What to put in chicken feed?

[NatJ]

Can I give chickens un- dried beans?

Dried beans have to be cooked first, and I think green ones probably should be too.

Beans have a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin, that affects people and also livestock (presumably including chickens.) It's destroyed by boiling for some amount of time. Some beans have a lot more of it than others. (I got all that from the internet, so I can't be positive it's accurate, but it is repeated many places, including wikipedia.)

I also find accounts of chickens eating a few dry beans when allowed in the garden, with no apparent ill effects-- so I would not deliberately feed them large amounts uncooked, but I would not panic if they helped themselves to a bit here and there. Chickens are fairly good at avoiding dangerous plants when they have lots of choices.

 

[Perris]

Can I give chickens un- dried beans?

I don't know what you mean by 'un-dried beans' - fresh? yes.
Dried, and speaking from my own experience (which was informed by extensive reading of old and new poultry handbooks), if you ferment then strain them, yes. Dried beans and peas store easily, typically have 20-24% protein, and when soaked or fermented for 24+ hrs to remove the anti-nutritional factors, are a fine addition to a mixed diet. Mine periodically have black-eyed beans, borlotti beans, cannelli beans, pigeon peas, marrowfat peas etc. added to a basic grain feed, and unlimited access to grass. Grass is typically about 20% protein, and your chickens know it. That's why they eat all the grass in a run when they are confined.

 

[Devyn Nagy]

Dried beans have to be cooked first, and I think green ones probably should be too.

Beans have a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin, that affects people and also livestock (presumably including chickens.) It's destroyed by boiling for some amount of time. Some beans have a lot more of it than others. (I got all that from the internet, so I can't be positive it's accurate, but it is repeated many places, including wikipedia.)

I also find accounts of chickens eating a few dry beans when allowed in the garden, with no apparent ill effects-- so I would not deliberately feed them large amounts uncooked, but I would not panic if they helped themselves to a bit here and there. Chickens are fairly good at avoiding dangerous plants when they have lots of choices.

Good to know.