Did anyone have a chicken die from eating potato leaves?

[CNJ]

Ive had two ducks die from eating tomatoe plants i wouldnt risk it

Are you sure or just guessing?

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Are you sure or just guessing?

I'm positive also nearly lost a goose to it to but did charcoal flushes mulitple times a day

 

[Folly's place]

Given lots of choices when free ranging, chickens are pretty good at avoiding bitter tasting/ toxic plants. Mine ate the tomatoes and avoided the rest of the plants, and didn't eat other toxic plants out there.
Very few plants are so bad that a tiny taste will be fatal, fortunately. Not that I'm trying it out!
If the chickens have few choices, they might eat anything. Like that (nutty) individual in that Alaskan story.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Dosage is very important. One bite won't kill them or make them sick.

The OP was talking about the leaves but the topic of eating the white potatoes is related. White potato is fine for chickens or us to eat. The problem with the potato itself is when it is exposed to the sun. The toxin we are talking about, solanine, gets concentrated when the potato is exposed to the sun. The potato will also turn green when it is exposed to the sun but that's a different process. Green is an indication the high levels of solanine but it's not actually the solanine. Still, do not eat green potatoes or feed them to your chickens.

The toxin in the leaves of tomatoes and potatoes is also solanine. Same toxin. It is supposedly concentrated in the sprouts too.

You would have to eat a lot of the solanine for it to kill you or the chickens would have to eat a lot to kill them. It's possible, but the biggest problem is that it would make you or them sick. Some people and probably some chickens are more sensitive to solanine than others. Think of it as an allergy.

Solanine tastes bad, really bitter. Chickens don't like it. You won't either. They might eat a bite or two of the leaves but should then walk away, not eating enough to harm themselves. If they have other options this is what should happen. "This tastes horrible, I'm moving on." If they don't have other options they may stay there and eat it. Usually we grow tomatoes and potatoes in the garden, they have other options. Many of us have bare chicken runs. If you toss potato or tomato plants in there they may just eat the green stuff. So don't toss those plants in the run.

Chickens should know by instinct to not eat stuff that tastes that bad. Not all chickens have good instincts. A good broody hen instinctively knows better what to do to hatch eggs and raise chicks than we will ever know. The vast majority get it right just from instincts if we allow them to follow their instincts. But every now and then we get a hen that doesn't have the right instincts. I had one that killed some of her chicks as they hatched. Her instincts were just not right. I never allowed her to hatch again. But I allow other hens to hatch because the vast majority get it right.

I think this explains why a chicken might commit suicide by continuing to eat potato or tomato leaves even if they have other choices. There is just something basically wrong with that chicken and her or his instincts. I've never had one of those as far as solanine that I knew of but I think a few people have from the stories I read on here. I'm not going to be afraid of letting my chickens be chickens because there is a possibility there is something wrong with them. But I also do not toss potato or tomato plants (stems or leaves) in the run. I'll feed them white potatoes but not leave them out in the sun long enough to turn green. If they have sprouts on them I'll rub those sprouts off with my hands where the chickens cannot find those sprouts. Just take basic precautions.

 

[CNJ]

Given lots of choices when free ranging, chickens are pretty good at avoiding bitter tasting/ toxic plants. Mine ate the tomatoes and avoided the rest of the plants, and didn't eat other toxic plants out there.
Very few plants are so bad that a tiny taste will be fatal, fortunately. Not that I'm trying it out!
If the chickens have few choices, they might eat anything. Like that (nutty) individual in that Alaskan story.
Mary

I didn't know tomato plants were toxic, so I gave them a bunch of my indeterminate tomato's bottom leaves and I saw them eating the leaves, so I thought they loved it. But the next day, I noticed that they did not finish the pile of leaves. I think it was out of curiosity and then it turned into an instinctive life lesson.
I don't see them bothering my tomato plants anymore...........and they seem distrustful when I throw lettuce and other leafy greens over my garden fence. They don't attack and fight for it, like they use too.

 

[CNJ]

Are you saying the chickens did not eat it, or ate it but did not die?

My chickens ate the leaves from both tomato and potato plants. However, judging from the damage, they ate more potato leaves.
None of them died or look sick, they look like they are having fun.

 

[NatJ]

My chickens ate the leaves from both tomato and potato plants. However, judging from the damage, they ate more potato leaves.
None of them died or look sick, they still look like they having fun.

Good for them, deciding to stop at a safe point!

Companies making chicken food need to pay more attention to what might be toxic, because if they grind it up and mix it into the food, the chickens do not have the option to avoid it. But having potato plants where the chickens can get to them (as you did) can often be fine.

Plenty of common foods are poisonous if eaten in large amounts. For example: I've read that eating 10 pounds of spinach can cause death in a person because of the oxalic acid. But we generally treat spinach as safe (probably because no normal person eats that much spinach at once.) My understanding is that potato plants are more toxic than spinach, but not so toxic that a few bites would be deadly.