Apples are nutritious treats for chickens that they'll love. You can cut them in half, slice them, or hang them for the chickens to have fun playing their own game of tetherball with. 

Just be sure you core the apples first and remove the seeds.

Can Chickens Eat Apples?

Chickens can eat apples. Apples are good sources of fiber and antioxidants and promote good gut health. Chickens love them. They can eat the flesh and peels. But they shouldn't eat the apple seeds.

Apple seeds contain cyanide. Sure, not enough to kill a chicken - most likely. Definitely not enough to kill a human. 

But there is the toxin cyanide in apple seeds.  And that can be harmful for younger, older, or otherwise unhealthy chickens. 

Apple seeds contain a substance called amygdalin that breaks down and releases hydrogen cyanide when crushed.

Cyanide cuts off oxygen to the cells in the body. 

Symptoms of cyanide poisoning include: blue-ish comb, shortness of breath, respiratory issues, chest pain, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness, coma, and eventually death.

There is also cyanide in peach, plum and apricot pits, and in cherry pits. 

But the apples and stone fruits themselves are all fine as long as they are cored or pitted.  

Realistically, a chicken isn't going to be able to get into the kernel inside peach or plum pit, which is where the toxin is, but to be on the safe side, I cut the fruit in half and remove the pit before giving it to my chickens.

And if you feed your chickens apples, it's best to core them first.

As with other treats, in total they should not exceed 10% of your flock's total diet, which equals only about 1 or 2 tablespoons per bird per day.

Here is a comprehensive list of toxic foods that should be avoided. 

And a list of healthy treats for chickens.