Is styrofoam toxic for chickens?

[gryeyes]

I tend to be a messy housekeeper and there are occasionally a few styrofoam pellets of various sizes and colors on the floor before I manage to pick every last one of 'em up. Every single time a chicken gets into the house, it finds one of 'em and will either scarf it down right away before moving on to look for another or quickly run back outside with the prize as I try to snatch it away.

I used to stack the styrofoam clumps in packaging in their boxes next to the garbage and recycle cans until I felt like breaking down the boxes for recycling and putting the styrofoam into the trash. Well, I don't do THAT any more! The land-lady's 3 sheep nosh on the cardboard, exposing the styrofoam for the chickens, who go to town on it.

Apparently it goes right through them. Not wanting to run the risk of it clogging something up inside the chickens, I am trying much harder to keep it away from them.

 

[GarlicEater]

They love the stuff! I don't know why, something about the texture. Geese love it too. It sounds really funny when geese eat it.

 

[wolftracks]

My grand daughter covered a huge area of my yard with tiny piece of styrofoam once. The chickens went nuts, I was chasing and trying to catch them and running back to shoo them. I finally looking at all of it and there was no way I'd have gotten it up.

I waited for two days to see if I'd be burying birds. Did I mention there was a ton of the stuff??

No one got sick, no one died, but I just knew I was going to be picking them up and disposing of them.

 

[kannna]

Somehow packing peanuts made it into our composted pile. ( I think they were in the bottom of an old plant pot) the girls find pockets of them all the time. I go over and pick up what they find, but there always seems to be more. Generally it goes right through them. I have had one incident of what I think was packing peanut onset constipation. ( she loves them the most) the patient was isolated and given oatmeal w/ olive oil and her other favorite raisins. Afteran overnight in the infirmary and some "movement" she was fine.

 

[curliet]

DH raises quail, and this winter he surrounded their pens with sheets of styrofoam. He deliberately kept it several inches away, knowing how the chickens always go for it and taking it for granted that the quail would too. Sure enough, those little birds stretched their knecks as far as they could to get to the sheets, and made good sized holes in it. Funny thing was finding the white foamy looking poo in the trays under the pens.

 

[NHchicks]

Well, glad to know styrofoam does not appear to be toxic.

Which now brings on another lightbulb...

All that darn styrofoam I'm always getting in packing boxes...

Maybe I finally found a way to dispose of it.

 

[Ninathefish5]

My chickens have eatin foam cups,foam cooler,foam insulation, foam packaging and its taking years to get it all away from them and they still find it somehow . as far as I know there as been no casualties due to Styrofoam consumption. One of my chicks ginger who is now decesed because she was almost 7 years old ,loved the stuff and never got sick ,I still wouldn't let them eat it tho.speaking of which I hear them eating some right now ,bye

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

thank mercy for the lot of you.

I thought I was a terrible mother-hen that my babies keep FINDING it somehow. Now I know they are just smarter than we are and the stuff is their drug.

The ducks can remove siding to get at insulation. I keep telling my spouse to stop leaving the drill and hammers lying around, I think they can use tools.

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

It seems to be ok. One of my children left a large styrofoam bow target out last fall. They ate sooooooo very much of it. They all seemed fine and never missed a beat. They had to have eaten several crops full each.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

It seems to be ok. One of my children left a large styrofoam bow target out last fall. They ate sooooooo very much of it. They all seemed fine and never missed a beat. They had to have eaten several crops full each.

I think one of us needs to taste it to find out WHY they love it so much, and someone needs to start making chicken feed in the shape of styrofoam.