If you have chickens at home, you must be feeding several fruits and vegetables to your chickens.
Chickens can eat several raw vegetables, which are leftovers in our kitchens.
Several foods that you give to your chickens are cooked food.
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So, it is natural for a pet lover to ask this question.
Can chickens eat raw potatoes?
Can Chickens Eat Raw Potatoes?
Yes, chickens can eat raw potatoes.
Many times, people confuse white potatoes with sweet potatoes. These two are different.
Chickens are quite funny small size animals.
They love to pick everything from the ground and chew it.
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They like to dig into the ground for any raw potatoes.
Many chicken owners indeed think that it is unsafe for their chickens to consume raw potatoes.
But in reality, it not harmful for chickens if they eat a raw potato.
White or Sweet Potatoes for Your Chickens
People generally mistake the name of raw potatoes with sweet potatoes.
Somehow both sound quite similar.
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But they are entirely different in their nutritional value and content-wise food for different animals.
White Potatoes are from the nightshade family of plants.
These are available in two colors, red and yellow.
White potatoes are quite safe to eat for chickens.
The chickens can consume these potatoes in raw and cooked form.
They generally reject the green parts as they consider them to be toxic.
Precautions:
1. Eat only ripe sweet potatoes.
2. Remove the green part, including vines, leaves, and flowers.
Sweet Potatoes are safe for the chickens to eat the whole of the plant.
The full plant includes leaves, vines, flowers, and peels that are just safe for the chicken.
The only precaution is that they do not store these plants for long as the stored plant develops fungus infection.
The fungus is dangerous for the chickens.
But don’t worry, the chickens will not eat these plants and will reject the fungus parts.
Potatoes are Harmful to Chickens- Is it real or myth?
No, potatoes are not harmful to chickens.
It is just a myth that potatoes are not suitable for chickens.
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The tale started with the chicken owners.
These owners realized that some potato vegetables which are not ripe contain some toxic compounds.
Such matters make them think that the whole of the potato is harmful.
So, the myth started that chickens should not eat raw potatoes and skins, which may cause them poison.
The necessary precaution is that the green color skin potato is not suitable for eating.
It requires more time to get ripe. Until then, avoid it from the chickens.
These green color potatoes, which are not mature, contain solanine.
This chemical is not safe for the chicken if they eat in a significant quantity.
This substance can cause some damage to their nervous system.
Solanine chemical is available in small quantities in several other stuff-like eggplants, tomatoes, bell peppers, and chili peppers.
But, since the compound is in small amounts, there is no eating restriction required.
Green potatoes consumption in significant amounts can cause some issues. But the possibility is very remote.
For example, if the green color potatoes have to harm a human being, the man has to consumes almost five pounds of these potatoes in one sitting.
No man can eat this much of green potatoes.
So, the chances of getting any neurological disorder are very remote.
On a similar logic, the weight of the chicken is very less as compared to a man. So, he will have to eat a massive quantity of potatoes to get some health issues. That is almost an impossible quantity. But it is good to be cautious. So, don’t let the chicken eat green color potatoes and its skin.
The green parts like leaves, flowers, and stems elements are also toxic.
The chickens are aware of it. They don’t bite any of them.
Still, it is required to remove all the green parts of potatoes to no risk chickens.
But if your chicken has eaten a considerable quantity of green parts, there are going to be some symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, delirium, headache, paralysis, and slow breathing.
These are the symptoms that show that chicken is suffering from the chemical solanine.
Now it is required to call the vet.
If possible, make the chicken vomit as soon as possible.
The vomiting will reduce the amount of solanine in the body.
It will reduce the severity of the chemical.
Another myth is that the solanine compound can accumulate in the body of the chickens over some time.
Gradually the accumulation reaches a dangerous level, and the chicken will fall sick seriously.
But it is not valid. Solanine can cause ill- effects on the chickens when they consume and not much later.
How Much Nutritious is the Potatoes?
Potatoes are very popular for their versatile nature of making dishes with almost every other vegetable.
We use potatoes everywhere like in vegetables, chips, snacks, soups, salads and many more.
They are available around the globe in plenty.
Potatoes are an excellent source of nutrients like vitaminB6 vitamin C, iron, potassium, and many other minerals.
They are widely available at much lower prices than other vegetables.
They don’t have a high calorie, which makes them safe to eat for obese people also.
There is no risk of getting fat or cholesterol.
Potatoes are great options for people who do not want to eat baked products.
Conclusion
The potatoes contain mainly starch and very less amount of other nutrients for energy.
But your chickens require a variety of nutrients that they can get from other foods.
So, don’t depend only on potatoes for a balanced diet of your chickens.
In potatoes also, you can feed the raw vegetables to your chicken instead of cooking them.
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The roasted potatoes lose their nutritional value.
If you cook them above 170-degree C, they can lose their nutrients.
So, you can feed the raw vegetables to your chickens instead of cooked ones.
It will save you time and cooking efforts.
