Are bird berries safe for chickens?

[Katrinalarson]

About a week ago I was walking through my yard where the chickens normaly roam and noticed we have a huge bird berry bush. I didn't think anything about them at first since the chickens didn't seem to be that interested… recently the berries have become bright red in color which is attracting the attention of all of my chickens. Ive been trying to keep the chickens away from them but no matter how hard I try they seem to outsmart me every time! This morning I caught the chickens eating the berries I ran inside to search up if they were poisonous to chicken and could find nothimg on the matter. So I’m hopping a sesoned chicken expert can tell me if chicken are alowed to eat bird berries?

 

[sourland]

I'm not certain what bird berries are, and Google was no help. Can you post a picture?

 

[Katrinalarson]

Haha, im sorry i didnt even think about that.. bird berries is just what we call them in my town. Here is a pic of them

 

[Katrinalarson]

We actually have two diffident types growing right next to each-other

 

[TexasLisa]

Check with your County Agent to see what you have.

I thought it might be a Jerusalem Cherry plant and the fruit is poisonous. Here is what is said about it:

It has red, poisonous fruit that both looks and tastes similar to cherry tomatoes and is often confused with them. However, eating the fruit from this plant is rarely life-threatening to humans and will likely just cause vomiting and gastroenteritis. It can also cause diarrhea, drowsiness, and headache. In extremely rare cases, eating the fruit can result in delirium, hallucinations and even coma. Ingesting enough of it could be fatal to dogs, cats and birds that are kept as pets, such as parrots.

But people grow it because it is a pretty plant. It grows wild around our place and our chickens do not bother it.

 

[Katrinalarson]

Check with your County Agent to see what you have.

I thought it might be a Jerusalem Cherry plant and the fruit is poisonous. Here is what is said about it:

It has red, poisonous fruit that both looks and tastes similar to cherry tomatoes and is often confused with them. However, eating the fruit from this plant is rarely life-threatening to humans and will likely just cause vomiting and gastroenteritis. It can also cause diarrhea, drowsiness, and headache. In extremely rare cases, eating the fruit can result in delirium, hallucinations and even coma. Ingesting enough of it could be fatal to dogs, cats and birds that are kept as pets, such as parrots.

But people grow it because it is a pretty plant. It grows wild around our place and our chickens do not bother it.

Thank you! I will definitely check with them… but I’m also going to air on the side of caution and cut down the whole bush. From what i found they have a 80% chance of being poisonous ☠️!

 

[GRB73]

The first picture looks like nightshade berries which are poisonous, at least to humans. The second amur honeysuckle which I believe is also poisonous.My chickens often eat the same berries as the wild birds, like Arrowwood viburnum (blue poop!) And cranberry viburnum. I figure if it is safe for wild birds then it must be safe for chickens. If you are losing sleep, remove the shrubs and replace with something you know is chicken friendly. There are lists out there of poisonous and chicken friendly plants. Just Google for them.

 

[Katanahamon]

The first picture looks like nightshade berries which are poisonous, at least to humans. The second amur honeysuckle which I believe is also poisonous.My chickens often eat the same berries as the wild birds, like Arrowwood viburnum (blue poop!) And cranberry viburnum. I figure if it is safe for wild birds then it must be safe for chickens. If you are losing sleep, remove the shrubs and replace with something you know is chicken friendly. There are lists out there of poisonous and chicken friendly plants. Just Google for them.

One, the ground plant is definitely in the Solanum or tomato pepper family, the second looks like it’s in the Honeysuckle family. Depends on which one the solanum is, most are bird friendly, (bird chiles, bird peppers, or ornamental peppers) the other I have no idea..but likely honeysuckle..
https://www.chileplants.com/search.aspx?ProductCode=CHITEX

 

[Katanahamon]

View attachment 2785725 We actually have two diffident types growing right next to each-other

Looks more and more like ornamental, or wild type mixed up hybrid pepper and a honeysuckle..I wouldn’t give a second thought to either..generally they avoid bad things, and if it is in fact those, they’re both fine for birds..

 

[Katanahamon]

The first picture looks like nightshade berries which are poisonous, at least to humans. The second amur honeysuckle which I believe is also poisonous.My chickens often eat the same berries as the wild birds, like Arrowwood viburnum (blue poop!) And cranberry viburnum. I figure if it is safe for wild birds then it must be safe for chickens. If you are losing sleep, remove the shrubs and replace with something you know is chicken friendly. There are lists out there of poisonous and chicken friendly plants. Just Google for them.

Nightshade also encompasses tomatoes, peppers, potatoes..this looks more like an ornamental pepper, or even a chiltepin..