What? Chickens can't eat clover?

[allpeepedout]

I tractor-pastured mine on heavy white dutch clover all last year, with free access to layer ration. They seemed the picture of health. Under certain conditions, clover can grow a mold or fungus that can cause toxicity to livestock, e.g., causing "slobbers" in horses. Certain types of clover like alsike can also cause photosensitivity / liver problems in equines, and perhaps chickens also have some specific reactions to different types.

 

[Kaeta44]

I've seen other lists that show ivy to be toxic to chickens. Nobody told my lot that. After 2 years of keeping it trimmed they are all still fit and well.

 

[400constantne]

By the time that I thought to myself "you probably shouldn't eat that..." the chicken already ate it.

There are many unhealthy things that chickens eat, but I doubt that there is anything unhealthy that a free range chicken would consistantly eat.

The list probably has more to do with people who collect plants to grind up and feed to their chickens.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I tractor-pastured mine on heavy white dutch clover all last year, with free access to layer ration. They seemed the picture of health. Under certain conditions, clover can grow a mold or fungus that can cause toxicity to livestock, e.g., causing "slobbers" in horses. Certain types of clover like alsike can also cause photosensitivity / liver problems in equines, and perhaps chickens also have some specific reactions to different types.

Thanks, everyone. It didn't seem to make much sense. I wanted to chicken-tractor mine on the front lawn with the high clover concentration, but it would only be a few at a time, and only when I was able to watch and make sure the neighborhood punks didn't bother them. Glad to know it's not going to be detrimental to them.

(And my chicken feed has hippie cooties ALL over it!)

 

[georgiagail]

Thank goodness our chickens can't read! They'd probably be suing us for what we feed them.

 

[omegorchards]

A plant that is toxic to chickens is rare indeed. I couldn't disagree more with this list. The editors weren't doing their job with this article.

 

[donrae]

I figure any animal that can injest as much styrafoam as my birds have and have no ill effects can not be poisened by anything short of arsenic. And even that some old red hen would probably gobble it up and wander happily off to find a patch of clover.

 

[chicken-wish]

My chickens never came up ill due a toxic or poisonus plant before. They always seemed to know what was good for them and what wasn't. I would say you shouldn't have to worry about it.



BTW: donrae, I read your sig, and I'm very excited for you! We've been on the Financial Peace course too and are now debt free except for our motrgage as well! Congrats!

 

[donrae]

My chickens never came up ill due a toxic or poisonus plant before. They always seemed to know what was good for them and what wasn't. I would say you shouldn't have to worry about it.



BTW: donrae, I read your sig, and I'm very excited for you! We've been on the Financial Peace course too and are now debt free except for our motrgage as well! Congrats!

Thank you thank you!
I can't describe how much better our lives are now. We paid off almost twenty thousand dollars of debt last year---yee haw! And are halfway toward our fully funded emergency fund---and thinking of taking a REAL vacation later this year or next year. You know, a vacation where you might get on a plane and go somewhere you've never been, vs driving to families' homes and sleeping in the guest room.

 

[ivan3]

Still alive and well...