? About blackberries

[Nyxchick]

Hi,
I'm new with chickens and have a question about feeding. Our 3 silkies get to free range on our large backyard. In the way back there is about 10 feet square of blackberries that got away from me and so my question is....
When the blackberries ripen will the chickens overeat on the berries? The girls seem to have a sweet tooth for fruity treats so I'm wondering what to expect.
Trying to decide if it's an urgent 'to do' item, cut down the blackberries before they ripen late summer.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

They probably won't eat too much. Chickens know when to stop. (You just won't get as many.)

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They won't overeat but your problem may be that you don't get as many.

I have mulberries all over the ground and even with over 50 chickens they can't keep up. They eat some and then move on to other foods.

 

[pnutj58]

Will eating a lot of blackberries cause black poops? One of my hens makes a bee line for the wild blackberries when they're let out. She has also been having black poops for the last few weeks. She is otherwise normal, so I am not worried about the poops as much as I really want to know what is causing it.

 

[woody1]

Will eating a lot of blackberries cause black poops?

Yes it can. If she's otherwise normal, I'd not worry about it. Regards, Woody

 

[Ridgerunner]

Will eating a lot of blackberries cause black poops?  One of my hens makes a bee line for the wild blackberries when they're let out.  She has also been having black poops for the last few weeks.  She is otherwise normal, so I am not worried about the poops as much as I really want to know what is causing it. 

Yes. What they eat can and will color what comes out. A few years back I canned a lot of beets and gave the chickens the cooked skins. The next morning I thought I was facing a serious problem with bloody poop everywhere but it was just the beet skins coloring everything red. Bright bloody red!

I agree they will not overeat. it can be quite comical watching them jump up to get grapes or berries up almost out of their reach. Mine can jump afoot off the ground to grab a grape.

 

[pnutj58]

Thanks very much, woody1 and Ridgerunner. I appreciate it.

 

[kari_dawn]

Just wanted to share something about blackberries. I had a BLRW hen named Jasmine (I lost her this summer), and when we lived at our last house two years ago, I would bring my girls blackberries when they were in season. Jasmine adored blackberries. They were her favorite food. If given enough of them, she would produce these beautiful light brown eggs with lavender freckles. There are pictures of the eggs somewhere on BYC. If I find it, I will post a picture

 

[kari_dawn]

The picture of the egg as promised The spots really were the exact same shade as my nail polish

 

[pnutj58]

Almost too pretty to eat. Thanks.

So far, my girls' eggs are plain. Tillie, the one with an addiction to the berries, is starting to molt, so her eggs are scarce right now. I'll keep an eye on Hilary's eggs though.