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Chickens are curious creatures, getting into all the goodies around the barnyard. If you’re growing a garden and your chickens eat green beans, or you’re simply curious about whether they can have this long skinny green, we have good news. You and your chickens will be equally happy to learn that green beans are perfectly acceptable for your flock.
In fact, green beans pack an absolute wallop of nutrients but are best fed in moderation. Let’s learn all the details.
Green Bean Nutrition Facts
- Calories: 31
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Potassium: 211 mg
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Vitamin C: 14 mg
- Iron: 1 mg
- Calcium: 37 mg
- Magnesium: 25 mg
Green beans are a plentiful vegetable that grows in many gardens. These plants typically have bush and climbing varieties, each with its own flavors and benefits.
Can You Feed Green Beans to Chickens?
Along with a laundry list of other garden vegetables, you can undoubtedly feed green beans to your chickens. The only thing to consider is the lectin in the beans. You might see some flock owners feed their chickens raw green beans, but it isn’t advisable.
Instead of feeding your chickens green beans raw, it is best to wash and cook them thoroughly first. Not only will they be easier to eat, they will also cook out the lectin in each bean.
Green Bean Benefits
Green beans serve as a good source of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. Your gals can have these tasty treats in moderation and will likely enjoy gobbling them up. However, they are never meant to be a primary diet source for chickens, as they lack vital nutrients needed to thrive.
- Protein – Protein is highly beneficial to your chickens to boost muscle strength and provide excellent joint and tendon structure. Protein is essential to their diet, especially if you raise them for meat.
- Vitamin C – Vitamin C is not an essential nutrient for chickens, since they can synthesize it internally, but in stressful conditions, small amounts from the diet may help support immune function.
- Vitamin K – Vitamin K is responsible for blood clotting in the body and crafting solid bones. It works with prothrombin and osteocalcin to enhance these functions.
- Calcium – Calcium is an absolutely essential mineral in your chicken’s diet. They need calcium in their diet to form solid, hardy eggs and enhance production.
Green Bean Downfalls
It might seem okay just to pluck a couple of green beans from your garden and toss them to your flock. After all, you probably have an overabundance of them and don’t mind sharing.
While it is definitely a lot easier to do this, these veggies contain lectin, which humans and chickens alike have trouble breaking down. When the vegetable is cooked, it eliminates most of that, making it safe to consume.
The lectin won’t kill your birds, but it can be challenging to break down in the system and may lead to irritation. So, offering up cooked green beans is best for the safety and comfort of your flock.
Canned green beans might seem like a good choice since you know they shouldn’t be raw. However, green beans usually contain high sodium content, which isn’t natural or beneficial to their diet.
Final Thoughts
So now you know that cooked green beans are a perfectly acceptable occasional snack for your flock to have in moderation. Green beans can provide a decent amount of vitamins and other nutrients in their daily diets. Although remember, since they contain lectin, it is advisable to cook the green beans before serving.
Even though chickens getting into green beans really isn’t that big of a deal, it can cause long-term problems if it continues to happen. Just be mindful of how you’re serving the green beans and the frequency in which they eat them.
Remember that while green beans are a safe and healthy treat, they should make up no more than 10% of your chickens’ overall diet, with the remaining 90% coming from a balanced commercial feed to ensure proper nutrition.
4 Responses
Thank you
Do the “strings” in string beans cause a problem?
Hi Becky,
These should all be digested as part of the rest of the string bean and shouldn’t cause any issues.
I should have asked “are the strings in green beans ok to leave in when feeding chickens cooked green beans?”