Eating Frogs

[Russo's Roost]

Is it normal and OK for my hens to eat frogs? They caught 2 today and after a wicked game of keep away and shaking it like crazy in an attempt to break it in to samller pieces I rescued the injured frogs and set them free in my pond. Should I just let it happen?

 

[HennyJenny]

Let it happen - wait until you see them catch a mouse! Good food and good time for the girls! Apalling to any human watching

 

[CoyoteMagic]

or a poor garter snake.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Now I don't encourage my birds to eat snakes as I have never seen any but non-venomous species here and I cultivate them as much as I can. But I must say it's really funny to watch a hen trying to swallow a ten-inch rat snake.

As for the little green tree frogs we get around here there's no good way to protect them. A shake of the head and they are swallowed!

.....Alan.

 

[sgtmom52]

Mine eat toads too. I thought that they were supposed to taste bad ~ if the dogs catch them they foam at the mouth ~ but the chickens love them!

 

[chixrus]

my chickens get frogs all the time. I look the other way and pretend not to see it.

 

[chickensioux]

Oh, I hate it! But if you think about it, they eat them when you don't see them twice as much as when you catch them doing it. I try not to think about it. I feel sorry for the frogs but........

 

[Jen0301]

Post preview
We have 5 hens that just started laying and saw one this morning with a frog(headless) I freaked out! My husband and I stood there in shock We really weren't sure if sweet Shelly was a frog KILLER but I guess so. we love our frogs too, but they don't give us eggs.

 

[klmclain1]

I occasionally see mine with baby birds that have been blown out of the trees - breaks my heart, but I have to look the other way too as they're always already injured beyond repair...sad, but the way of nature. My husband, on the other hand, saves the lizards by catching and transferring them to our front yard!

 

[fishnet1971]

Just hope they dont get the Toads. They have a hallucenagenic in the two glands on the sides of their heads. I have seen dogs go nutso for a few hours after eating one. Indians used to rub and lick the glands when they were having pow wows ...