How to raise Backyard Chickens: [CHICKENS-101] Re: Foraging and toxic plants

Hello Folks:

As a rule of thumb, any plant with "milky" sap is toxic to either mammals, birds or both. Milkweed fits this description and in fact all species of milkweed are toxic to some extent and most are extremely so.

Many plant have poisonous stems, leaves, roots, but O.K. seeds/fruit. Others have toxic leaves and stems but the roots or tubers are, or can be rendered, non-toxic or toxicity reduced to acceptable levels: Potatoes are a common example.

Still others have toxin in the leaves and stems, but the fruit is toxin free: Tomatoes are a common example.

Incidentally both tomatoes and potatoes are members of the Nightshade family. The active toxin in both is an Steroid Alkaloid of the Solanum type.

Eggplant is also a member of the Nightshades and also contains "solanaceous alkaloids" thus vines/leaves of eggplant should not be fed to livestock.

Regarding potatoes:

"The great majority of cases of potato poisoning result from feeding sprouted, spoiled, or sun-greened potatoes, sprouts, or PEELINGS to poultry or livestock in ignorance of the potential toxicity. Poisoning also has resulted from ingestion of vines or cull potatoes left in the field. Cooking in water tends to leach out, and perhaps destroy, the poisonous principle and may render safe what would have produced poisoning otherwise, but poisoning has occurred occasionally when cooked material was fed. Sprouts should never be fed or consumed under any circumstances, but potatoes from which they have been carefully removed should prove wholesome. Greened potatoes should be discarded or pared to remove all green tissue before use. It is common practice to cook potatoes to be used as animal feed. " - Poisonous Plants of the United States and Canada, Kingsbury, John M., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1964, p. 294.

There's an old maximum among animal and people nutritionists: "When In Doubt, Throw It Out"!

Prof.

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