Red berries edible?

[shetan83]

Hi BYC,

I noticed one of my hens jumping and pecking these berries off a bush. I stopped her from continuing, but they're free range and I want to know if these berries are edible:





Thanks BYC.

 

[pegm]

Howdy neighbor....raised in Glendora, now up north. That looks like a nandina bush, I would google it and see if it is a nandina and if the berries are edible.

 

[chfite]

I have always felt that chickens with free choice of what to eat will not eat anything bad for them. That would also explain why my nandina bushes have no berries left on them.

Chris

 

[pdirt]

I have always felt that chickens with free choice of what to eat will not eat anything bad for them. That would also explain why my nandina bushes have no berries left on them.

Chris

I would tend to agree, though I'm sure there are exceptions. The story I tell myself is that some of those lists out there of "toxic foods for chickens" are not very useful, because my hunch is they contain a few truly toxic plants combined with a bunch of ones that really aren't, except in large quantities.

Take for example the "poisonous" poinsettia. I heard an interview with a poinsettia farmer once where he picked several leaves and ate them in front of the reporter. Apparently a grown adult will need to eat upwards of TWO POUNDS of poinsettia leaves to reach truly toxic levels.

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/2011/02/are-poinsettias-poisonous-to-cats-dogs/ (not chicken specific, but you get the point)

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/poinsettia-plants/AN01481

And many plants and herbs, while toxic in great quantities, have immune-stimulating properties at lower or even micro quantities.