why can't chickens have citrus?

[vinniepoch]

please explain why chickens can't have citrus?

 

[horsejody]

Small amounts are sometimes put into feed, however, I read an article that said that citrus interferes with growth and can cause off color yolks. There may be more problems. I don't know. Maybe the acid is hard on their systems.

 

[NYREDS]

Because there's a list here that says they can't. There are also several post from people saying that they've fed citrus with no ill effect-some of those people say they won't feed citrus again now that they've seen the list.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

My chickens wont eat it anyway, so it's a moot question

 

[ivan3]

Start here and root around: http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd19/7/olur19089.htm

Not much of a problem for backyarders who aren't feeding ground peels and seeds as a primary constituent of diet.

 

[codybird]

I thought it had more to do with affecting egg production than the over all health of chickens.

 

[speckledhen]

I don't believe they can't have citrus, just that many do not like it. I just fed mine some crushed pineapple yesterday. They seemed to like it pretty well, actually. Wouldn't give any fruit to them in huge quantities due to the ensuing diarrhea that is likely.