Watermelon Slushies for Chickens
Chickens not only can eat watermelon, they should, and they love it! And it’s one of the best summer treats for your chickens because its high water content helps keep them hydrated.
In addition to being full of moisture, watermelon contains Vitamins A, B6 and C, magnesium and potassium. It's also a great source of carotenoids which make nice orange egg yolks as well as cucurbitacin, which is thought to be a natural wormer for poultry.
Watermelon also has the highest levels of the antioxidant lycopene compared to any other food. Lycopene helps to decrease the risk of cancer and heart disease.
Watermelon is one of my chickens’ (and ducks!) favorite treats. The entire plant is edible for chickens. They’ll eat the flesh, seeds and even the rind.
Of course you can feed watermelon to your chickens just by cutting it in half and letting them nibble at it. You definitely won't hear any complaints from them!
Or, if you have been following me for any length of time, you know that you can get fancy. Watermelon Slushies are one of my favorite hydrating warm weather treats for my flock.
It’s really important to do what you can to keep your flock cool in the summer. Chickens don’t have the ability to sweat like humans and other mammals do. Instead, they expel their body heat through their comb and pant to stay cool.
They don’t handle heat well at all, and once the temperatures start to climb above 65 degrees, they start wishing it were cooler. And once temperatures hit 85 degrees F or so, they really start to feel the effects.
In the warm months, there are several things you can do to help alleviate heat stress:
- Provide lots of shady areas
- Minimize their stress (i.e. no kids or other pets chasing them)
- Be sure they have a well-ventilated coop
- Provide cool, fresh water
- Offer electrolytes
- Offer water-laden foods like cucumbers and watermelon
In addition to providing shade and ice water, etc. I like to take it one step further and make Watermelon Slushies for my chickens in the summer.
Watermelon is a food with an extremely high water content - around 92%. And then also adding some fresh herbs adds some great nutritional benefits as well, since all the culinary herbs are packed with nutrients.
So watermelon slushies provide not only essential fluids on a hot day, but also other nutrients which are beneficial since chickens tend not to eat as much when it's hot.
Watermelon Slushies for Chickens
Purée the watermelon flesh, seeds, ice and herbs until smooth. Pour the soup evenly into each watermelon half (or in a dish or bowl).
Garnish with additional herb leaves, if desired.
Serve the watermelon slushie immediately in a shady spot.
Optional: Add some fresh berries, or even some electrolytes like Pedialyte or your own homemade electrolytes. Don't have any watermelon? You can make Cantaloupe or Honeydew Slushies instead!
