If you know anything about chickens, you’ll know they love to peck around on the ground for tasty morsels. For them this could be a seed, to a bug, to a worm, but does this extend to ants, and should they be eating them if so?
Within this article, we will answer the question of whether chickens eat ants and let you know what this means for you and your chickens.
Table of Contents
Do Chickens eat Ants?
The answer is yes, Chickens do in fact eat ants and seem to enjoy them quite a lot! During the day you will find that should Chickens will be pecking around at the ground fairly often and if they happen to stumble across an Ant they will gladly eat it.
If you are wondering if this will help out with any Ant problems you might have, having a few Chickens around certainly won’t hurt.
Whilst they may not eat so many Ants that you can call off pest control, they can most definitely keep the number of Ants down and therefore keep them from getting in places you don’t want them as much.
Is it safe for a Chicken to be eating Ants?
For the most part, it is usually safe for chickens to be eating Ants. Nearly all kinds of ants are able to be eaten by chickens with very little issue, there is however one kind of ant that you should avoid letting your chickens eat.
Fire ants can be as troublesome to a chicken as they can be to a human and if you have ever had the misfortune of getting stung by one, you will know what I mean.
This particular ant will bite and cause pain to both humans and chickens and so if you happen to notice a fire ant nest nearby, try and remove it as quickly as possible to avoid any unnecessary harm coming to you and your chickens.
Sometimes, there will be the rare occurrence that your chickens may contract some kind of parasite from eating ants. There is as much chance of getting these from the dirt around the chickens but of course, the ants are within this dirt.
Roundworms are probably the most common kind of parasite your chicken might get. Both small and large roundworms can latch onto your chicken’s digestive tract and can cause severe problems for your chickens. If left untreated it will drain your chicken’s energy, cause digestive issues, cause issues with egg production, and can lead to infections.
Chickens can also be susceptible to parasites such as ringworms or cecal worms and so if your chickens are showing any signs of being unwell, you should try to take them to be seen by a vet as soon as possible and they should be able to get them feeling better in no time.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, chickens love to eat ants and can help you out in the pest control department by lowering the number of ants around to keep them away from places they shouldn’t be.
Be sure to watch out for fire ants and remove them so that your chickens stay safe and make sure to get your chickens to the vet at the first sign of sickness to catch out any roundworms or other parasites.
Hopefully, this article has been useful in letting you know that chickens do eat ants and all of the things to look out for when they do.
