I know regular potatoes are bad...but what about raw sweet taters??

[geareduplyn]

Sweet potatoes are available as seconds in truck loads in the Central Valley of CA. I used to buy them and shred them for my Dairy Goats. My chickens ate almost as many as the goats.

 

[laughing husky]

Potato leaves can be poisonous, but not the tubers as long as they are not green colored. That said, my chicks are always in the garden where I grow potatos.....Nothing has happened since, but perhaps they have never eaten them or they instinctively know not to eat them.

 

[SuburbanChickFarmer]

I read (I think on another post here) that sweet potatoes are good for chickens because they will help the chickens make nice orange yolks and that they are also a good source of omega 3. I have been feeding my chicks raw shredded sweet potatoes since they were youngsters and they haven't suffered any negative consequences and seem to like them as well!

 

[greyhorsewoman]

I'm beginning to believe this is a sort of 'rural legend' ~~ as so many respond every time it comes up. It was 'determined' (I'm assuming) by some authority,somewhere, that based on their family, potatoes could be toxic to chickens.

However, I am with the rest of you. One of my earliest memories is of throwing potato peels to our chickens. Never knowing any better until I found this forum this past year, I've fed my chickens potato peels (raw, red/white, you name it) without a second thought, over the last 30 years.

I've never had a chicken get sick or die. Most enjoy them, some not so much. So, is there any ACTUAL, personal experience with potato peels having adverse effects?

 

[Opa]

Not me and I've never met anyone who has lost a bird to peeling.

 

[showy21]

I work at a restaurant and take home boxes of veggie scraps for my chickens--they see me coming and run to the edge of their yard. They are beautiful birds and their eggs are fantastic. When did someone decide that chickens are picky or that certain vegetables are bad? My girls eat shrimp shells, pasta, you name it. A varied diet is beneficial for all animals!

 

[cjeanean]

Quote:

 

[Opa]

Welcome, both you and your well fed birds.

 

[ILoveJoe]

Sweet potatoes should be fine. They are NOT in the nightshade family.

The scientific name for any plants in the nightshade family usually begins with Solanaceae or some form of that. THAT said, the leaves are not toxic as are the laves of the tomato and potato, peppers and eggplants.