Feeding hens watermelon

[Boley57]

HI - I have kept hens for nearly 10 years - almost 8 weeks ago my little boys gave the hens a watermelon half - within 4 hours 3 hens were dead! We didnt give them anything fruit based since. This am my husband mistakenly gave the hens a half a melon, including the skin - within 2 hours I have found a dead beautiful French Copper Black hen - I have noticed that you list watermelon as a suitable treat for the hens - WHY IS THIS KILLING MY HENS and should we all stop feeding them watermelon - panicing!

 

[liontamer]

Blimey, I have 9 bantams and have been keeping them for 14 months now. I too feed them the occasional slice of melon. I lost my rusty about 5 weeks ago and now wonder if this was why as she showed no sign of illness and was dead in the coop in the morning. Rusty was a year old wellsummer hen

 

[aoxa]

I doubt it had anything to do with the watermelon. Mine just ate half a watermelon last night.. Nothing like this happened...

There has to be another explanation..

I'm very sorry for your loss.. Losing that many at once is incomprehensible to me.

 

[ladybug99]

I am so sorry for your loss. I feed mine watermelon on the hottest days of the summer usually freeze it for them... they love it....I have never had any of mine die......did they get into something toxic??? Maybe you have a moldy batch of chicken feed? Was the watermelon moldy... as mold can be leathal

 

[off-grid hen]

That's really strange. I give my hens watermelon all the time. In fact, they had a half a melon this morning. I have never seen them react strangely to it.

 

[Habibs Hens]

hmm very strange that, i have never had watermelon issues before with my animals


me,.. now thats another story but defo nothing with my animals

 

[7L Farm]

Sounds like someone poisioned them. I would take one to a vet & do an autopsy on them. Watermelon won't kill your chickens.

 

[Beekissed]

No...been giving watermelon for years upon years without a single ill effect on the chickens. Even when they eat the rind down to nothing.

 

[galanie]

Even when the watermelon is left there and started to go really RIPE, and mine ate it anyway, no problems. No dead birds. In fact there's half a watermelon out there right now that they ate part of yesterday and picked on some more this morning. All doing well.

 

[gr0m1t]

Funnily enough one of my chooks is poorly and I gave them some watermelon to eat just before she showed signs of being really ill.