Why not tater skins?

[orangecatrex]

I read in a publication recently that you shouldn't give raw potato skins to your chickens...... I had been giving my birds skins until i read this and of course no reason WHY Not........ Is it ok? does anyone have any experience with tater skins?

 

[cackleberries]

I feed mine tatar skins all the time and have never had a problem. Im curious to know also.

 

[Gazinga]

i saw that too, i saw it was bad for the chooks and bad for humans to eat raw potaotes, i ve eaten raw ones since i was little and fed to my chookies, im curious to know why too......

 

[purecountrychicken]

We feed ours potato skins but cooked. Raw potato is bad for them. Heres a link for chicken treats....https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[WriterofWords]

Someone needs to print it in chicken cluck,,, my chickens help clean out the garden and they love the raw taters!

 

[ranchhand]

To feed potato skins or not is one of those frequently debated questions.

It's because greenish skins contain solanine, which can be toxic the chickens and humans. (potatoes are a member of the nightshade family) So if you feed the skins that aren't greenish, it would probably be ok.

I don't eat the green skins, because they can be bitter. I put them all in the compost heap, to be on the safe side as well. Many people have fed them to their birds for years without a problem. I don't know if solanine is a cumulative toxin or not. I don't do it because it's not considered safe for people, and the last thing I need is a chicken with heartburn!

I have enough trouble with them as it is!

 

[crazyhen]

If irish potatoes get greenish it has a form of cyanide poison in them. They can cause diarrhea or worse. After all they are a member of the nightshade family. The leaves or greenish skins are bad for them. Jean

 

[fairladi_chick]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...

Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family, such as potatoes. It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the leaves, fruit, and tubers. It is very toxic even in small quantities. Solanine has both fungicidal and pesticidal properties, and it is one of the plant's natural defenses. Solanine was first isolated in 1820 by Desfosses from the berries of the European Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum), after which it was named.

Symptoms
Solanine poisoning is primarily displayed by gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, heart arrhythmia, headache and dizziness. Hallucinations, loss of sensation, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils and hypothermia have been reported in more severe cases.

In large quantities, solanine poisoning can cause death. One study suggests that doses of 2 to 5 mg per kilogram of body weight can cause toxic symptoms, and doses of 3 to 6 mg per kilogram of body weight can be fatal.

Symptoms usually occur 8 to 12 hours after ingestion, but may occur as rapidly as 30 minutes after eating high-solanine foods.

The lowest dose to cause symptoms of nausea is about 25 mg solanine for adults, a life-threatening dose for a regular-weight adult ranges about 400 mg solanine.

 

[cackleberries]

Hey ya all better bury me cuz im surely dead if this is the case. I eat tatar peels all the time uncooked. I wonder if the peels are still bad on a cooked tatar????

 

[orangecatrex]

Whew! Thanks for all the info. It is important to me not to poison my chicken friends so i think i will cook a few and by no means will they ever get green tater skins. a few raw (russets only) skins occassionally just for funs.