Jalapenos for chickens?

[bsheridan1959]

I have 3 "backyard" chickens and typically supplement their diet of chicken crumbles with table scraps. Ever since I started doing this, their egg production has increased. I have a questions though, can i feed jalapenos to my chickens? Would the spiciness of the vegetable be bad for the chicken?

 

[DTchickens]

Jalapenos would be fine, the spiciness wouldn't matter as if i remember chickens can't sense it or something like that. Which is why giving them cayenne pepper doesn't hurt them either.

-Daniel.

 

[Lollipop]

Won`t hurt them a bit. In fact, chickens(birds) lack the heat resceptors that other things have. Cayenne is used to worm chickens. They eat it up like candy. Worms, on the other hand, heh, heh, shoot out the back of the chicken like the devil himself is after them. Eat up........Pop

 

[bsheridan1959]

Thank you so much - I will feel better about feeding them the peppers!! I have had my chickens now almost 2 years and these 2 years have been my first experience with chickens. One other question I have is that I have a black chicken who seems perfectly healthy, however there are a few spots back by her back end that do not have feathers and her skin is bright red. Is that normal? Chickens are the best!! I have had a great time with them. They are more of a pet for me than anything. I even bring the black one into the house now and then, to hold while I watch TV. She loves the attention.

 

[3goodeggs]

At the end of the summer, they got the entire habanero plants with peppers. They are still alive.

 

[kyeschicks]

I didn't know that! I never fed them jalapeños cuz I thought it would hurt them. Thanks for posting this question

 

[DTchickens]

Quote:
I wouldn't feed them the plants, peppers are a member of the nightshade family which is toxic to fowl. The vegetables you don't have to worry about, but the vines/leaves of the plants you do, especially if they're young plants, same reason you don't feed the green potatoes or tomatoes until they're cooked/age some.

-Daniel.

 

[3goodeggs]

No leaves, just frozen fruit on dead stuff. But you are right! They have moved tomatoes out of the solanaceae family, but I still consider them to be!