What about Pears?

[weloveourchicks]

We have a ton of pears that are starting to get soft on us. I was thinking of giving a few to the chickens, does anyone know if it's safe to give them pears?

- - Susan

 

[SSO202]

I'm sure it would be fine. I give mine whole apples and they devour them. I ran a piece of bailing wire through the center and suspended it. Once they got the hang of it the apple was gone! Good Luck!

 

[hensonly]

Now, dang it, I've read elsewhere on this forum that certain fruits, apples and pears among them, can stop laying hens from laying... and I read also that tomatoes are poisonous to chickens... and then I have read elsewhere that all these things are old wives' tales, and like anything else, they can have just about anything in moderation.

I know many, many people give their hens tomatoes, and I can't believe that none of the free range birds out there eat apples or pears and I bet they keep on laying just fine... maybe that is a myth that started because apples and pears get ripe just about the time hens quit laying for the winter anyway???

So - how about it, folks - do y'all give your birds these things, and if so, does it affect them badly? I gotta admit, I gave my chickens a few of the grape tomatoes and the other day when I made an apple cobbler they got the peels. But I didn't give them the cores, in case the seeds were bad for them - after all, apple seeds do contain arsenic. But maybe that would have been fine, too.

I don't know - what's been the experience of the more experienced??

 

[willowcol]

Mine have eaten pears, they get them off the ground under the tree so I really can't stop them, Apples also, and well they ate all the tomatoes I planted this year, and beans and watermelons (they actually made a hole and hallowed them so I didn't know thet ate them til I tried picking a hallow perfect looking watermelon. So not sure if they should but really no way to keep them from doing it. With all that said, I have seen no slow down in eggs so maybe old wives tail, but mine are all still alive.

 

[cmom]

Feed the pears to them, no problem.