California - Northern

[donaquijote]

How about chopped lettuce, carrot tops, cabbage cut finely...my daughter gives her chickens everything green, red, vegetable peels etc from her kitchen, egg shells, all the vegetable matter. They thrive!

 

[1972lacy]

I live in Bakersfield. We generally refer to ourselves as living in central CA. We've always divided the state in thirds.


Northern CA = anything north of Sacramento

Central CA = south of Sac. to Bakersfield or the grapevine

Southern CA = anything south of the grapevine.


It's hard to classify because we have so many different landscapes. Mountains, coasts, deserts, valleys, OH MY!


FYI there is a big poultry show here November

when is the poultry show in Bakersfield? And do you were they have it at

 

[ronott1]

How about chopped lettuce, carrot tops, cabbage cut finely...my daughter gives her chickens everything green, red, vegetable peels etc from her kitchen, egg shells, all the vegetable matter. They thrive!

Me too!

I even give them potato peals if they are not green.

 

[Sylvester017]

How about chopped lettuce, carrot tops, cabbage cut finely...my daughter gives her chickens everything green, red, vegetable peels etc from her kitchen, egg shells, all the vegetable matter. They thrive!

Sure - all good. I chop up vegetables so there are no long strings to impact crops and I toast egg shells to kill any bacteria and blender them to chop them a little finer and work into the soil -- the chickens love to scratch in the dirt and find the tiny tiny tiny egg shells. In winter I let the chickens dig in my fallow raised garden beds and they love digging for grubs or caterpillars that grow over winter months in the soil and they love finding the egg shell left from the garden compost in the beds. Year-round my chickens love a daily treat of cantaloupe and chopped cukes. For hand treat time to enjoy my girls I pick little pieces of banana to train them to respond to their individual names. They've learned to wait to hear their name before reaching for their banana piece!

 

[Sylvester017]

Me too!

I even give them potato peals if they are not green.

"POTATO (Solanum tuberosum); immature growths; gastrointestinal tract affected by solanine glycoalkaloids; may contain toxic levels of nitrates; plant also causes dermatitis" quoted from the old PoultryHelp website.

I have read too many chicken food toxic vs safe lists to feed potato to my girls. Correct me if I'm wrong and why you give your chickens the peels? You've had chickens for a while and are experienced from the years you've had chickens. TY!

 

[ronott1]

"POTATO (Solanum tuberosum); immature growths; gastrointestinal tract affected by solanine glycoalkaloids; may contain toxic levels of nitrates; plant also causes dermatitis" quoted from the old PoultryHelp website.

I have read too many chicken food toxic vs safe lists to feed potato to my girls. Correct me if I'm wrong and why you give your chickens the peels? You've had chickens for a while and are experienced from the years you've had chickens. TY!

The toxin is bad when the potato is green. The green color come from the glycoalkaloids. Potato skins are also quite nutritious.

We gave our chicken potato peals all the years when I was growing up and since I got them again--They show no ill effects from them. They actually go crazy for them, which is an indication that they are not getting a toxic effect.

In a college Psych class I took there was a case study about an experiment where animals were exposed to either a predator or food poisoning to see which was stronger for teaching food avoidance. The food poisoning won out over fear. If that holds true for chickens, then they would not be eating potato peals if they made them sick.

As a reminder, green potato skins are bad for humans too. Never eat green potato skins. The potato is fine though--just peel them and do not feed them to the chickens if they are green. If the inside of the potato is green, cut that part out too.

The glycoalkaloid is also present in uncooked beans--Kidney beans have the highest amount. Soy beans have it too--Most chicken feed has soy beans and has the same effect as potato peals--too much can give them a tummy ache!

Added: The green top of the potato plant is a real no no--that is a type of night shade and is a deadly poison. The same is true for tomatoes--Chickens can (and do!) eat the fruit but the leaves are toxic.

 

[Cluck-a-biddy]

I have lots of weeds to feed my girls, but sometimes they get thinned out too much. I've been giving them the mixed salad stuff you buy in the grocery store and they really love the radicchio that comes in some of the mixes. So I buy an extra head of it to add to their greens. The BSLs in particular go nuts when I bring the stuff out for them in the morning. They chase each other around trying to grab the radiccchio from whoever gets the first bites. The whole bowl is emptied within a few minutes. When watermelon season is over (any time now) I'll try some cucumbers. I tried them when the girls were a lot younger and they didn't seem to like them. But maybe now they will. It's fun finding new stuff they like to eat. I swear they eat better than we do!

 

[ronott1]

I have lots of weeds to feed my girls, but sometimes they get thinned out too much. I've been giving them the mixed salad stuff you buy in the grocery store and they really love the radicchio that comes in some of the mixes. So I buy an extra head of it to add to their greens. The BSLs in particular go nuts when I bring the stuff out for them in the morning. They chase each other around trying to grab the radiccchio from whoever gets the first bites. The whole bowl is emptied within a few minutes. When watermelon season is over (any time now) I'll try some cucumbers. I tried them when the girls were a lot younger and they didn't seem to like them. But maybe now they will. It's fun finding new stuff they like to eat. I swear they eat better than we do!

This is a good time to give them pumpkins!

 

[Cluck-a-biddy]

This is a good time to give them pumpkins!

Really? They like pumpkin? Hmmmm.. hafta try that. No shortage of those all over the place right now! This evening when I got home I went out and grabbed a handful of weed grasses, but everything is so wet from the rain we had yesterday and last night. So I also went ahead and peeled a half a cuke and chopped up the center part in bite sized chunks. The girls went crazy over it! Morticia, one of the BSLs, ran with a chunk of the cuke and four or five of the others chased her all over the place trying to get it from her. They're such goofballs.

 

[pjnbill22]

I am in Fresno County in the Foothills near Dunlap (past Squaw Valley) at about 2000' on the way to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. My chickens are not very happy, nothing green growing except my garden and I have that fenced off. I give them the weeds and the trimmings. but even those are sparse. Bone dry up here and everywhere I look I see dead conifers and oak trees. But, tonight it getting cooler; going down to 41°.

My late father-in-law lived in Squaw Valley (Silver Lane?). I went up there a few times but it was so hot, and the terrain was rough where he lived. We passed through on the way to Kings Canyon July 2015, and it was hot and dry. Hubby says it was nice in the spring, but I haven't been up that way at that time of year. I imagine the hills covered by green grass and wildflowers are beautiful. I think he mentioned a dusting of snow now and then. Does it snow where you are?