* Need Info 4 A Record *

[TommyVT05]

Hello Everybody

,

Hope all are doing well. We are all trying to getting over this flu period.
Anyhow...I was thrown off today by one subject: Cabbage! I have been looking online and such for correlations between cabbage and the ferility of chicken eggs for a while but no luck

. Now, I pretty much have to ask everyone for a favor so I can collect raw data to rule out that cabbage hurts fertility in eggs.

Please let me know if you have been giving your chickens cabbage for the past few weeks OR months and that the eggs are still good and fertile. The only way to find out is through everyones accurate feeding pattern. So far, my chickens have been laying fertile eggs even when fed cabbage too but I do so very sparingly (1/4 of the whole...once to twice every week).

I am looking for someone who has been giving their chickens cabbage at least 4 times a week up to daily feeding. The more you feed your chickens cabbage but still get good fertile eggs, the better data it would provide for me.

Please help me get the data up on my chart to prove some theories about cabbage. This will help all of US in the end!

WHY BOTHER SO MUCH JUST OVER CABBAGE???

1.) Cabbage is great in giving good nutrients for the hens to lay, keep them warm, a treat for chickens, etc.
2.) If you breed exotics especially...feeding cabbage gives them good strong feathers with lushy colors!

Now, I would certainly like those benefits without having to worry about the hens laying non-fertile eggs or the roosters unable to mate due to supressed hormone level.

Thanks in advance 4 helping me

- Tommy

 

[airmom1c05]

http://www.poultryhelp.com/toxicplants.html

Cabbage is listed as toxic to chickens here. I found this link at the bottom of the Treats for Chickens page on this site. Confusing since the treat chart itself recommends hanging a whole cabbage for chickens to eat!

Could it be that long time use could cause infertility???? Let us ponder.

 

[TommyVT05]

Yeah, I just saw, Thanks

"plant is goitrogenic; may contain toxic levels of nitrates"

That is it! It reduces hormone level...not really "TOXIC" per say but just...said to have reduced hormone levels in roosters hence...non fertile eggs.

These sites contains very to no background to their statements so I really don't believe it 100%. I rather collect raw data from everybody to then give everyone my result and the proof that my idea is either right...or wrong : )

- Tommy

 

[airmom1c05]

I like your thinking, but here's another reference with more info:

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/glucosin.html

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Seems like that toxic thread began before and then someone said chickens have no thyroid and then it became moot, may have remembered that wrong but seems like that was it. I feed mine cabbage once a week and they are healthy and happy, no rooster thought to confirm or deny the fertility issue.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Quote:
Chickens in fact do have a thyroid gland.

ALL MAMMALS & BIRDS DO!

Sources...

http://books.google.ca/books?id=oBl...sGMm24o&sig=YxNl85COgMakli3W6T76aiJykyg&hl=en

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3746/is_199712/ai_n8778285/pg_5

 

[Scrambled Egg]

GUess I did remember that wrong! Maybe it was toxic to the liver?! Duh...I don't remember the organ it was supposed to be toxic too but seems like it was stated then refuted...is that right?!

feel free to correct me, I have no ego tied up in this comment, lol! wouldnt want folks to have wrong info either so anyone knowing the correct answer should post it...

 

[TommyVT05]

Welll,

As far as being "toxic"...its hard to confirm from the sources because I know a few breeders who has been giving their chickens cabbages for over 6-7 years...and the chicken still lives...and does fine. The problem being, they only feed it to the roosters that they want to get show quality out of and not care much for breeding. As a result, they look WAY facinating...but the problem is still, will cabbage hinder reproduction in roosters if fed consistantly?

Ultimate goal: Best look & health

- Tommy

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Quote:
I could eat all the cabbage there is, & it ain't going to turn me into a Chipendale Dancer, no more than feeding it to a chook is going to make it "Show Quality" if it doesn't already have the genetics required.

And if they don't care about breeding, they sure in heck aren't going to be producing "Show Quality" birds either.

Two weeks before a show I increase the BOSS for my birds to make their feathers shiny, & trim their nails & bathe them a few days before the show. None of this makes a bird "Show Quality". Hopefully it makes the bird stand out against it's competitors.

 

[TommyVT05]

Haha,

We are sorta getting off topic here now guys. Back the the results

I need the data of the cabbage given and fertility of eggs as an all out result for everyone. After getting the results in, I can see if its toxic, hinders fertility, or whatever people have said in the past without backup of raw data...etc.

Ex.

Cabbage given per week Fertile eggs?
4 time a week Yes
Given daily No

Cool!

- Tommy