Yes, chickens can eat cinnamon. However, the quantity of cinnamon you feed your chicks should be moderate.
Like a lot of other spices, cinnamon can be beneficial for animals. It has multiple nutritional features that can help your chicks grow healthy. Moreover, your chickens may even like the taste of cinnamon.
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Is Cinnamon Good for Chickens?
Cinnamon has several health benefits for your chicken. It is a powerful spice with many nutrients like Phosphorus, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, etc. Here are some ways in which chickens eating cinnamon or cinnamon powder can be beneficial.
Protects Against Respiratory Issues
Cinnamon is great at providing the body with some much-needed warmth. Since chickens often suffer from respiratory issues in the winter months, feeding them cinnamon powder in any of their regular meals could be a boon to their respiratory health.
When chickens eat cinnamon, it helps them keep nasal congestion and cough at bay. Moreover, it also protects them against the harsh cold.
Is Excellent for Circulation
Feeding cinnamon to your chickens can help them improve their circulation. Since cinnamon is a mild blood-thinning agent with almost no side effects, it is excellent at getting the blood flowing in your chicks’ feet, comb, and wattle.
Is Antibacterial, Antiinflammatory, and Antifungal
Keeping your chicks healthy also means keeping them away from pathogens. Cinnamon has several anti-infectious properties that make it an excellent spice for your flock.
When chickens eat cinnamon, it protects them against harmful bacteria and fungi like E.coli, streptococcus, listeria, Candida albicans, etc. So if you are afraid your chicken might catch a bacterial infection, feeding them small doses of cinnamon could be an excellent idea.
Cinnamon can also reduce post-injury inflammation in your chickens. It is an excellent agent for minimizing all kinds of pain and swelling.
Has Antioxidants
Antioxidants can protect your chicken and improve its immune system. Cinnamon has antioxidant properties that’ll keep your chicks healthy and active round the year.
Works on Gut Function
Proper gut function is crucial for your chicken to stay healthy and happy. Small and regular doses of cinnamon can help improve your chickens’ gut health. It can increase their digestion efficiency dramatically.
May improve Egg Production
Cinnamon can improve egg production in your chicken and make sure they stay healthy even after laying eggs. Adding cinnamon to your flock’s meal during laying season could be extra healthy.
Do Chickens Like Cinnamon?
Yes, chickens like cinnamon and enjoy its taste. However, before you feed your chickens cinnamon, ensure that it’s appropriately processed and meant for consumption.
How to Feed Cinnamon to Chickens?
Now that you know that your chickens can eat cinnamon, you should also learn how to feed it to your flock the right way. First things first: dosage is ultra-important.
For every two pounds of weight, one teaspoon of cinnamon is safe. However, as you’re making your chickens eat cinnamon, ensure that the frequency of consumption is highly moderated.
It is not safe to give your chickens cinnamon as a daily meal. You should only include it as a health supplement every once in a while. Make sure that you continue to provide the recommended dietary supplement to your chicks even as you feed them cinnamon.
If you notice any adverse symptoms in your flock once you start feeding them cinnamon, you should contact a licensed vet immediately.
Can Chicken Eat Cinnamon Rolls?
Chickens eat bread all the time. And you already know they can consume cinnamon. So what about cinnamon rolls?
Chickens cannot eat cinnamon rolls. This is because of a variety of reasons. Cinnamon rolls contain too much sugar to be safe for your flock. Moreover, they are also not very highly nutritious.
Chicks also have different taste receptors than us. They will not happily eat cinnamon rolls simply because they won’t be able to distinguish the sweetness or the flavor of cinnamon.
Of course, small amounts of cinnamon rolls will not harm your flock. And if you ever decide to give them leftover cinnamon rolls, make sure you remove the glaze or any extra sprinkles, frostings, or decorations. But again, avoid feeding your chickens cinnamon rolls altogether if possible.
Can Chickens Eat Cinnamon in the Ground Form?
Yes, chickens can eat ground cinnamon. In fact, feeding them ground cinnamon mixed in with regular chicken feed is the best way to include cinnamon in your flock’s diet.
This is because whole cinnamon sticks might be too harsh for your chicken’s delicate mouth and stomach. So if you want to introduce cinnamon into your chickens diet, do it in the ground form for the best results.
Conclusion
Chickens can happily eat cinnamon without incurring any damage to themselves. It has excellent anti-inflammatory properties, improves your chickens’ blood flow, helps cure respiratory infections, and has a host of other benefits, too.
However, as a flock owner, you have to control your chicken’s diet so that they don’t eat excessive amounts of potent spices. Also, make sure your flock’s diet is full of other foods that cater to their overall health.