What NOT to feed my little garbage disposals...

[Buff Hooligans]

Quote:
I think it would be the accumulation of the toxins in consistently fed apple seeds that would be harmful to the chickens organs, over time.

The chart doesn't claim that one apple seed (or for that matter, one green potato peel, or one avocado seed) will make a chicken go feet-up.

 

[kinnip]

It's not just poisonous compounds that are a concern, it's also compounds that can exacerbate a nutritional deficiency or impair uptake of certain nutrients. It's been my experience with the goats (chickens aren't free ranging yet) that if there's enough variety, I don't have to worry about poisoning. They nibble a bit of this and a bit of that and keep on moving, so they never get enough of any one thing to cause a problem.
When it comes to feeding chicken to chicken, I'd proceed with caution. If you know that the dead chicken was healthy and the meat is well cooked it will still be creepy, but probably safe. I would never feed store bought chicken to my chickens. There's no telling what pathogens that bird was exposed to. It may be perfectly safe for a human to consume because we can't catch most chicken diseases, but chickens can. Cooking doesn't always ensure all bacteria/viruses are killed.
DC mentioned the Trobrianders of New Guinea. They cook the flesh of their dead and ritually consume it. Even cooked the flesh transmitted Creutzfeldt Jakob disease. CJD is very similar to Mad Cow in its action. There's a very good reason cannibalism is taboo to humans and avoided in most animal species, it exponentially increases the likelihood of infection.

 

[GopherBoyFarms]

you know I have given this feeding chicken to my chickens thing s a lot of thought.....I think I will put a stop to it (the hardest part will be when DH is drinking beer and having fried chicken out on the porch with the girls, he just tosses the bones down to them) But it's getting cold now so not much more eating on the poch.
But since we have gotten our chickens I cant even eat chicken anymore. Just DH and DS do. Wish I could get the rest of the family to stop eating meat. I guess I could tell them "Well since I am not eating it why should I cook it" LOL

 

[ChickaD]

That's what we did for years! My motto was, if DH got the yen for hen, he'd have to buy it and cook it - and he did! I'd aim for beans, but I know lots of folks have a hard time getting them to work on the grill - you know, falling through...

oops, seriously off-topic...

 

[Village Farm]

Quote:
That's because of prions, though. The only prion disease affecting any birds seems to affect ostriches. Since all prion disease are transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, brain and spinal cord tissue are the most affected. That means that eating brain from an infected member of your species hugely increases your chance of developing the disease, but it's not the only way to transmit the infectious particles. CJD, for example, is transmitted entirely non-cannibalistically in humans. You can eat all the non-infected brains you want (in my case, none...) and never have to worry about developing a neurodegenerative disorder as a result.

There's the whole creepy cannibalistic aspect of feeding chicken to chickens, but that's clearly a human issue and not a chicken one. They certainly will nibble on each other if the opportunity arises.

 

[cheekychick]

Quote:
Rhubarb? Darn! Mine were nibbling at my rhubarb last night

Rhubarb stalks are highly poisonous for humans & animals .... but I am not too sure about rhubarb stalks for chickens

Can anyone verify if chooks can eat the stalks?

 

[redhen]

on the list i didnt notice..radish,or radish tops..are those okay to give?..minr had a bunch of radish tops today....

..and raw green beans!...

...

 

[ChickaD]

Rhubarb? Gee, for what it's worth, our rhubarb jungle grows just outside the coop door, and our "girls" help themselves to many a snack of rhubarb leaves. I'm guessing they leave the stems alone, since the chooks are all well and accounted for.

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
Huh? I think you've got that wrong. We eat rhubarb stalks, that's what humans harvest from rhubarb! It's the leaves that we don't eat. I think it's oxalic acid, which rhubarb leaves have a large amount of, that makes them not good to eat. I know on the treats info I've found on the internet large amounts of oxalic acid isn't good for chooks.

 

[ChickaD]

Heavens, you're right, Reinbeau! I didn't notice the "poisonous for humans" part.