Apples Everywhere...

[Gwirithil]

I know I can feed apples to chickens. My apple tree drops lots in the fall (they're terrible apples, honest). In past years they have gone into the compost. Apple seeds having very low levels of cyanide in them, is letting the chickens free-range on the masses of apples a problem assuming they're getting a balanced diet of other things too?

 

[congdon476]

bump

I'd like to know this one too. I know the seeds are bad for them... will they free range around them or eat them?

 

[gritsar]

We have a few apple trees. The chickens eat the apples that fall off the tree and I don't go around taking the seeds out of the apples first. No one's been poisoned yet.
Chickens seem to have a natural instinct about what's okay to eat and what's not.

 

[cmom]

I agree with gritsar. I have apple trees too and my birds peck at the apples that fall off the trees and have never had any health prioblems

 

[shmooborp]

same here ! they eat the fleshy stuff and leave the core and seeds

 

[Imp]

I give mine apples frequently, never had a problem. I dice them up seeds and all. My next door neighbor throws them across the fence for the chickens. They usually only peck at the whole ones.

Imp-granny smith, gravenstein, and golden delicious

 

[phalenbeck]

Apples, cherrys, pears, tomatoes are eaten in abundance in my yard. Cherrys seem to attract hornet/wasp things that seem tasty too. Every garden and yard crop i have is given to, or they are brought to eat. My chickens eat huge amounts in season, and Apples and pears were frozen and just ran out. I really cannot see a problem with a natural food, and if they like the apples from the crappy tasting apple and crappy tasting pear/tiny cherry tree what could be the problem, assuming layer pelllets and water and grit were also around. Is it not one of the purpose of chickens to process this stuff to chicken poop for the grass?

 

[nzpouter]

My chickens run in a young apple orchard... most times they don't wait for the apple to fall, they'll fly up and eat them.

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

We have a few apple trees in the yard (and a few more through out the pastures and property.) Along with plum, choke cherries, wild grapes, etc.etc. The birds will pick at all of them at their own wanting. I actually see the geese eatting more than the chickens. It usually seems like it's the geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, and then the guineas in that order eatting the fruit. Now if I cut up the fruits for them it's a different order, but when it's free choice on the ground they seem to have order..lol
All our birds are still living and health. None seem to have a problem...Although I did see a goose get an apple stuck on her beak. She was trying to eat the apple and another goose tried to get it, the next thing I knew goose #1(Geesey-Geesey) had the apple stuck on her beak and she was chasing goose #2(Eve)..It was kinda comical...

 

[playswithfowl]

Mine loooveee apples, they can devour one in less than five minutes!