Can Chickens Eat Apple Seeds?

Best avoided — Remove them — flesh is fine

Apple seeds contain amygdalin, which releases cyanide when crushed — core your apples before the flock gets them.

The why

One or two swallowed seeds are a trivial dose, but chickens grind their food in the gizzard — exactly the crushing that releases the compound — and seeds accumulate if you're dumping cores from a pie session. Cheap insurance: don't feed seeds at all.

What to do instead

Core apples (and pears) before serving; whole windfalls in a free-range orchard are a low, tolerable background risk most keepers accept.

Worth knowing

The same amygdalin logic covers cherry, peach, plum, and apricot pits — flesh yes, kernels no.

The 90/10 rule: whatever the treat, a laying flock's diet should stay about 90% balanced feed. Treats — even the healthy ones — are the garnish, not the meal. Wondering what your flock really costs to feed? Try our free egg cost calculator.

📄 Free printable: The Chicken Never List

The 15 foods that can hurt your flock, on one page — print it, tape it inside the feed-bin lid.

Keep your whole flock on track

Homestead Paradise tracks your birds, eggs, feed costs, and health records in one place — and Harold, your homestead advisor, reads your records and tells you what he'd do next. Snap a photo of a mystery plant or bug with Harold's Eyes before it ends up in the run.

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