# ? about Black walnuts



## blaineiac (Jan 10, 2010)

I have about 20 Walnut trees around my house. I remember reading about people feeding them to their hogs. I"m not trying to save on feed really, I just thought since I am picking them out of the driveway, I might as well throw them to the hogs. Will they eat the green hulls, or shell them on their own. I'm not really into shelling them first. They're eating hickory nuts from a few trees in the pen, I thought they might enjoy the walnuts too. I'm just wondering if the hulls are OK to give to them. Thanks Blaine


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## emilbanks (Jul 14, 2011)

i wouldn't do it.

The geen hull that covers the black walnt has a strong acid in it.

If you work them with your hands you hands will turn a nasty yellow/green color and it takes a couple days to really wareoff I even tried washing my hands in gasoline and it was tough to get the stain off.

When the wife wants black walnuts now days I collect them with gloves on
Put them in a burlap bag and drive over them with the tractor a couple times.
Then I dump everything on a picknic table and let the sun dry every thing out them we pick the meat from the shells
It's a lousy job but the wife likes the meat for putting into cakes when she bakes
I would not feed them green to the hogs
emil


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## lauriej57 (Nov 20, 2008)

I'm not sure about feeding the walnuts to the hogs. I just gander this forum because we have a friend and a cousin with hogs, and keep thinking about raising a couple, but I do raise chickens, and I know that the hulls are toxic to chickens. Chickens won't normally eat what isn't good for them, and from what I've been reading, I'm thinking hogs will pretty much just chow down. The smell just might stop them though. I would wait until you have more answers before you feed the walnuts to them. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread, since we have lots of walnuts, which the recent storms and winds have blown off the trees. If the hogs can eat them, I will collect them and send them down the street


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

If something is harmful to one of my species, then NONE of them will get it. Black walnuts are one of the somethings!

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/toxic/plant45.htm


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

Search the forum for other posts about walnuts. Others say they're just fine. Mine have eaten them and they're still around. They're penned in a grove of walnut trees and are doing fine. They actually seem to ignore them unless I smash them and then they're interested. They don't seem to have much interest in them otherwise.


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## stanley (Aug 22, 2011)

I understand Black Walnuts are a natural Hog wormer but I do not personally know anyone that uses them


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## mbosma (May 26, 2011)

My pigs have crunched a few of them up they found, but pretty much ignored a pile I provided. There are tons laying in their pen now, maybe they will like them in the spring when the coating is off.


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## Cheribelle (Jul 23, 2007)

I really miss my pot-bellied pig this time of year. He ran loose in the yard and cleaned up the walnuts off the ground. Without him I trip over them, they're so thick here. (and no, the walnuts didn't kill him) He got ornery with tusks, so he had to go.


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## lauriej57 (Nov 20, 2008)

The people that I have heard of who lost chickens to black walnuts, had black walnut trees growing in their run. I'm wondering if the toxicity from the walnuts seeped into the ground, or the chickens just couldn't resist pecking at them.

I'm also thinking it's the coating (skin) that is probably toxic, rather than the shell and the walnut itself.


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## mtwolf (Jul 23, 2015)

See here: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xqMJAdlISE[/ame]

The research indicates that Black Walnuts are fine for hogs.


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## gjhinesjr (Jun 28, 2014)

My hogs eat em up with gusto. Kinda funny cause they all have black snouts for a while. And all you hear are these loud cracks when you're out there with em. They eat them just as they fall.


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## IloveHazel (Jul 16, 2014)

my pigs had tons of black walnuts last year. they loved them and it seemed be fine with their stomachs


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## TheFarmerMommy (Mar 21, 2014)

Mine eat scads of them. I don't know how they don't crack every tooth in their heads out crunching the shells. (Weird factoid -- that's supposedly why George Washington needed dentures. He liked to crack open black walnuts with his teeth and ruined his natural teeth.) 

I've never gotten the whole "if it's poisonous to one species, it must be to all" thing. Dark chocolate is poisonous to dogs but now they claim the darker it is the better for humans.


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## Pig in a poke (Mar 27, 2013)

Interesting theory about the shells possibly slicing/killing roundworm parasites.

Think this year I'll collect our walnuts from around the property and give it a try.


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## njenner (Jul 15, 2013)

I think the hull is where the toxin is. My son's dog died from eating walnut hulls. I wonder if the pigs spit out the hull and just eat the nut. My pigs did great sifting through a pile of pistachios and left all the shells and hulls after cracking them.


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## Pig in a poke (Mar 27, 2013)

njenner, that is what they appear to do on the video posted.
I've noticed our pigs manage to leave acorn caps.


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## miraclemant (May 28, 2011)

Pumpkins seeds are a natural dewormer, and pigs absolutely LOVE pumpkins.


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## TheFarmerMommy (Mar 21, 2014)

miraclemant said:


> Pumpkins seeds are a natural dewormer, and pigs absolutely LOVE pumpkins.


November 1st is a happy, happy day in our hog pastures. Lol


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## njenner (Jul 15, 2013)

yes - my pigs LOVE pumpkins - and we will get a truck load!


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