[webwahm]

A fellow chicken keeper who thinks I don't look after my chickens properly* has been giving them scrap allotment veg etc...fair enough, free food, but today there was a green potato and I'm going to have to put up a notice to say 'no thanks' to raw spud handouts, especially green ones.

But, I've read that you should always boil potato before giving it to your chickens (which I used to do before finding out it was illegal) but I don't know why...can someone tell me why chooks can't have raw spuds so I can put it on my notice please?  Had a quick scan on previous posts but didn't spot anything as to 'why'.  Also, wouldn't an 'experienced' chicken owner know not to give raw, green potato to chickens???

Thanks :-)

*They've told me so, and reported me to the RSPCA who gave me the all clear I'm happy to say, even complimented me on my nice fat ex-batts and their "big open run"    Allotment Politics are involved so I won't expand in public!

(Edited to explain background a bit)

[Helenaj]

Raw potatoes contain Solanine which can be neutralised to a certain extent by boiling. However, this doesn't work with green potatoes as the Solanine is too concentrated and is not only very harmful to hens but humans too. Solanine can also be found in the deadly nightshade family - just to give you an idea how toxic it is!
Please put a sign up as this gentleman is basically poisoning your hens!

Feeding scraps from the kitchen goes back to the War years when any grain grown was a precious commodity and certainly not going to be wasted on chickens. All waste - peelings, old bread etc was put down for the hens and it is a practice that has endured.

[Lindeggs]

Also the 'greening' of potatoes is sped up by exposure to sunlight, so a spud that was 'just a little bit green' when left in the morning can be quite green by the end of the day.  The same applies to raw peelings, but obviously not to cooked ones.

What a shame it has come to this when (probably) everyone just wants what's best for the chickens. 

[Elcie]

I don't think anyone should be putting anything in your run without your permission.  I agree it is great to get free food but why don't you leave a box outside the run for people to put stuff into and then you can select what they have and when.  At my allotment lots of people leave extra leaves, bolted veg etc for my girls but they leave them outside the run door and I put them in when they are to have them.  Sometimes there is too much there for one day so I might spread it out.

Don't think anyone could reasonably object to this and it gives you more control.

[webwahm]

Thanks for your replies, very helpful!

And the veg donation box is a good idea too, although this person is feeding them because they think I am not and has to make sure they get something to eat

Just remembered...I'd given them some marrow-sized courgettes in 'rings' yesterday and today one of them had a hollowed out courgette ring hanging from around her neck!!!    How did that happen???  Looked very glamorous, wish I'd got a photo, but had to remove it...health and safety and all that lol

[Helenaj]

Just remembered...I'd given them some marrow-sized courgettes in 'rings' yesterday and today one of them had a hollowed out courgette ring hanging from around her neck!!!    How did that happen???  Looked very glamorous, wish I'd got a photo, but had to remove it...health and safety and all that lol

Maybe it's this season's fashion in chickens - marrow is the new grey!!!!!!! 

[Casey76]

complimented me on my nice fat ex-batts

Afternoon   I hope your exbats aren't fat   Production hybrids like ISA warrens, which is what the majority of battery hens are in the UK,  should actually be very light - about 1.25 - 1.5kg.  the keel (breast bone) should be easily feelable with little evidence of "meatiness" on either side.  Though of course, it shoudn't be like a knife edge either!

Overweight hens find it difficult to lay, and are more susceptible to prolapses.  They also find it more difficult to preen properly which can lead to increased incidence of skin infections and parasites.

I'm sure your hens aren't really overweight, and the RSPCA man was mearly commenting on the nice abundance of feathers they are sporting... but just as a gentle reminder to everyone...