11/7 Thursday Flocktoids- Vegetables

[TheChiggens]

Every Thursday I am going to try and write a thread called "Thursday Flocktoids" each Thursday I will address a new topic about chickens! Please give any comments/compliments!

Today we will address the topic of feeding vegetables to the flock. For me and many others feeding vegetables from the garden is a common thing to do. But do we always know what's ok for them to eat? Read to find out some common vegetable choices.

Carrots

Chickens love carrots. as long as you prepare them right. Of course, the carrot top is easy for them to eat. but the rest of the carrot must be grated, chopped or boiled. For the easiest consumption. Also, he beta-carotene can make egg yokes brilliant orange!

Garlic

Though there may be lots of criticism of weather garlic is ok for chickens. It is ok because unlike other plants in the allium family they have only had 1/15th percent of the toxins that others have. Therefore opinions are too toxic.
Garlic has amazing Immune/Antibiotic support properties. It can also repel many insects. Feeding chickens fresh minced garlic or garlic powder is one great way to feed it to them. As it says in the article Fresh eggs daily.

Parsnips

Should be prepared the same way as carrots since they are in the same family. Supply many good nutrients fo the flock.

Potatoes

Potatoes are part of the poisonous Night Shade family and are a definite no for feeding raw. The vines and leaves are all poisonous. Green skin potatoes especially have toxins in the skin called Solanine. In smaller quantities, you can reduce some of the Solanine by cooking at 400 degrees F. And use white potatoes not green

Radishes/Turnips

Chickens love the greens/roots raw. You can grate them to make it easier to eat.

Sweet Potatoes

Like white potatoes, sweet potatoes are not part of the Nightshade family. And are a member of the Morning Glory family. Which does not contain Solanine. And so along with the leaves, they are fine for chickens to eat.

Thanks for reading!
Please post any thoughts in a comment below!

Sources-

Websites
https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/09/getting-to-root-of-it.html
https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2015/05/can-i-feed-potatoes-to-my-chickens.html
Pictures

https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/carrot-schnitzel

https://foodfacts.mercola.com/garlic.html

https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide/parsnips

https://www.thedailymeal.com/dutch-oven-potatoes-0-recipe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turni

https://www.wikihow.com/Roast-Sweet-Potatoes

 

[Ridgerunner]

Potatoes

Potatoes are part of the poisonous Night Shade family and are a definite no for feeding raw. The vines and leaves are all poisonous. Green skin potatoes especially have toxins in the skin called Solanine. In smaller quantities, you can reduce some of the Solanine by cooking at 400 degrees F. And use white potatoes not green

That is an often quoted myth. White potatoes, raw or cooked, are fine for chicken. The green ones are the dangerous ones. White potatoes turn green when they are exposed to sunlight. The green is not the harmful substance, that's just chlorophiyll from photosynthesis. But the sunlight also concentrates the toxic substance, solanine, in the potato. It's the green ones that should be avoided, by you and by the chickens. Regular white potatoes do have some solanine in them, but the levels are so low you could not physically eat enough potatoes for the solanine to cause you harm. It's the same with te chickens, they can't physically eat enough raw white potatoes to cause them selves harm.

Here is a link to a Snopes fact-check that debunks this myth.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tater-taught/

The vines are dangerous to the chickens, same as other nightshade vines like tomatoes. The vines taste bitter so if the chickens are foraging and have other options they generally take one bite and decide they really don't want to eat that if something else is available. But if you toss those into a barren run and it is the only green thing they can eat they might eat enough for it it be harmful.

For what it is worth mine have no problems breaking a raw carrot into bite-sized pieces. I've seen mine break frogs and mice into pieces with their beaks. They are more likely to eat some veggies if they are cooked or shredded, but I don't bother. If mine want to eat them they will, cooked or raw, shredded or whole.

 

[TheChiggens]

Yes bellow it says White Potatoes/Sweet potatoes are not part of the nightshade family.
they are part of the Morning Glory family.
Thanks for the feedback though!

 

[TheChiggens]

And link was helpfull

 

[Ridgerunner]

Regular white potatoes are part of the nightshade family. That's why the vines are dangerous. Sweet potatoes are not and the sweet potato vines make great livestock forage.

 

[TheChiggens]

Oh ok.
Thanks will change that!