Homesteaders

[ApiaryandAviary]

I remove the core and seeds from all apples for chickens because I read arsnic is in the seeds.

 

[KlopKlop]

I remove the core and seeds from all apples for chickens because I read arsnic is in the seeds.

I have fed bushels and bushels of whole apple and never had an issue.

Not everything you read has merit. I wouldn't feed straight cores and seeds I guess, but I think they are smart enough to self regulate

 

[boskelli1571]

I remove the core and seeds from all apples for chickens because I read arsnic is in the seeds.

As with humans - all things in moderation! I have read that chickens should never eat rhubarb leaves...my new pullets reduced my rhubarb plants to tatters over the summer. They are still alive & producing eggs!

 

[ApiaryandAviary]

I will give it a try. Maybe they will know what they should and should not do. Tomorrow I will not baby them.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I keep throwing trimmings into the chicken run to see what my picky birds will eat. Green cabbage is a NO! burnt trimmings from the kielbasa was acceptable. Flour tortillas are a definite yes, as are cucumbers - but not the peels, they eat the flesh only. They are still not sure of the romaine lettuce... They like white clover better than the red clover.

 

[KlopKlop]

I keep throwing trimmings into the chicken run to see what my picky birds will eat. Green cabbage is a NO! burnt trimmings from the kielbasa was acceptable. Flour tortillas are a definite yes, as are cucumbers - but not the peels, they eat the flesh only. They are still not sure of the romaine lettuce... They like white clover better than the red clover.

mine are the same with cukes and squash. they will peck a hole in it then eat the skin hollow. I have started slicing the over ripe squash from my garden in half the long way to make it easier for them. they go nuts for the stuff! i end up with a pile of husks to pick up at the end of the day.

 

[shortgrass]

Same here with the cukes and squash... I try to throw them down hard enough to shatter the outside, then they pretty much gut them, and I've got a bunch of "cuke boats" for the kids lol

Beet tops. Always beet tops, and radish tops, especially the seed pods; they go nuts over them! They get a ton of corn stalks but seem to be finicky about me having to actually dig the ears out and husk them for them. Spoiled

Mine got into my rhubarb too; didn't decimate it but munched pretty good and no ill effects... In my experience, the oxalates in the leaves would have to build up to some pretty high levels before SEEING illness, but by then, it would be causing serious damage to internal organs... Same with the nightshade family; the tomatoes and such. I let them do what they will and see how it affects them; to me, its really the only sure fire way to find out for myself, as risky as it sounds. I've had no losses from vegetative poisoning, and I do have quite the number of known toxic plants for them to freely choose from. They eat some of them, but they seem to already know what, when, and how much is too much etc.

I pretty much give them everything I would eat, and the plant it grew off of

 

[Loc20chick]

I give mine everything too, the whole apples they eat & leave what they don't want, watermelon they eat and leave a very thin peel, same with any fruits like cantaloupe, I also give them the tomatoes that the bugs got into before I could., I leave the remnants in the run to mix with the rest of the deep litter.

My chucks love lettuce..

 

[robdallas8b]

@whyDreamer!!

OMG!! your dog avatar!! I had to create an account just to ask you!

what kind of dog is this?

my hank is a spitting image of yours, but he was a rescue... dumped on a rural road.

we have no idea what he is!!

sorry, not trying to hijack thread!!

 

[wyoDreamer]

Yes, your Hank looks very much like my Pistol Pete. He definitely looks like an English Setter. They are such loving dogs, but very high energy.
Here is a better picture of Pete


That is a saucer for a plastic pot. We were visiting and he didn't have his pool to cool off in. (He has a sheep tank in his yard that he likes to lay in) I thought he could at least soak his feet to cool down. He decided to lay in the saucer.