Black walnut leaves as bedding?

[cmlew99]

Hello! I have a black walnut tree in my yard that produced a whole lot of leaves this fall, so I was thinking about using them as a covering for their run. My hope is that they will provide both entertainment and a covering for the cold ground. However I read that black walnuts can be toxic, and cause curled toes? Is that true? I don't want to take any chances, so if anyone has any advice, it would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Free Spirit]

I have about a dozen or so Black Walnut trees and never had a problem with my birds. The only thing I know about the trees is that it can keep nightshade plants from growing properly (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers) and can cause laminitis in horses. My birds pretty much leave the leaves alone.

But as a bedding I would make sure that they are and stay dry. Wet leaves can cause mold to grow and the mold can be a major health problem for the birds. Mixed in with other litter that stays dry should not be a problem. Just remove it if/when it gets wet.

 

[Folly's place]

I don't know about toxicity relating to poultry, but definitely wouldn't use the leaves as bedding, because the plant in toxic to horses at least. Get some leaves from other trees somewhere, and be safer. Mary

 

[cmlew99]

Okay! Thank you both! I'll probably do some more research. Maybe straw would be a better material