Gooseberry plants/bushes are TOXIC!

[Miss Lydia]

I've only just discovered this post. I was always told yhat free range birds won't eat what will hurt them. What mystifies me is, I have a 54 acre property with all types of nuts, fruit and berries among other things. I bought chicks this past March. When they were old enough, I let them free range. One of the first plants they found to strip of fresh new foliage was my gooseberries and currant bushes. Nothing happened. They are beautiful, healthy birds. Now I'm paranoid.

I had lots of Fox Glove love the plants but when I read they were toxic to my flock of geese, ducks and chickens I got rid of everyone. I believe I would have to get rid of the gooseberry if I had any growing here, I'd rather not take the chance.

Welcome to BYC

 

[MrsChickens]

Please note that gooseberry bushes are highly toxic to birds (and even humans) because they contain hydrogen cyanide. If a goose, or other bird, eats the green leaves he or she can die a horrible, painful death. It is difficult to locate information about the toxicity of gooseberries on the Internet and the plant is not listed as toxic to birds on any lists I've seen so far.

Please, spread the word.

European gooseberry

Ribes uva-crispa (European gooseberry)​

http://www.globalspecies.org/ntaxa/868670

With all respect I believe you are mistaken. The gooseberries grown throughout most of Europe, Scandinavia, Canada and the US are not poisonous to humans or pets. With respect to the cyanide, it is present in very small quantities in the minute seeds. In fact an apple seed has nearly 100X the cyanide a gooseberry seed has. I have raised gooseberries and currants along with many berries in my gardens over the years and have experience no negative effects on any wildlife, humans or pets. The genus you cite is a wild cultivar and not grown anywhere in the US, Canada, Scandinavia or Europe because it carries the ribes virus detrimental to white pine and have consequently been banned.

 

[bonsaiherb]

As a nurseryman and plant propagator, I must agree with MrsChickens. Rhubarb, Black Walnut trees, and many other plants than gooseberries have toxins in their leaves, but I have never had my free-range chickens go on an eating binge on any of these. If anything I would only say that if gooseberries are in the chicken yard the fruit is gonners - I have seen them leap quite high to strip all they can.
More worrisome than LEAVES would be the seed, be it from Digitalis, Laburnum or Wisteria. As with dogs chewing and swallowing some wisteria, leaf is much less likely to give your animal problems than consuming several seeds.

 

[christophergwisc]

I have 13 Buff-o chickens, and 36 gooseberry bushes (Hinnomaki Red & Captivator varieties from Jungs) which they have access to every day. I've seen them eating some of the foliage (but they don't seem to prefer it as they have access to acres of pasture), and I feed the berries to them (I squeeze out the middle part, they don't eat the skin). No problems so far.