What NOT to feed your chickens?

[MrsJewelsRae]

I was talking to dh's aunt the other day and she was telling me that a friend of theirs raised chickens for them for the cost of their feed and butchering. They ended up with 30 nice 8-9 lb chickens in their freezer but she said he must have fed them something wrong because whenever they ate one of those chickens their family would get the worst gas every time! She said she didn't ask the man because she didn't want to make him feel bad, so I was wondering, is there something he could possibly have had in their diet to cause this?? Thanks!

[Chicky2]

I really have no idea. I do know that one should not feed chickens raw potato peels(forget why!), and onion skins (suppose to make the eggs taste weird, but we never noticed a difference).

[philomom]

Hmm, I don't eat my chickens. They are pampered egg makers. I feed them the organic layer feed and leftovers from our meals. So far, nothing seems to mess with the yummy egg taste.

[Mama~Love]

I know feeding them fruit can inhibit their egg laying, but have no idea what would cause the gas problem.

[nine_rugrats]

Does anyone know why you shouldnt feed them potato peels?? Mine get most all veggie and fruit scraps. I feed mine anything but meat...and thats just cause we have tons of dogs we throw scraps too also.

[Chicky2]

My bad...it's raw GREEN potato peels. As a general rule, we just make sure they are cooked before/if we give them. Ours will soon just go to our pigs, I'm sure.

Here ya go...the bottom of the page has things to avoid...

http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/...3-Treats_Chart

[BeckyBird]

Hi Chicky! I'm on backyard chickens too, under the name Beckybird! It is great site for chicken info.


I don't know what feed would make chicken meat gassy. I do know they hate fresh cranberries though!

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by BeckyBird

Hi Chicky! I'm on backyard chickens too, under the name Beckybird! It is great site for chicken info.


I don't know what feed would make chicken meat gassy. I do know they hate fresh cranberries though!

Hi! I'm not actually ON BYC, I just like to browse sometimes, lol. Great site for sure!

I don't like fresh cranberries either, lol. Not straight anyway. (just where is a puckered up smilie when you need one?)

[steffanie3]

I am wondering if it is mild food poisoning, maybe they didn't get the birds cold or frozen fast enough.

[PreggieUBA2C]

Originally Posted by steffanie3

I am wondering if it is mild food poisoning, maybe they didn't get the birds cold or frozen fast enough.

This was my thought too. I might have thought it was diet related if it were the eggs, but the meat? I think it wasn't kept cold enough or left out to long before going it went into the fridge.

[mattemma04]

I was going to mention the fruit too.No idea why the meat would cause gas.On a side note my dh would get gas if he drank the water at my moms house.No idea why so he just avoids it. I would just ask the guy.Maybe others have had the same issue with his hens.