Feeding fresh walnuts, ...and the maggots inside the hulls...

[Bocktobery 10]

We’re fortunate (or unfortunate) to have row after row of black walnut trees. This time of year there’s a danger to my freeranging flock- of both getting hit on the head by falling walnuts and mostly of getting hit by a car because the nuts fell on the road and the passing cars cracked them open and my flock found them. So what I decided to do was collect a lot and crack them open up in a safe spot where there is no traffic. I figured this could keep them out of harms way and busy for hours finding nut bits to eat.

My questions are this; knowing that black walnut husks have a natural toxin in them, do I have to have concerns with this idea of feeding my flock all these nuts? Can they get sick by all their picking at bits of nuts since the nuts are not entirely clean of husk? Also, a BONUS for the chickies since there are in some of the husks lots of maggot like bugs which I noticed they eat... Could these bugs propose a problem or is this more yummytreats for them? I think I also heard black walnut is an anti-internal parasite treatment, or that it would kill internal worms. Is this so? Does anyone know anything about that?

Lots of questions but I’d love to hear from y’all about this. For those of you with black walnut trees, do you feed your flock your black walnuts? Thx for any and all replies in advance.

 

[centrarchid]

Mine do not eat the husk, but they readily consume exposed meat. To my knowledge the larvae do not harbor toxins. I have not seen chickens ill even when they can eat all the crushed black walnuts they want.