Watermelon and chickens

[Cocky]

My mother told me that letting chickens eat watermelons would cause them to get black spots on their comb.

At first I didnt believe her because I knew chickens loved watermelon when I gave it to them. In the summers most of the time my papy groes wm's and this past summer we threw a lot of them to the chickens. As the chickens ate them sure enough my chickens began to get black spots on their comb. when we took the wm's away....the black spots went away.

I'm not sure but personally I believe it has something to do with the rind.

What is the deal?
Is this dangerous?
I hear a lot of you say you feed your chickens wm....do you have the same problem?

 

[silkiechicken]

Could the black spots have been sticky water mellon juice covered in other junk adhered to the combs?

 

[Cocky]

Thanks for the suggestion, but it was definitely in the combs, not just something sticking to them....it was like the pigment changed.

almost the same as how the combs will get paler and duller when a chicken is sick instead of red and waxy.

edited for better wording

 

[silkiechicken]

Mine eat watermelon all the way to the rind in the summer and not noticed anything odd.

 

[Cocky]

maybe it has to do with quantitiy.

I only have 10 chickens, and we would put the leftovers of one WM right after another in there.

they would have 1-2 watermelon halves in there at a time for a period of a couple of weeks.

I thought it was just a nice treat until I saw my mom was right.

 

[hooligan]

Mine get watermelon every summer and get my "leftover" rind after I'm done with what I want to eat and they have never had a problem.
I am sure others on here have feed watermelon as well

 

[EweSheep]

Never had a problem with my girls eating watermelons or any melons.

 

[roosters97]

no problem here, and i fed em HOLE WM

 

[gamebirdsonly]

no problem here either.

 

[nccountrygirl]

Shoot mine LOVE watermelon, if you don't move your arm fast enough when you put it down you'll draw back a nub.