It's so exciting to tug gently on the greens and watch as a beautiful vegetable emerges from the warm soil. Of course I plant extra to share with the chickens, now that the summer garden is depleted and their supply of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers has dwindled.
Here are some of my observations regarding feeding root vegetables to our flock:
Beets - YES! Beet greens and stalks are a favorite of both our chickens and ducks and both also like the beet itself. They can eat them raw or cooked.
The ducks have an easier time if you chop or grate raw beets, but the chickens will happily peck away at them as long as I slice them in half.
Beets are extremely nutritious and have blood cleansing properties, so they are a good treat choice for your flock. Just don't panic if you see hot pink or teal poop in the run after a beet-fest!
Carrots - YES! We always have carrots on hand for our horses. We also grow them in our garden. The chickens and ducks love the carrot tops and will also eat carrot peels.
Whole raw carrots should be chopped or grated, especially for the ducks to manage, but cooked carrots are fine for them all to eat in any shape or size.
As an added bonus, the beta-carotene in the carrots will turn their egg yolks a brilliant orange.
I also add carrots to the twice yearly pumpkin seed, garlic natural worm preventative I feed our flock.
Garlic - YES! There is a lot of conflicting information online about feeding garlic to chickens. Although part of the allium family which includes shallots, onions and chives, all of which can be toxic, garlic has only 1/15th of the toxin that onions have and excellent natural antibiotic and immune system boosting properties. It also helps repel parasites such as ticks, fleas, mites and lice.
I feed my chicks minced fresh garlic in the brooder. I also add garlic powder to my laying hens daily feed. I have also floated whole garlic cloves in the waterers. In fact, I consider garlic to be one of the foundations of raising a healthy flock. Could garlic be toxic in large quantities? I suppose it could, but couldn't almost anything?
I can only tell you what works for me and how I choose to raise my flock, and I can tell you unequivocally that small amounts of garlic are not toxic - and are most likely very beneficial.
Onions - NO! Onions contain a toxin that destroys red blood cells. Excessive amounts can cause jaundice or anemia in your hens. Onions don't have the same health benefits as garlic, so any possible positives gained by feeding onions are far outweighed by potential risk.
I never knowingly feed our flock onion, but if they end up eating small amounts, in restaurant leftovers for example, it probably won't kill them.
Bottom line, try to avoid onion in any form but don't worry if they inadvertently eat some.
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From our pinterest 'Gardening' board |
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Photo courtesy of 1840 Farm |
Fortunately, solanine is poorly absorbed and rapidly excreted by mammals, so small amounts of potato flesh as long as it isn't green most likely won't be fatal, but potatoes have very little nutritional value anyway, so they aren't an optimal treat. I would recommend refraining from feeding potatoes to your flock, but like onions, if they eat some cooked potato mixed in with leftovers it probably won't kill them.
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Photo courtesy of 1840 Farm |
Sweet Potatoes - YES! Oddly enough, sweet potatoes are not a member of the nightshade family like the white potato. They are a member of the morning glory family and do not contain the toxin solanine, so they are perfectly safe to feed to your chickens, along with the leaves.
Sweet potatoes contain loads of vitamins and nutrients. Your chickens will love sweet potato, but like most other hard veggies, cooked or grated is going to be the easiest way for the chickens and ducks to eat them.
Sweet potatoes contain loads of vitamins and nutrients. Your chickens will love sweet potato, but like most other hard veggies, cooked or grated is going to be the easiest way for the chickens and ducks to eat them.
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Photo courtesy of 1840 Farm |
You can also toss a halved turnip in the run and it will keep them busy for quite some time pecking at it or put a whole turnip in a hanging basket for them to nibble on.
As with any new food, your chickens might view these root vegetables with much suspicion and you may have to try offering a particular treat several times before a few brave souls will give it a try. But be persistent and they will eventually dive in!
I love posts like this, I learn so much! I am off to cook some carrots and sweet potatoes...Hugs, Di
ReplyDeleteGood advice. I really didn't realize about the potato being from the nightshade family, though I did know about the toxic green parts.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome post. I have bookmarked it and will probably print it out at a later date. Great information. Thank you, Lisa!
ReplyDeleteHope you all have a great week. ♥
Thanks for the information!
ReplyDeleteSonja of http://lallybrochfarms.blogspot.com/
Interesting info! I hope to grow a garden one day soon!
ReplyDeleteSince we found out about not feeding our chickens potatoes, we haven't been giving them sweet potatoes. Thanks for the idea. Now we can indulge them in the sweet variety. We knew a long time ago they don't like onions. Thanks for greats posts. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you linked up, love all your lovely farmy-ness!
ReplyDelete♥Linsey
Just got done telling my husband no more Onions or potatoes in the scrap bowl. They've only even gotten vERY small amounts. Do you have just a NOs list for chickens?
ReplyDeleteWe do kitchen scraps and leftovers all the time.
I love chickens & eat a lot of eggs!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYummy!! We tried growing these this year but we failed :( maybe next year!
ReplyDeleteYummy!! We tried growing these this year but we failed :( maybe next year!
ReplyDeleteMy girls are the best thing that's happened to my compost heap. All I have to do is pile it back up every time I add scraps. I've never been worried about how this could be affecting their health. I figured that most animals know to avoid foods that are poisonous to them. Should I be worried about my onion and potato scraps? I've never noticed any ill effects.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't worry Anna. As long as they have a choice, they will instinctively ignore anything that is bad for them. With so much else to choose from, I am sure they aren't eating the onion or potatoes.
DeleteGreat Post!!
ReplyDeleteSpeckle Sussex
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely amazing! I never knew any of this! Apart from the whole 'pink poop' thing . . . :) Thank you for sharing your knowledge on NOBH!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips on how to utilize for garden for your animals!
ReplyDelete