although chickens are vacious eaters rarely any fruit or vegies cause such chaos , so i can say that tomatoes are something special to chickens , well, at least mine,i dont know why do they prefer it over any vegetables.
however what matter most to me is what is the nutritional value of tomatoes, what nutrient that make my chickens fight over , are my chickens deficient in some nutrient that tomatoes are high in.
now, although tomatoes are nutritious and safe this delicious vegetables can be poisonous in so many scenarios.
in this detailed article i will share with you some what i’ve learned as a vet to get in depth look i mean how tomatoes can affect chickens health productivity …etc.
tomatoes are on of a very few vegetables that are high in lycopene actually its the highest source of this compound lycopene a phytochemical which make tomatoes red its considered as one of the most important antioxidant
i’ve chosse to start with this particular compound antioxidant even before major nutrient found in tomatoes such as carb vitamins or minerals for it’s incredible role agaisnt the destructive effect of free radicals that cause oxidative stress which is the first cause of many diseases and productivity problem, you will be surprise of how easy your chickens can suffer from oxidative stress whether from enviremental or nutritionals factor.
in addtion to lycopene tomatoes is a very good source of beta carotene chromium choline cronogenic acid and some trace minerals found in tomatoes that have antioxidant propreties we will see how every compound have diffrent role in preventing diseases boosting their health and productivity.
lycopene have a crucial role against heat stress we all know that chickens suffer from heat stress than cold as they dont sweat which make them in weak position facing the destructive effect of heat strees.
also lycopene streghen heart tissue and cells , a study found that chickens in stresfull environement heat stress are in great danger developing heart problems.
the good news is slow growing breed are less prone compared to fast growing breeds broiler, however chicken in high temp states countries or crowded place can suffer from this condition.
lycopene and other antioxidant have a very good role protecting chickens against harmfull sunlight you see there is a fine line between benefeting from sunlight and vitamin d which is among the most important vitamins for chickens as they cant produce it like humans.
however sunlight can be harmful especially chicks and older hens chickens with their feather in bad condition some featherless breed like silkies.
sunlight can cause many problems that affect their behavior lethargy it can also afffect their skin for example sunburn which lead to peel or develop blisters.
compromised skin make your chicken in a great danger facing infection which can lead to very serious health problems.
decreased egg production is another problem.
so as you can see the importance of lycopene and other antioxidant.
chickens convert beta carotin to another form retinol.
chromium improve chickens ability to whistand heat stress strenghening immunity, regulate insuline, protect chickens pancreatic tissue,helping in fat and carb metabolizing.
another antioxidant found in tomatoes is narigin a very important antioxidant that has crucial role and very positive effect on blood pressure abnormal blood pressure can lead to what’s known as ascites syndrom in poulutry
narigin is one of the flavonides with antiflamatory effect that help chickens fight against anytype of inflammation infection : inflamatory phenotypes pathological physiological sterile and metabolic ( inflamatory phenotypes in poultry ) cause many diseases that lead to death in some severe casses productivity problems…etc.
tomatoes is one of the highest vegetables in vitamins , we kow the importance of vitamins to your chickens however there are some details to discuss when it comes to vitamins or minerals.
i mean chickens in certain circumstances need high intake of some vitamins they usualy dont need at all whether from food or supplement , vitamin c for example as they produce sufficient amount it however during hot weather they can really benefit from vitamin c supplement or any type of fruit or vegetables that are high in absorpic acid that’s why i always give fair amount of bell pepper oranges tomatoes sometimes even vitamin c supplement is needed
tomatoes is good source of vitamin a ,howeve like all veg it doesn’t contain this vitamin in its final active form its in form of cartnoids which are a vegetables dye alpha and ceta carotein and cryptoxanthin.
fortunetaly poulty are able to convert this dyes into vitamin a in its active form this process take place specificaly in the mucuous cell of the intestinal wall sometimes liver get involved in this process.
vitamin a deficiency is common among backyard chickens herd especially if feed is not stored well as some enviremontal factor can affect the avilabily of this vitamin such as direct sunlight humidity these factor can oxidate vitamin a and affect it’s effectivness.
some disseases that also can affect how chickens benefit from this vitamin preventing absorbtion converting to its active form …etc.
in some cases heat strees for example chickens need more of this vitamins
a deficiency can cause many infectious diseases among herds, specialist call this vitamin deficiency avitaminosis
one of the most important role of this vitamin is the developement and maintening a good condition of of vital organs , soft and hard tissue , bones digestive respiratory and urinary system it also have a crucial role apperance skin eyes many health problems occurs when chicks suffer from vitamin a deficiency.
its a crucial nutrient for the integrity of the linening and epithal tissue.
many studies showed diffrent health and productivity problems related to the deficiency of this vitamin.
vitamin c is crucial against oxidative strees as it act as an antioxidant and photoprotectant it play crucial role in cellular anti oxidant deffences.
this vitamin also act as pro oxidant and prevent infection , help to convert vitamin d3 to its active form reduce the effect of execive amount of vitamin a vitamin a toicity
growth performance enhance their immunity in general prevent heat stress induced problems such as oxidattive stress fertility eggs production
all of this benefits shows the imporatance of this vitamin luckily chicken produce what they need however giving tomatoes bell pepper or orange is always good idea especiallly during heat stress even vitamin c supplement is safe as vitamin c toxicity is rare
cooked tomatoes have more vitaminc.
folate
chickens tend to be more succetible to this particular vitamin deficiency especially chicks when it”s crucial in helping with cell and tissue growing several studies shows that chicks with folate deficiency suffer from leg peak deformitis
one of the most affect of vitamin b9 deficiency is macrocytic anemia as it play an important role in biosynthetise hemoglobine.
it can also affect chickens productivity hatch rate feather condition pale combs and wattles.
tomatoes is good source of calcium which is one of the best minerals for poultry as it has some crucial roles in bone formation cartillage developement in growing birds as for mature chickens it’s mainly role is for blood cloting ,muscle contraction with potassium and sodium as they work toghether for propper and bone health thats why we see some problems related to calcium deficiency such as rickets in chicks and osteomalacia due to poor bone minerelization.
calcium is also crucial for eggshell formation a deficieny can cause soft eggshell and productivity problems
egg shells contain almost 2g of calcium thats why its very important for laying hens to have sufficient amount of this minerals as it can affect their bone.
however too much calcium can interfer with phosphorus and cause many problems
potassium is very important for poultry nervous system and heart health chickens lost fair amount of potassium during heat stress which can affetc their health and productivity.
magnesium deficiency is a serious problem that affect laying hens and chicks in diffrents way, based on studied conducted by egypt the firt sign of this mineral deficency among laying hens is productivity problems deficiency in chicks cause slow growth rate brief confulsion followed by comatose state luckily chiks survive comatose state unlike laying hens.
you might find this surprising but raw tomatoes is less nutritious than cooked as coocking can enhance nutrient value of many vegetables like broccoli and carrots.
one of the most common problems nowdays is pepticides thats why we dont recommend to give any veg or fruit from the garden without washing as tomatoes skin can carry all the pepticides that can cause.
we dont recommend giving any part of the tomato plant except the fruit as leaves stems vines which has large amount of fungicidal and pesticidal properties toxins that can affect their health and productivity
what happen if you give them these part well it’s toxin , however it all depend on your chickens immunity age baby chickens are more affected by any toxins how much do they they eat.
is it okay to give green tomatoes : the short and direct answer is a solid no, even cooking it will not eliminate the toxic effect of solanine as some claim, this toxins present in unripe tomatoes are heat resistance so we dont recommend to give green yellow tomatoes to your chickens,
whether grape or cherry tomatoes both have the same nutritional profile
too many seeds , juice or paste are all high in acide content