Can Chickens Eat Tomatoes? Yes — Preparation Matters

Conditional — ripe fruit onlyPart, form, or amount matters

Can chickens eat tomatoes?

A small amount of ripe tomato fruit can fit the general category of a supplemental fruit treat, but keep tomato leaves, stems, and other nightshade greenery away from chickens.

Source-linked record · Last reviewed July 17, 2026 · Not veterinary-reviewed

Food file22

Check the exact form

Fully ripe, plain tomato fruitTomato leaves, stems, or plant trimmingsUnripe green tomatoSpoiled, moldy, canned, salty, sauced, or seasoned tomatoUK household or catering kitchen scraps

✓ Fully ripe, plain tomato fruit: Safe Suitable as a small supplemental fruit treat.

Why this answer

UC ANR specifically advises avoiding tomato and other nightshade leaves; ripe flesh should remain a plain, limited treat.

Serving guidance

Offer a few pieces of fully ripe tomato fruit shared across the flock and remove wet leftovers. Keep all treats supplemental to a complete, life-stage-appropriate ration.

Estimate a flock-level treat budget

Prepare it this way

Choose a sound, fully ripe tomato and wash it.
Remove the stem, leaves, and attached green plant material.
Cut the ripe fruit into pieces and serve it plain.

Keep the baseline

Complete, life-stage-appropriate feed should remain the nutritional base. Do not offer spoiled, moldy, salty, or seasoned leftovers.

Sources and evidence notes (5)

Feeding Your Flock University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources — Backyard-flock feeding guidance that treats scraps as supplemental and identifies avocado, raw beans, chocolate, green potato tissue, and tomato or other nightshade leaves as foods to avoid.
Raising chickens for eggs University of Minnesota Extension — General backyard-chicken diet: a balanced prepared feed should be the foundation; grains, fruits, vegetables, bread, cracked corn, and oats are supplemental foods or treats.
Management of Backyard Poultry MSD Veterinary Manual — Veterinary overview of backyard-poultry nutrition, including the risks of diluting complete rations with supplemental feed and of using old, improperly stored, or life-stage-inappropriate feed.
Disease Management University of Maryland Extension — Backyard-flock health guidance stating that moldy feed can produce mycotoxins associated with production losses and flock mortality, and that a well-balanced diet is important.
Supplying and using animal by-products as farm animal feed GOV.UK and the Animal and Plant Health Agency — Great Britain rules prohibiting household kitchen waste and catering waste as farm-animal feed, including for farm-animal species kept as pets, with separate controls for bakery, dairy, and egg products.

Can chickens eat tomatoes?