Thanks for the article Chris. That answered practically all my questions about citrus.
I don't have enough knowledge to update that Treats Chart. I think if someone does try it, it will still be controversial. It is difficult to put somethign like that together and have it totally accurate and eliminate all personal opinion. I applaud the attempt by the person that was brave enough to try it, but I don't toally agree with everything in it either.
My personal opinion is that most ot the things that are on the dangerous list are not that dangerous if they only get a bit of it. For example, many fruit seeds, including apple seeds, contain cyanide, a deadly poison. But one fruit seed does not contain enough cyanide to cause a problem. I have absolutely no concerns with how many apple seeds or plum pits mine eat when they roam through the orchard. They are not going to get enough to hurt them. But when I make apple butter and have a lot of pure seeds, I dump them where the chickens can't get to them. Would I kill or injure my chickens if I did dump them all where they are easily available. Probably not, but I don't know. I do know the seeds contain cyanide so I take what I consider reasonable precautions.
Just because a chicken can take a bite of something and does not fall over dead immediately does not mean it is not harmful. It takes a certain concentration to cause a problem. And a lot of the time, the damage is cumulative. It would take a consistent diet at a certain level for the damage to build up. But different "poisons" are different. The way I look at it, if I know it is poisonous I try to not feed it to my chickens in concentration, but what they get through normal foraging or small amounts does not worry me.
By the way, some of the things on the good list can cause damage if they are fed in huge concentrations. I rely on moderation and common sense to keep my chickens safe.
All this is just my personal opinion. I'm not expert.
I don't have enough knowledge to update that Treats Chart. I think if someone does try it, it will still be controversial. It is difficult to put somethign like that together and have it totally accurate and eliminate all personal opinion. I applaud the attempt by the person that was brave enough to try it, but I don't toally agree with everything in it either.
My personal opinion is that most ot the things that are on the dangerous list are not that dangerous if they only get a bit of it. For example, many fruit seeds, including apple seeds, contain cyanide, a deadly poison. But one fruit seed does not contain enough cyanide to cause a problem. I have absolutely no concerns with how many apple seeds or plum pits mine eat when they roam through the orchard. They are not going to get enough to hurt them. But when I make apple butter and have a lot of pure seeds, I dump them where the chickens can't get to them. Would I kill or injure my chickens if I did dump them all where they are easily available. Probably not, but I don't know. I do know the seeds contain cyanide so I take what I consider reasonable precautions.
Just because a chicken can take a bite of something and does not fall over dead immediately does not mean it is not harmful. It takes a certain concentration to cause a problem. And a lot of the time, the damage is cumulative. It would take a consistent diet at a certain level for the damage to build up. But different "poisons" are different. The way I look at it, if I know it is poisonous I try to not feed it to my chickens in concentration, but what they get through normal foraging or small amounts does not worry me.
By the way, some of the things on the good list can cause damage if they are fed in huge concentrations. I rely on moderation and common sense to keep my chickens safe.
All this is just my personal opinion. I'm not expert.
