Potato Peelings Ok Or Not ?

[gsim]

Have heard that potato peelings are not good for chooks. Am sure they will eat them, but am wondering if they are ok or not.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

It's the green peelings that contain botanical toxins.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree. It is the green potato peelings that are the problem. Not only should the chickens not eat green potato peelings, neither should you. Will one bite immediately kill you or a chicken? Possibly not. But I don't know how many bites it takes for the cumulative effect to be really and maybe permanently "unpleasant".

I copied this segment out of an internet site, link given below.

When potatoes are exposed to light, these underground tubers interpret it as a sign that they're no longer completely buried in the soil. So they produce chlorophyll pigments to help them make use of the light's energy, and they produce bitter toxins to discourage animals from eating them. The toxins, alkaloids called solanine and chaconine, are about as powerful as their better-known cousin strychnine. They apparently interfere with the structure of all our cell membranes and also with the processing of a nerve transmitter (they inhibit acetylcholinesterase), which can cause hallucinations and convulsions. Because the color change in a potato parallels its accumulation of alkaloids, greenness is used as an indicator of toxicity and therefore irreversible spoilage.

http://news.curiouscook.com/2006/08/green-potatoes-may-not-be-as-toxic-as.html

 

[kathyinmo]

I work with an elderly lady (actually she is retired) that insists they cause no harm. She said she throws everythin out to the chickens, including potatoe peelings. I just can not convince her, otherwise. I, on the other hand, will NOT feed them to my chickens. Why take the chance?

 

[Ridgerunner]

The harm is not in potato peelings. It is in GREEN potato peelings.

 

[LAMchop]

My relatives always put potato peelings in with the scraps they save for my birds, much to my chagrin. The chickens don't even touch them, they just shrivel up and I chuck 'em in the compost.

 

[19Dawn76]

I guess my chickens are snobs cause they will not eat tater peelings. Thanks for the info about the green peelings.

 

[OccamsTazer]

I was told that raw peelings were hard to digest, so I cook them down for my chookies and dogs

 

[Mahonri]

As long as there is no green in the peeling, they are fine. My chickens love them and I've never had a problem.

 

[DianeB]

My chickens ate all my potato, eggplant, tomato and pepper plants - they have a much higher concentration of solanine than the fruit - over a few months last summer. They are still alive and showed no signs of adverse effects. My vet said that tomato and eggplant leaves are not listed as toxic for chickens (after I frantically called him). Yet, most sites list green potatoes as toxic for humans if consumed in large quantity - about one pound for a hundred pound adult. Chickens are much smaller, so, they would have a much lower level of tolerence. Also, most of the toxic substance is located in the potato peel. Personally, I wouldn't give it to my hens to be on the safe side. I also wouldn't freakout if they ate a few ungreen peels.