are there any foods that are toxic to chickens?

[Ducksandchickens]

Yeah I'm wrong there. They can eat tomatoes.

 

[casportpony]

Harrison make a bird food with hot pepper powder:
http://store.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/BIRD-BREAD-MIX-HOT-PEPPER/productinfo/BBMHP/

I would be interested in seeing some data that says birds can't have hot peppers.

 

[casportpony]

Yeah I'm wrong there. They can eat tomatoes.

You aren't entirely wrong because some vets say they are too acidic and could cause ulcers.

"Because tomatoes are an acidic fruit, many veterinarians recommend not offering fresh tomatoes to birds, because they could potentially cause ulcers. Larry Nemetz, DVM, of the The Bird Clinic in Orange, Calif., does not recommend, at any time, feeding birds raw tomatoes (including cherry tomatoes) because of their acidity. Dried tomatoes (the drying process takes out most of the acid) and plain spaghetti sauce (tomatoes in spaghetti sauce are cooked, removing the acid) are fine in moderation."
source: https://www.petcha.com/dont-feed-your-pet-bird-these-foods/

 

[rjohns39]

Cabbage is toxic ? Pasta trashes their bodies ??

Where in the world are you getting this from ? People hang whole cabbages on a string to entertain their chickens !! And pasta is useless for people but it won’t harm them .

I’d like to see facts not just opinions

The concept of veg from the cabbage family being toxic is rooted in truth but not applicable today. Before Canada developed the Canola plant, Rapeseed meal was widely used in chicken feed. It and all members of the cabbage family contain a toxin that if fed in a high enough concentration would prove fatal. Just think of cyanide in your apple seed. Well the concentration of the toxin in the rapeseed meal was generally just under the toxicity level for a chicken, so when they were fed cabbage they would die. That was a very long time ago, the Canola plant significantly reduced the level of the toxin within the plant and it just isn't an issue today.

 

[BrindleFinch]

But where are the studies. These are just vets' opinions. One was based off of mammals, not even birds!

Something that could potentially be an issue fed over a long period of time is NOT an issue of toxicity. A bird CAN eat them.

You can find a vet anywhere who believes anything. Some vets believe in vegan diets for carnivores, over vaccination, raw feeding is the only way, etc. They're just people with their own opinions until they have studies to back it up.

Tomatoes are not toxic. Chickens can eat them without I'll effects as a treat. NO FOOD other than appropriately balanced crumble or pellets should be offered as a staple diet or even regularly/consistently for that matter.

 

[KikiLeigh02]

I hope it's ok to ask, but @castrbl when you say your chick eats what you eat you don't mean that's all your chick is eating right? Treats are super fun to feed, but they really should be limited. I've seen some of your other posts so I know you have just the one chick. Your chick really needs a complete feed to make up most of it's diet. Are you offering grit at all?

 

[imnukensc]

Yes. Here is a comprehensive list of what is toxic to chickens - http://www.chickendvm.com/toxic.php

My chickens ought to be dead. Many things in that list are either planted intentionally or grow wild in my yard. I free range my chickens daily nearly all day long and don't limit their access to anything, but I don't intentionally give them "bad" things or overdo the treats including the very rare bread or pasta.

 

[Evelyn's Mom]

My girls won't stay out of my tomatoes!!! Ack!! Going to pull them soon anyway... I guess it's fall...

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... I’d like to see facts not just opinions

Chickens can and will eagerly eat most of the things that have been condemned by others. I am sure that I have fed almost all of these things or my chickens had access to them and I never saw a single hen, or a chick eat tomato leaves although you can't keep a chicken out of a tomato patch short of shooting the chicken. I also let my small chicks have the run of my garden especially when the potatoes were growing. There is no animal on Earth that is better at snagging a tater bug off of the leaves of those big bad members of the nightshade family than a small chick.

Chickens also do not like beans, even soybeans unless they are defatted but they will pick off and eat every bean blossom on your butterbean and string bean plants. If you can't feed chickens carbs then what pray tell are corn, oats, grain sorghum, wheat, barley, Sunflower seeds, and so on and on to ∞ ?

There is a lot of opinions or Internet research in evidence on this thread but very little practical experience.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Beans have toxins in them. Cooked can be offered. Chickens very seldom will choose to eat things that are bad for them. With that being said I’ve seen them go after insulation foam....sometimes they are not the brightest crayon in the box.