Do CHICKENS eat acorns?

[DLS]

I have BIG,BIG,BIG old water oak trees in my yard & quite a few of them . THESE TREES ARE HUGE and drop the smaller size acorns by the MILLIONS, no kidding millions a day, the ground is thick with these things you can't walk it is like marbles.. they are just starting to drop pretty good right now
I wonder do these laying hens eat acorns? If so ,,,,, I have a great free food fo my gals.
Any one know about this?

 

[horsejody]

I don't know about poultry but too many acorns can be poisonous to cattle.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

YES-- They will eat acorns. They can't eat them unless they're crushed though. You can gather lots of them and run them through a corn grinder, or run over them, or whatever you want. Sounds like you have red oaks, which should have bright orange meats in the nuts. yes yes yes, save feed $ and give them some acorns. Mine eat them all the time.

 

[pips&peeps]

I was under the impression that they contained arsenic (sp?) and too much could kill an animal.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Well, squirrels and pigs eat bazillions of them every year, as well as deer and turkeys. I recently read a thing in Backyard Poultry magazine that a lady collected acorns and ground them up for her birds. Nobody argued. I think it's safe!

 

[DLS]

NOW ---- I need one of y'all to send , sell or give me a grinder

 

[1acrefarm]

Dls if you want a crude way of breaking those acorn shells without a grinder just tie a bunch in an old pillow case and smack them with a hammer repeatedly or run over them with a car tire. Dump the pillow case in run and the chickens should have fun.

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

Good to know I have been collecting them and giving them to the turkeys and pigs butI thought they were to big for the chickens Duh never thought about crushing them