Topic of the Week - Toxic treats and foraging

[katiedarling]

I hear that Honeysuckle is not a good idea. Problem is- it's rampant all over our property. I do the best I can not to let them get at it, but I know a few of them seem to seek it out. When I first got chickens a couple years ago, I was unaware it was bad for them. The yard that they are kept in is surrounded by it. It was even growing on the fence and they had been eating it for quite a while before I found out it was toxic. There have been no fatalities but I will say that it sure does give them runny poo.

 

[peterlund]

Who told you your chickens died because of bacteria in their water?

 

[xcalibor67]

.however i have had many perish due to being crop-bound due to my early habits of feeding them long cut pieces of grass.. not toxic, but mostly fatal.

Glad i saw this...Me, and the kids enjoy plucking and feeding the chicks blades of grass. What would you suggest as far as length, or should we even hand feed them grass?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Blue star creeper.
I lost a hen that had found my small fairy garden with this in it. She dug it up and ate a small amount.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1892/#b

The death was tragic for us as she was my only super people friendly hen.

 

[peterlund]

Glad i saw this...Me, and the kids enjoy plucking and feeding the chicks blades of grass. What would you suggest as far as length, or should we even hand feed them grass?

Short cut grass is fine, 2" 3" or so... better to did up a clump of tall grass intact with soil. This weights down the treat, yet it lets the birds "clip off" a desired bite sized piece..... at the end of the day the grass and clump of dirt will be long gone.....

 

[centrarchid]

Short cut grass is fine, 2" 3" or so... better to did up a clump of tall grass intact with soil. This weights down the treat, yet it lets the birds "clip off" a desired bite sized piece..... at the end of the day the grass and clump of dirt will be long gone.....

Allows for consumption of fresh soil as well.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Tell me more, just so I know and can tell my brother. Thanks. What @Ridgerunner said sounds about right, though I would not know. Once I had a chicken die because of bacteria in the water we weren't cleaning. Now we have been putting baking soda or vinegar in the water.

Sorry for your loss. Did you have a necropsy done identifying the "deadly" bacteria? I am curious because in 6 years, I only clean my water dishes when they start to grow something and even then I scrub with a brush and rinse. That's it.

I don't understand how putting baking soda in your water benefits your birds, and would even be concerned about it being harmful. (because it is often used in electrolyte mixes, and you can OD on electrolytes.) Would you mind sharing your thought process or info please?

Are you using the vinegar as a cleaning agent? Is it raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar with "mother", or just plain white?

Also, baking soda and vinegar react with each other if used at the same time.

 

[lcertuche]

I will be watching this thread.

 

[BabyGirl2]

Top of my list is insulation, Baby Girl and her brothers got into as young chickens. Second on the list is cat food, they've even ran the cat off just to get her food.

 

[jeria]

Honeysuckle? really? The flowers are edible for people. I have it wild climbing my fence in the back from the park. It is surrounded by poison oak on the park side so no way to get rid of it. Mine will only be free ranging with supervision due to predators once they are larger.