Info/Danger of Chicken Feed ?!

[CabbagePatch]

Hi there, so I recently learned that chicken feed can be dangerous even down right deadly to our beloved horses.YIKES!!Since I have chickens as many of us do,and children who are my eager helpers I may not be alone with wanting to learn more of this issue. First I must say that I keep all my feed secure in separate metal trash cans with very tight (most give me a hassle to get open)lids all in the feed trailer. I only keep one type of feed for my chickens it is called Scratch Grains I believe maybe Purina brand(?) It appears to be only cracked corn and seeds, no crumbles. My concern is this one of the dangerous to horses type or is it just the type that is 'crumbles'. Just for future refrence as I have never had mine eat anything other than the occaisional PB&J stolen from the kids besides there regular horsey feed. Thanks to all in advance.

 

[prairie ponies]

I think that the bad stuff is the ground fine stuff like laying mash. It hardens in the stomach. My niece's horses got into some and the vet was quite worried. The vet did work the horse through it ;-) This reminded me that when I was a child my parents would not buy grain for my horses so I used to sneak them finely ground pig feed. oops!

 

[Minimor]

I don't think scratch grain would hurt a horse -- as long as it has no additives, and as I recall, there are none in that product.

The additive that is very dangerous to horses is monensin--something that is added to both chicken and cattle feed. If does not take much monensin to kill a horse; if the horse survives the initial poisoning he is left prone to heart attack. Absolutely do not allow any horse access to anything containing monensin !!

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

We always just fed our chickens cracked corn....

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Good grief! What next. Something else to research...

 

[CabbagePatch]

Thank you very much for the info. Im sure this is a no brainer to some, but to most of us this is new news and I figured its best to bring up again since so many of us have spring chicks this time of year and when you have chicks you will have little helpers (kids and grandkids) who want nothing more than to chase them around with handfuls of feed. My chickens are free range when they are big enough and they are all growing and crowing, healthy on just the scratch grains laying well too. So no more of the crumbles type or anything that has 'monesin' in it.(Thank You MiniMor, as I would have never guessed what it was myself)Ditto to what Marsha said, what else?? Who would have thought a staple for one farm animal is so dangerous to another!?!

 

[madmax]

I would just use the cracked corn, the horses like it too and its safe.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I just called Purina. The rep said none of their poultry feed has monensin. However cattle feed has it. The goat food MAY have it--called Rumensin.

A pony I had did get some wet Layena and it made her a little "off". I had dumped it on the compost pile and she got to it. I thought it might have been because it was wet and a little fermented. I've been super careful since then; rained-on Layena goes in the trash from now on.

 

[Minimor]

Here is info on monensin (sold as Rumensin for cattle and Coban 60 for chickens)

http://words.usask.ca/wcvm/2012/03/monensin-fatal-feed/

And this article, about the accidental poisoning of several hundred horses in 1986.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681029/pdf/canvetj00555-0067.pdf

Poisoning in horses generally occurs either when the horse eats feed not meant for horses or when the horse feed is accidentally contaminated, as in the second article above.

It is something horse owners should be aware of, particularly when they also have other animals on their property.

 

[madmax]

Can someone also report on horses eating cat food? I heard something a long time ago that it is not a good thing?

 

[chandab]

Can someone also report on horses eating cat food? I heard something a long time ago that it is not a good thing?

Might depend on the cat food, but if you look at the ingredient list, there is a lot of grain in there. I'd like to know for sure, myself; as Tilly, my mini donk, helps herself to the cat food, even though it should be well out of reach of any equine, she contorts herself to get to it.