Uncle Bill C
In the Brooder
- Apr 15, 2022
- 4
- 15
- 24
And other American sites say tomatoes are very good for chickens.
Comprehensive list of poisonous plants and trees
- Thread starter ThePigeonKid
- Start date
- Nov 14, 2014
- 15
- 15
- 99
What about sable palm berries? I can't find anything on that.
TXKukupantsKoop
Songster
What about vitex trees? Native to Texas and there are several on the property. The girls dig under it and sometimes peck at the dried flowers. I couldn't find anything on it. They have access to other things so I'm thinking they're just tasting it. Haven't torn it up like the calendula!!!!!!
BookWormDenise
Songster
I’m wondering this as well!
passaflora
Chirping
- Feb 1, 2023
- 10
- 26
- 71
passaflora
Chirping
- Feb 1, 2023
- 10
- 26
- 71
I was wondering if all FOUR O'CLOCK's are toxic as there are 2 different species of native FOUR O'CLOCK's in Northern AZ. They are different from each other and different from the garden variety.
My suggestion is that we be cautious about attributing toxic qualities to most of the plants on this list. There are some such as castor bean, monks hood or aconitum, and some solanums which have proven to be toxic over time, but if you Google many of these plants, such as parsley, you will find widely different attitudes about the poisonous or unwholesome qualities of this plant.
And as OP said, some of the plants' different parts might be toxic, some cultivars might be toxic, and some might be toxic at various stages of life.
If you have questions about a plant in your garden, check it out on the internet and get several different viewpoints. There's no need for you to go digging up everything around your garden just because this list says that a plant is toxic.
I appreciate the effort to repost the list, but it's always useful to have some direct source information about the assertions that we make that threaten to kill a chicken or an entire flock. Once again, more information is usually more reliable information.
I am also curious as to whether heritage breeds with their relatively long histories of survival and evolution are smarter about what to eat and what to avoid. Most of us are not raising caged birds or doing battery chicken rescues.
And as OP said, some of the plants' different parts might be toxic, some cultivars might be toxic, and some might be toxic at various stages of life.
If you have questions about a plant in your garden, check it out on the internet and get several different viewpoints. There's no need for you to go digging up everything around your garden just because this list says that a plant is toxic.
I appreciate the effort to repost the list, but it's always useful to have some direct source information about the assertions that we make that threaten to kill a chicken or an entire flock. Once again, more information is usually more reliable information.
I am also curious as to whether heritage breeds with their relatively long histories of survival and evolution are smarter about what to eat and what to avoid. Most of us are not raising caged birds or doing battery chicken rescues.
Ok...so...there are multiple sites stating that parsley is a super food for chickens ..
Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined. You may have noticed this is a very old thread.
One reason for that is dosage. One bite won't kill them. Just like you they have to eat enough for it to harm them. Most of these things taste bad to the chickens. They may take a bite or two but usually shake their heads and move on. If you have them locked in a bare run with no green whatsoever and you give them some of these they may eat enough to harm themselves, but most still won't.
Practically everything you or chickens eat contains something that can harm you or them. Take white potatoes for example. They contain a substance, solanine, that in quantity can seriously harm you. But you would need to eat over 50 pounds of raw potatoes before you were affected by solanine even if you are a fairly small human. You or the chickens are not going to eat enough to harm yourselves. If the potatoes are green, which means they were exposed to sunlight, the solanine can concentrate to a point where green potatoes can harm you or the chickens. So stay away from green spots on potatoes. They should taste bitter anyway. I know potatoes are not on that list but you often see them mentioned on here anyway.
Another one on a lot of lists is cabbage. Cabbage contains something that can harm the chickens, yet cabbage is often recommended as a treat. If they ate nothing but cabbage for a few days they could be in trouble but feed it in moderate amounts and it is a great treat.
Chickens have been free ranging and feeding themselves on what they find for thousands of years, long before they were domesticated. They did not die and go extinct from these poisons.
One reason for that is dosage. One bite won't kill them. Just like you they have to eat enough for it to harm them. Most of these things taste bad to the chickens. They may take a bite or two but usually shake their heads and move on. If you have them locked in a bare run with no green whatsoever and you give them some of these they may eat enough to harm themselves, but most still won't.
Practically everything you or chickens eat contains something that can harm you or them. Take white potatoes for example. They contain a substance, solanine, that in quantity can seriously harm you. But you would need to eat over 50 pounds of raw potatoes before you were affected by solanine even if you are a fairly small human. You or the chickens are not going to eat enough to harm yourselves. If the potatoes are green, which means they were exposed to sunlight, the solanine can concentrate to a point where green potatoes can harm you or the chickens. So stay away from green spots on potatoes. They should taste bitter anyway. I know potatoes are not on that list but you often see them mentioned on here anyway.
Another one on a lot of lists is cabbage. Cabbage contains something that can harm the chickens, yet cabbage is often recommended as a treat. If they ate nothing but cabbage for a few days they could be in trouble but feed it in moderate amounts and it is a great treat.
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