chickens sustain an injury.

Cilantro

This healthy herb goes a long way in the diet of a chicken. Yes, chickens can eat cilantro. they’ll eat it all the way from the leaves to the stems. Reaping the benefits from a macro and micronutrient perspective.

Conclusion

So there you have it folks. Your chickens will be thanking you for feeding them bok choy!

It’s rich in minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Plus, the fiber helps them stay regular.

I doubt your chickens will overeat on bok choy, but still, it’s important to only feed it to your flock in moderation.

Spare bok choy in your fridge? Well, time to make a nice snack for your chickens!