Elderberries safe for chickens?

[Shamo Hybrid]

A little bit of cyanide every now and then is good for the soul........ perhaps it's one of those things where a small amount is actually beneficial to you but on the flip side if consumed in large quantities, you could die a slow, painful, remorseful death reflecting back on all the bad decisions in life you've made including gorging on elderberries.

 

[FiddleChics]

My chickens previous owner is one of my best friends.

He has a nice elderberry patch around his former coop area, and last fall, cut several back, leaving the umbels on the ground for the chickens, who quickly stripped the branches of all berries.

They ate a lot of berries, mostly ripe, but many green ones as well, with no ill effects.

Awesome! Thank you it's good to know! Yay! I know there's several varieties of elderberry - and the American varieties have even more health benefits, & immune boosting benefits than the european varieties. I'm putting in an american variety called "Ranch". I was just double checking my decision - as I'd hate to accidentally hurt my hens - by doing something that could harm them in any way. Now, I can't WAIT to get planting! Thanks!

 

[quackersandfern]

Unless its listed here, they aren't going to drop dead from it - http://www.chickendvm.com/toxic.php

 

[FiddleChics]

Unless its listed here, they aren't going to drop dead from it - http://www.chickendvm.com/toxic.php

Wow, that's a great site, thank you for sharing it. I'll definitely keep this for reference!

 

[One Lucky Momma]

I made elderberry tonic today. I offered the pulp to the chicks and honestly, from the looks of things, they licked the platter clean.

And last time I checked, they were all looking fine. Maybe a little purpling in their poops!

 

[SquawkFlock]

So glad I found this thread! Y'all save me from having to ask so many questions. I have been thinking about planting some things for my chickens that we could also benefit from and elderberries seem to be what I was looking for. I love making jellies! And maybe they will like these enough they will stay out of the garden. They grow wild here (side of the roads) so hopefully won't have any problems growing it

 

[Birdielee]

Unless its listed here, they aren't going to drop dead from it - http://www.chickendvm.com/toxic.php

Comfrey, lambsquarters, mallow, vetch... i don't see how they could be a problem for chickens. Onions? Poisonous? Really? I think the list is way exaggerated.
And i know it's a really old thread. Sorry if no one else has written on it in a long time. I wanted to know about elderberries. My hens are eating some green ones. Side note- my one year old rabbit eats lots of elderberry leaves, and iris leaves, too. I worry about him but he's been ok for at least 3 months so far.

 

[North Country]

In the video a couple of pages back the man plants elderberries around his chicken coop.
He said on old homesteads there would be elderberries growing around chicken coops.
His chickens eat them and he says they're good medicine to keep chickens safe from diseases like staph and chicken flu, & coccidiosis. After I watched that video, I take a little Jell-O cup of Elderberries out to my chicks every week or so. They love them. I have a grove of black elderberries so try to keep a spare bag in the freezer just for them.
Hard to find much information on this subject.