Poisonous plants and livestock

[Judy]

I'm planting some plants that are considered poisonous to ingest... My question is: If I let the ducks and chickens run about will they stay clear of these plants?

I am more worried about the ducks because they tend to eat more of the green leafy parts of plants than chickens do ...

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

First, let me point out that chickens, ducklings, guineas and so on, if reared by free range parent stock, do a very good job of avoiding things which are bad for them, than do parentless domestic poultry...

Also, some things like rhubarb or comfrey may be nipped at as a form of self medication (ridding themselves of digestive system parasites). Then again, my chickens have eaten things like insulation!

Variety is the key, birds simpy nip on and feed from plants which are available. Birds in a confined run, will eventually eat everything, so a run should have no toxic plants at all!

Here I'll run down the list of things to avoid, as cited in the Chicken Health Handbook:

SOURCE TOXIC PARTS

Castor bean (Ricinus communis) bean

Corn cockle (Argrostemma githago) seed

Daubentonia (Daubentonia longifolia) seed

Death camas (zygadenus spp) leaf, stem, and root

Glottidium (Glottidium vesicarium) seed

Milkweed (Asclepias spp) leaves

Nightshade (Solanum nigrum) immature berries

Oleander (Nerium oleander) all parts

Pokeberry (Phytolacca americana) berries

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) green, tubers, raw peels, and sprouts

Vetch (Vicia spp) pea

Yew (Taxus spp) all parts

I hope this helps you out...

Enjoy the weekend,

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Please keep in mind that this is not a complete list...

Just things which are most common in duck problems relavent to plant materiel they may eat:

Commercial fertilizers are always bad for ducks, as they tend to dabble into the soil, trying to draw out worms and the like. Run off is a source of water and if there are toxins in the run-off, then it's also in your ducks.

This is why I never use commercial fertilizers on any of my plants, gardens and land under my control. Pest control should also be non-chemical.. if it's out there, ducks are going to be exposed to it.

THINGS THAT ARE BAD FOR THEM:

Salt (as in used for melting snow.. it ends up in their run off water)

Lead (from paint on old buildings or hunter's pellets, fishing weights)

Baits- used for rodents, slugs, and snails

Leguminous plants and their raw seeds, cottonseed meal; and leaves from
tobacco and rhubarb.

Other plants to avoid:

Foxglove

Potato vines

Potatos that have turned green

Eggplant leaves

Vetch seed and cotton seed meal... (no more than 5% of feed mix)

Avoid raw soybean meal

Alfalfa meal should also not be more than 5% of duck rations...

I recommend a book on poultry feed titled:

Feeding Poultry (Heuser)

If you are considering compiling your own chicken or duck feeds, THIS is the resource for YOU.

Hope this answers some of the concerns.

Sincerely,

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com