Fuitt and Veggies as treats?

[Ellen Neudecker]

Does anyone know of any fruits or vegetables that Guineas and chicks shouldn't eat? Mine love to snack on grapes, apples, melon and squash. Grapes are the favorite treat by far!

 

[Mahonri]

I give mine lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, fresh corn, peas, beans, potatoes (some will say you shouldn't, I've never had a problem)

I think when you feed them organic, the eggs have to be better for you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This Treats Chart is specifically for chickens but would probably work for other birds.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

Toward the bottom is a list of things that are bad for them. It is not a case that they take one bite and immediately fall over dead. Sometimes it takes a lot to do damage and often it is slower, long-term damage that you don't see. Take apple seeds for example. Apple seeds contain cyanide, which is a poison to chickens and humans. One apple seed does not contain enough to do any real damage. Feeding them an apple or two with the seeds still in is not going to harm them at all. However, if you make homemade apple cider or something like that where you have a huge amount of apple seeds, do not feed huge quantities of them to the chickens. Same with uncooked beans. If I still have a few beans on the plants when I pull them and put them on the compost heap where the chickens can get to them, I don't worry about it. But when I process dried beans, I do not pour large quantities of the rejects where the chickens can get to them.

You also have to read the chart. You'll see that the sunburned, green potato peelings are not good for chickens. They are not good for humans either. The GREEN sunburned potato peelings contain a poisonous substance. But the regular potato peelings, the ones that are NOT GREEN, are not a problem at all.

Some of the things listed as good treats for the chickens also contain a poison that can be harmful if fed in huge quantities. Members of the cabbage family, for example. Many of us feed cabbage to chickens and they love it. You'll see whole threads dedicated to hanging a head of cabbage in with the chickens for their entertainment. But if cabbage is a huge part of their diet, it can harm them. Several months ago, there was a news story of a woman that died from thyroid problems after eating about 5 pounds of Bok Choi each day for an extended period of time. I'm mentioning this to emphasize that you need to feed any of these things in moderation. Too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing. But as a snack, it is great for them.

 

[Ellen Neudecker]

The treat chart is wonderful! Thank you. Lots of great ideas to try with my girls!

 

[robin416]

Keep in mind if you have a vegetable garden and are feeding those kinds of treats to the Guineas, they will go in and help themselves. A friend of mine had an unfenced garden and for years his Guineas never did any damage. Then his wife began throwing out the veggies peels and fruit trimmings to them. Next thing my friend knew his flock of Guineas was in his garden destroying the vegetables growing there.

 

[Ellen Neudecker]

Thanks Robin! I am an avid gardener so that could be a problem.