Sick Turkey

[Frosty]

Quote:
what is the matter with potatos? i have always given them potato skins, so have my grandparents

if they are cooked potato skins then they are fine. if they are not cooked, they have a poison in the potato, It will make the one who eats it sick or can kill it. This is why all potatoes are cooked before eating for us. the same go's for any animals as well!!!

Potatoes are a member of the nightshade family, just like tomatoes are. If the potatoes are green, then yes they contain solanine and can make you sick (I believe the eyes are bad, too...). I wouldn't feed green potatoes to any critter, raw or cooked. I did see some reference that raw potato starch is difficult for them to digest, one study indicated that oat hulls helped them break down the starch.

 

[MCI]

Personally I give my birds all the fruit and vegetable scraps I have, this includes raw potato. Most stuff they eat, some they pretty much leave it be, like the potatoes, alliums and citrus. Once they are done with their scraps they head out and graze. I figure the turkeys and chickens know what they can eat and what they cannot. Everything they do not eat eventually gets turned into the soil with their scratching.

I have one neighbor who likes to supply treats for my birds and dogs but he doesn't believe he should give it to them. He will either give me a bag when he sees me or hang it on the gate so that I get it when I get home. Mayhap you could ask your neighbor to do the same.

 

[roxymcelroy]

It may not make them sick every time but I have a rooster right now that may die from eating potatoes all of my chickens got sick and i have had to nurse the rooster to keep him from dieing. it's been 3 days since it started 4 days since they ate the potatoes and he is just now able to walk on his own. I'd hate for him to die b/c he lets my little girl pick him up and carry him around he is super sweet i've had him since he hatched. I also know that to many raw potatoe skins will make people sick to. I had a friend who use to sell peelers and during his demos would peel potatoes well in turn he ate alot of the skins and ended up in the hospital over it.