Can I feed my chickens kale?

ChickenCrazy4ever

Songster
8 Years
Jan 26, 2011
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My house :D
I've looked on several different sites and most of them said kale was good to feed chickens. Then i was looking at a site that said it either was or could be toxic. Which of the websites is correct?
 
Both, and i forget why, but kale in large ammounts is NOT good. But kale in small ammounts IS good. Or is that spinach? Maybe both. Just don't give them kale all the time aor in large ammounts.
 
I have no idea. I'd feed a couple leafs per bird maybe once or twice a week.
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I feed it all the time. Any of the dark, leafy greens are excellent for chickens. I tie a piece of twine on it & hang it from the roof of the run just above their heads so they have to work at getting it! It engages them for hours on end!
 
Kale is excellent for chickens. It is very high in Vit A which is often lacking in the winter. Having said that, Vit A toxicity can occur at doses as low as 4X the DRA (Daily recommended allowance). So moderation is key.

I feed kale and collard greens, both high in Vit A, every day, about 1/2 leaf/hen.

Spinach has the ability to either block the uptake, or in some way interfere with Calcium absorbtion, so be sure if you feed it that you have sufficient oyster shell to compensate.

I hope this helps.
 
Green vegetables don't actually contain any vitamin A. What they contain are precursors such as beta carotenes that can be converted into vitamin A within the body. It's not like eating too much shark liver where you are getting concentrated vitamin A.

Upon a time commercial birds were raised in fields of green kale or other winter forage or were fed large amounts of it that was cut from some place else. The birds will eat their fill then leave the rest.

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That wasn't kale but oats, wheat, and turnips but they were some happy birds that winter.
 

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