Is It Poisonous.......

[BDutch]

from reading:
its true that there is a hazard in having poisonous greens in the run if the chickens get very hungry. If they are free ranging and you give enough chicken feed they will not touch the poisonous greens.

And if you have highly poisonous greens in you’re lawn and give it shredded to you’re chickens as food, this can cause problems too.

Another thing I have noticed in lists with poisonous food is that they use the list for mammals and say its poisonous for birds. But some greens and berry’s from these lists are not poisonous for birds because they have another way of digesting food.

 

[Oolala]

..... If any of you have seen my previous posts you know I have just moved to an acerage & am just starting my very first adventure with chickens. On top of them, I wish to utilize as much of the land as I can with ... what else, plants!! From veggies to flowers. My 7 year old daughter & I want some specific flowers of course, some of which are Poppies.

While I know poppies are highly toxic to humans & some wildlife it is not made clear if chickens are included in this. While one source states they are mildly toxic but your chickens will not eat them, (LINK) I know that Chickens are much like little kids, “if I see I eat it” lol - personal experience is what I am looking for.

The link also shows Ivy, Jasmin, Lily of the Valley, & Sweet Peas as toxic as well. Ivy is my favorite plant, Lily of the Valley (is this not also called baby’s breath?) would be nice by my pond, & sweet peas have the most pretty little flowers that grow so easily.

I plan on allowing the chickens to roam in & out my garden & green house. (Probably supervised lol) I plan to plant grapes around their coop for shelter & shade - a vine plant was suggested for this & thought they like grapes & so do I so why not? (As ivy seems it would not be wise) I have also seen & heard tomatoes are good for them, but now read the leaves are toxic to them, but know people who plant tomatoes for their chickens to ‘have at’.

Is it true then that even though they’ll eat everything they know not to eat these things?

I have sweet peas in my garden, they re seed and grow everywhere but the chickens are not interested in them, they love tomatoes, especially the cherry ones that fall to the ground but dont bother with the leaves, they also love our yellow sweet cherries during summer and make a beeline for the tree when let out in the morning. They do seem to know what they like and what they dont

 

[BDutch]

I have sweet peas in my garden, they re seed and grow everywhere but the chickens are not interested in them, they love tomatoes, especially the cherry ones that fall to the ground but dont bother with the leaves, they also love our yellow sweet cherries during summer and make a beeline for the tree when let out in the morning. They do seem to know what they like and what they dont

Same here They also run like crazy to the grape when I let the chickens out to free range in autumn.

 

[Arenas Chickens]

[/QUOTE]

Another thing I have noticed in lists with poisonous food is that they use the list for mammals and say its poisonous for birds. But some greens and berry’s from these lists are not poisonous for birds because they have another way of digesting food.

That’s true. I hadn’t actually thought of that fully. Birds eat many berries & such other animals cannot.

 

[Arenas Chickens]

All such helpful information! While it’s true they are none-discriminatory against chicken popcorn, aka styrofoam , they seem relatively aware of what isn’t all that yummie to eat, & even though it seems a texture thing, I still say there’s an additive in their styrofoam that blocks their awareness lol perhaps linked to our own weird cravings that actually mean our bodies need something else.

Thanks everyone!

 

[NightingaleJen]

Obviously I cannot speak to this personally, but as a passionate gardener I can tell you that baby's breath & lily of the valley are completely different flowers. LOTV is also pretty invasive, for whatever that's worth; though I love it, I've always planted it in a deep brick "ring" so it doesn't take over the garden!

Baby's breath is the frothy white stuff florists used to put in with roses.

 

[rosemarythyme]

LOTV is also pretty invasive, for whatever that's worth; though I love it, I've always planted it in a deep brick "ring" so it doesn't take over the garden!

Yeah unfortunately for me there was a bunch of it planted here when we moved in, so best I can do each season is pull out a bunch back towards the bed it originated from. A large Shasta daisy planted against one section has also pushed a lot of it back.

The rest is planted in a brick ring with ivy so I leave that alone for the most part, a yearly trim back keeps it from sprawling out.