Sugary foods??

[NYREDS]

I work in a Mental Health program that serves lunch to clients. Often at the end of the week there will be a couple of leftover cakes or pies. Rather than having them go in the garbage I bring them home & give them to the chickens. They like them & it's doing them no harm I've been able to notice. This includes chocolate cakes. Chocolate in large quantities is bad [maybe fatal] for dogs but as far as I know it's ok for other animals.
My wife says it's very good for women.

 

[Wifezilla]

Sweets like that wouldn't cause immediate issues, but over time, feeding these things on a regular basis can be a problem. If you plan on keeping your chickens for years, limit these foods but once in a while is no biggie. If you are going to only keep your chickens for a couple of year then cull or eat them, they wont be alive long enough for you to notice the damage.

 

[Laney]

The chocolate thing is also overstated for dogs. It depends on how much and what kind of chocolate they eat.

Theobromine is the ingredient in chocolate that is the problem. Actually it is the ingredient in Cocoa that is the problem. Pure cocoa is lethal to a dog...cocoa powder or cocoa bits etc. Cooking chocolate also contains a lot of this. Next in line would be dark chocolate with milk chocolate containing a dilute amount.

So a large dog who chomps on a hershey's milk chocolate bar is probably going to be OK. Call your vet and do as told (probably induce vomiting then bland diet etc.) The smaller dog might need a trip in to see the doc and check it's heart rate as the problem with theobromine is that it is a cardiac stimulant.

Breeds that have congenital heart conditions will of course be the exception to this and any amount of chocolate will be deadly.

So the moral here is to keep the cocoa and bakers chocolate in a vault where the dog can never get into them and keep your munching to the milk chocolate. Milk chocolate should be eaten quickly so the dog can't get it either, but if he does a quick call to the vet to get the proper dosage to induce vomiting should be Ok...but always always check with your vet when your dog ingests a potentially toxic substance such as chocolate.

Laney

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
Could you expand on this to say exactly what the problems & damage would be? Also information sources would be helpful.

 

[Wifezilla]

Sugar (and foods that rapidly convert to sugar like wheat, soy, rice, potato, etc..) are known immune system suppressants. Chickens feed high sugar diets require more vaccinations. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/85513333/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

This is just one example. I will have to dig for others.

 

[rainbowgardens]

I'm not going to bother hunting down the sources for this because it's well documented, but here are some of the problems with sugar, even in small quantities in humans.

Immune system suppressed immediately and for several days, leaving the door open to virus or bacterial invasion.
Mineral balance of blood is upset, requiring minerals to be pulled from bones and teeth to bring back into balance.
Hormone production disrupted, which can affect fertility, mental stability, sleep patterns
Ph of body is altered, bringing about conditions that favor the rapid growth of harmful virus', bacteria, and yeasts. This also creates a vulnerability to parasitic problems.
Spikes in blood sugar levels which upset body processes.
Sugary treats displace foods that would have contained needed nutrients.

GIGO...Garbage in, Garbage out.

I'm responsible for my chickens. They have little say in what I feed them. They don't know that what they eat will affect their well-being. While it would be fun to see their reaction and pleasure from these kinds of treats, I know I would be harming them. I refuse to do that to my girls... and to my own body.

 

[Wifezilla]

Thanks Rainbow. Most of my research on sugars is because of the problems I have had with high blood pressure and obesity. A LOT of what I learned translates over to many animal species. I have done research on cats, dogs, and even gorillas and high sugar diets. Their are similar issues that pop up poultry, mainly in the form of liver disease. In humans other tissues also share some of the load when it comes to blood glucose and insulin processing, but in chickens I believe it all hits the liver.

In ducks it also effects bone growth. While excess protein often gets the blame for Angel Wing, it is becoming more and more apparent it is the excess carbohydrates that cause this condition in waterfowl. As for the effect on the liver in ducks and geese, ever hear of foie gras? It is an extreme example, but this same damage happens on a smaller scale over time with high sugar feed.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Quote:
Yes I agree about the sugars do supress the imune system. One of the causes diabetes is high sugar and high fat diets that cause obesity and therefore ill health.

In other words give your chickens what they would eat in a more natural state, they don't need us humans cooking them up a batch of brownies for a snack they're perfectly fine with a cabbage leaf or a juicy ol' bug.

catdaddy

 

[rainbowgardens]

If information is wanted about the damage done by sugar, I recommend two books I have studied...Sugar Shock and Sugar Blues.
Both contain information collected from studies on humans and test animals, along with information about how the health of different cultures around the world was affected as sugar was introduced into the people's diet.
I also recommend checking out the Dr. Weston A. Price Foundation's website along with the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation. Both contain articles and offer further material for study on the matter.

Once you learn how sugar destroys your health and recognize the damage it has already done in your body and the ones you love, you'll never be tempted to give it to your helpless critters. It will also give you the boost you need to give it up yourself.

 

[NYREDS]

I don't keep any sort of record of how much or how often I toss the birds a cake or a pie, just whenever there's something left over at work that's headed for the garbage. I don't think it's going to cause them to "require more vaccinations" because I have never given a chicken a vaccination & have no plans to. I read on here regularly about people having health problems with their birds & it always seems to be people who are obsessive about care & feeding. In addition to the odd cake I feed a good quality game bird grower. some scratch a couple of times a week & I change water daily. That's as obsessive as I get.
I haven't brought in any new birds in quite some time but when I have I haven't quarantined them. When I return from a show the birds don't get medicated & don't get quarantined. The only "medications" I ever use are a coccidiostat & Ivermectin drops for parasites & I don't remember the last time I had a sick bird & the last chicken I had die was a 7 year old RI Red Bantam hen. Something about my system seems to be working for me.
As far as I'm concerned people can feed themselves & their chickens whatever they want but IMO there are people who are much too concerned about both.
I saw a bumper sticker awhile back that summed it up for me-"Eat Right, Exercise, Get Plenty of rest, Die anyway".