Comprehensive list of poisonous plants and trees

[Innanna]

Thanks Janine!

 

[16Chickens]

My flock has hung out under the trees a lot since we are going through this drought! They have cleaned up an area pretty well, but they leave the poison ivy and some other on this list. Wish it wasn't poisonous to them, and they could eat it!

 

[Frandar]

I'm glad they tend to avoid most of the poisonous plants. I have a lot of these things and I don't want to have to dig them all up. I have a honeysuckle that is about 30 years old. So it's the flowers of the bulbs that make them sick? My dogs chew on the flowers and leaves of my hyacinth, amaryllis and narcissus and they are fine but I know that if they ate the bulb they'd get sick. Anyone know if it's the same for chicks?

 

[Daisy8s]

Part of the problem with a list of "toxic" plants is defining the term "toxic". It could mean, "causes skin irritation if eaten in excess". That kind of definition is much different than what we usually think of, which is, "fatal".

Personally, I find that list at least 50% hooey. I have tons of those plants in my yard and have directly observed my birds eating some of them, e.g. ground cherries (heck, I eat ground cherries...how can they be considered toxic??).

Overall, I'm much more concerend about man-made substances than plants growing in my yard.

 

[SunnySkies]

It is often PARTS of a particular plant that are toxic. Or a certain growth stage. These lists are often not written with birds in mind either, as they won't eat some of these things ever. But a sheep, a horse, a cow, or a child, were to eat some of these plants, they would be poisioned.

(I am a veterinarian. I have treated mammals for posionings due to ingestion of some of these plants)

 

[defenestration]

I don't the the tannin in acorns would end up being that much of a problem. Chickens can take tannin a bit better than humans can—squirrels and many birds eat acorns just fine, after all—and a cursory Google search shows that while adding tannic acid in a scientific manner to the diet of a growing chicken will cause issues (growth retardation, immune system weakening), it doesn't appear to be fatal in any sense.

Furthermore I'm not sure how a chicken would be able to get through the shell, and even if it could, why it would eat a bunch of stuff that (presumably, if it is indeed toxic) tastes extremely bitter.



In any case, I'd like to add potato plants of any age, as well as green potatoes, and tomato (the leaves, not the fruit) to your list of toxic plants (these are both Nightshades and contain solanine—I see you already have the third common Nightshade, eggplant, on the list).

 

[warmheart]

Does anyone know if bittersweet vine berries might be safe or toxic to chickens? Bluejays seem to enjoy it.

 

[epmchickens]

I've grown emglish ivy on my chicken yard forever and never had a problem.

 

[bgallentine]

Thank you for the info - I only just made the decision to take the plunge and am still doing my research. I have an extensively planted yard and wish to keep the Hedera (Ivy) I have in the area adjacent to my proposed coop-site and would also like to let the girls loose in the yard such that they would be able have at the Ivy. Mirabilis (4 o'clocks) I can move to the front. Can anyone clarify the chicken's likely apetite for Day Lily (Hemerocallis)?
Thanks in advance.

Sign me,
Un-deterred!
Brian G

 

[epmchickens]

I have a whole garden full of day lilies. And a few tiger lilies. They never bother with them. As long as the birds have food and other things to pick at they tend to ignore the bad stuff. Even my foxglove. They dug it up but never ate it.