Pokeberries, ugh! Not an emergency...

[DaniCHE]

This is not an emergency but I wasn't sure where to post a health type of question.

It seems that a few of my girls started eating pokeberries. All 5 of my hens look and act totally fine but there was a bright red-ish purple liquid in the coop directly below the roost and one of my Barred Rocks hens had some on the tips of her tail feathers. I thought it was blood at first, but after a closer inspection i think it might have been from her pooping out the berry juice. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I be concerned? I have rid the area of the poke plants that I could find. Thank you in advance!

 

[sylviethecochin]

The seeds are poisonous, as are leaf and root and stem, but the berries themselves aren't very toxic. I've seen wild birds eating them. As chickens don't chew, I doubt they'll open up the seeds and poison themselves. I wouldn't worry too much since you've removed them, and haven't noticed any other symptoms.

Elderberries are supposed to be mildly poisonous when raw, and my chickens love them. My rooster'll jump up to catch a low hanging-bunch and shake down some berries for the rest of them. It's cute to watch, and I've never noticed any of them acting sick.

Just keep an eye out. I suspect that if it was going to do anything, you would have already seen symptoms, since they've apparently been eating them for a while.

 

[DaniCHE]

The seeds are poisonous, as are leaf and root and stem, but the berries themselves aren't very toxic. I've seen wild birds eating them. As chickens don't chew, I doubt they'll open up the seeds and poison themselves. I wouldn't worry too much since you've removed them, and haven't noticed any other symptoms.

Elderberries are supposed to be mildly poisonous when raw, and my chickens love them. My rooster'll jump up to catch a low hanging-bunch and shake down some berries for the rest of them. It's cute to watch, and I've never noticed any of them acting sick.

Just keep an eye out. I suspect that if it was going to do anything, you would have already seen symptoms, since they've apparently been eating them for a while.

Th

The seeds are poisonous, as are leaf and root and stem, but the berries themselves aren't very toxic. I've seen wild birds eating them. As chickens don't chew, I doubt they'll open up the seeds and poison themselves. I wouldn't worry too much since you've removed them, and haven't noticed any other symptoms.

Elderberries are supposed to be mildly poisonous when raw, and my chickens love them. My rooster'll jump up to catch a low hanging-bunch and shake down some berries for the rest of them. It's cute to watch, and I've never noticed any of them acting sick.

Just keep an eye out. I suspect that if it was going to do anything, you would have already seen symptoms, since they've apparently been eating them for a while.

Thank you so much!