Yes, chickens can eat cottage cheese. Dairy products are rich sources of calcium and protein, making them excellent options for chicken feed. In fact, dairy products like curd and cottage cheese can bring some benefits to their eggs and meat.
As a poultry owner, you might often be concerned about which foods to give to your chicken and which foods can harm them. Cottage cheese can provide many health benefits to their bodies as they are enriched with vitamins and minerals.
But it is not as simple as that. There are some points to consider while eating cottage cheese. Scroll down further to get more information on this topic.
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Is Cottage Cheese Good For Chickens?
Cottage cheese is an excellent food to feed chickens in place of cheese. It is a better alternative to cheese and healthier too. If your chickens eat cheese, you can give them goat cheese, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese, as they have many beneficial nutrients.
Every 100 gm of cottage cheese provides 98 calories, 4g of fat, 11g of protein, and 3.4g of carbohydrates (source). The stomach of chickens quickly absorbs all the nutrition derived from this dairy product and is easily digestible. This protein can help in bone health and egg binding properties. It also proves to be a filling treat.
The only thing to keep in mind while feeding chickens this dairy product is to regulate the amount of cottage cheese. How much can you give to chickens is a question that lurks in all poultry owners’ minds.
It is healthier than cheese as it is lower in fats, yet, you need to be mindful of the quantity. It is best to feed chickens occasionally.
How Often Can I Feed Cottage Cheese to My Chickens?
Your chicken feed can consist of dairy products like goat cheese, cheddar cheese, yogurt, milk, and cottage cheese at least once a day. These dairy products contain protein, calcium, minerals, vitamins, and water. Give them a good quantity of dairy products once a day for healthy growth.
If you do not need to budget your chicken feed, you can easily try pushing the boundary with cottage cheese as there are a plethora of health benefits. Only if you find poor egg production or any other issue, you can think of altering their feed.
Too much dairy products can give chickens diarrhea. If you want to limit the quantity of chicken treats, then you can give shredded cheese or small pieces of other cheese as chicken treats for them to peck and eat.
If your chickens eat cheese, you can give them once every day. Try altering the different forms of dairy products every day in a week. Alternate each day with milk, greek yogurt, goat cheese, cheddar cheese and so on.
Can Baby Chicks Eat Cottage Cheese Safely?
Baby chicks can enjoy these tasty treats and also benefit from them greatly. Just as cooked eggs and scrambled eggs are a good source of protein for chickens, so are dairy products. But, you should never feed your chickens raw eggs. Always ensure that you are giving them cooked fresh eggs.
Baby chickens and chickens can eat cottage cheese safely without any ill-effects on their stomach or body. But, one needs to keep these chicken treats in moderation as too much can upset their stomachs. It is best to mix it up with their feed.
You need to ensure that you are providing a healthy and balanced diet to feed chickens, one that contains the right amount of carbs, fats, proteins, water, vitamins and minerals. Baby chickens need to have a balanced diet to grow healthy, strong and to be able to lay eggs of good quality.
Can Chickens Eat Expired Cottage Cheese?
As per veterinary advice, you should never feed chickens with any food that is rotten or stale. The same applies for this dairy product as well. Expired cottage cheese can put your chicken’s life in danger. You can feed chickens left-overs and kitchen scraps in their regular feed, but never give stale food as chicken treats as this may harm their health.
Many people think its okay to feed chickens with moldy food. But, the fact is that moldy foods can lead to the death of your chickens. If some chickens do not get sick after eating rotten foods, some may get, and some may even die due to a horrible case of food poisoning.
So, you should never include expired, moldy or rotten foods in your farm or backyard chicken treat or in their feed. Furthermore, what you give them to eat, reflects in their eggs as well.
Conclusion
The problem with the chicken diet is not whether they will like a certain food or not, but it is all about the quantity. Most birds do not know when to stop eating. They can even die from overeating!
So, the bottom line is that chickens can eat cottage cheese but in moderation. Cottage cheese is high in fats, but when compared to other cheeses, it is the healthiest. So, if your chickens can eat cheese, then it is better to give them this one more than regular cheese.
