Will the chickens eat newts and salamanders?

[itsy]

My neighbor was doing some yardwork today and found some Northern Redback Salamanders. Like most people do when they find a critter, they put it in something and brought it to me!

I took a couple photos and am going to put them under some leaf litter by a tree stump. These guys are interesting - they don't have lungs!

Anyway, it got me thinking.... do chickens go after them for noms? I'm not going to feed them to the chickens, but it made me curious if anyone has ever seen their chickens chowing down on one.....

 

[NottinghamChicks]

Mine love 'em!

 

[jeepguy982001]

I've read on here a time or two that they love them.

 

[ScottyHOMEy]

They're colorful enough to catch their eye and they move if the color isn't enough. They will peck at them and, if they don't find anything unpalatable, will eat them.

 

[Yonaton]

If it moves it's more than likely food to a chicken. I put up a post showing that they know what they can and can't eat right out of the egg.

I've caught them trying to eat a toad, but the poor thing was too big and tough as shoe leather and all that happened was it got beat to death and left to rot. I've caught them after a huge tree lizard. The poor thing was stuck in a corner of the fencing in the chickens' run and most of it's body was safe, but he got stuck somehow and the chickens had ate a leg and most of the tail off it. Somehow it survived as I saw it a month later...three-legged, of course, heh.

They *won't* eat ticks (nor will guineas), at least none of the chicks or guineas I've ever raised won't. Go ahead and get some of different stages/sizes off a dog or whatever and hold 'em in your hand, let the chickens see them move. Won't touch 'em. (I was curious about the thing eveyone hears that guineas are great for tick control, blah blah, that I wanted to see with my own eyes if it was really true or just some kinda of hype someone started to either sell guineas or make excuses that keeping them around (along with all the awful noise!) was a Good Thing

. They didn't and we don't have those noisy, useless birds here anymore, thank the gods!)

Snakes are chicken food too if it's small enough or they think they can tear it up and eat it (like they tried with the toad...that's *toad*, by the way, not a frog. Toads are usually safe from most critters, except chickens apparently. Frogs are food for a *lot* of things, lol). Other wild and small birds are in danger from chickens too. Sometimes, not always, chickens will even sit on an ant nest and eat them as they pour out all PO'd. Even small, young mammals can be in danger of being chicken food...baby rabbits, mice of any size, etc.

This is my *experiences*, not just opinion. There may be differences in what some breeds may or may not eat, but I kinda doubt it will be much at all. There will be differences in some things they may or may not eat by the region one lives in, for instance here in W.TN, there really aren't a whole lot of salamanders, actually very few at all, so I had no idea if a chicken would eat one or not, but it makes sense to find out that they will eat them since waterdogs are used as bait often out west (NV) for bass. (there's some kind of strange connection there...it works for me, heh)

 

[marycammilla]

I'm not sure if it was a newt or a salamander, but Troublemaker dug this up today and ate it. I'm just a bit worried that it might harm her to eat it? As a matter of fact, she dug up and ate two of them today along with multiple earthworms. Normally, Troublemaker and her sisters are 'inner city' chickens and have lived in the house eating mash,bread crumbs, and bottled water. Today was the first day any of them ate anything organic. She was still doing well at bedtime...hopefully will be okay in the morning.