Chickens dying from eating poisonous things

[peepinator]

Hey, I just wondered, has anyone ever fed their chickens anything and had them die from feeding it to them? Just wondered. I grew up with chickens and have never once had them die from something we fed them. I'm reading things on here about what's poisonous to feed them (tomato plants, potato skins, avocados, beans) but haven't read anything about someone actually feeding them one of these things and having the chickens die. Anyone lost chickens due to feeding these things?

 

[Judy]

You will also read stories on here about how people's chickens eat these things and do just fine.

I think the beans are a problem only if they eat uncooked dried peas and beans.

Mine turn their nose up at lots of stuff, even, occasionally, something I've provided. I figure they know what they are doing. There are poisonous berries around here that they coulld easily eat if they wanted to. I have no reason to think I've lost a chicken to a poison.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I've wondered the same thing...hmmmm.

 

[oesdog]

Peas????????????? - Never thought that was an issue??? Last year I had a garden full of Pea plants and my girls free ranged and litterally decimated the peas. They ate them all I mean stalks and everything and they never had an issue with it - only when they ran out of course! Since the thread about Beans I have not let the girls up the back Veg patch as there are beans there this year and Rhubarb whick is also supposed to be a problem. Some folk have given Tomatos - I have but the girls didn;t like them. My smaller chicks turn their noses up at Strawberries but the big girls love them??? Hens are odd. I do worry about mine Free ranging the yard and what they may eat. One little one of mine will eat anything Plastic, glass stones anything !!!!!!!!! I don;t know how she is still alive!!!!

Oesdog

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Good point. But avocado is poisonus to ALL birds and I know that for a fact. Last year when my avocada tree beared fruit I found a total of 3 dead birds (grackles, they eat anything) around my yard. I'm pretty sure they fed off the fruit that had fallen to the ground. It hasn't happened before though, because that was the first time the tree beared any fruit.

 

[WhetzelMomma]

and I fed avocado to my pullets before I knew they were "poisonous." They ate it ALLLL up, and nothing happened.

 

[WhetzelMomma]

Also: Instead of buying double batches of scratch (one for goats, and one for chickens) I've been feeding the chickens the goat feed which has corn, wheat and PEAS in it. Dried peas. No fatalities yet!

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Quote:
Really? Hm....lol. I hear the leaves are more poisonous but I know the fruit are too?

 

[WhetzelMomma]

Quote:
Really? Hm....lol. I hear the leaves are more poisonous but I know the fruit are too?

I haven't fed it to them since, but they didn't die the first time!! lol and I know they ate it! At the time, there were in a fully enclosed tractor, and I saw them starting to eat it, and the bowl was clean shortly after that. I have no idea if it's really poisonous to them or not now.

 

[silkiechicken]

Everything is poisonous if you feed/eat too much of it. Just things called "poisonous" require less amounts ingested than those that are not poisonous. You can eat rhubarb leaves in a salad for example, just don't eat too much.