# Chickens and olives



## bluetick (May 11, 2002)

There are several olive trees along my road, and they are dropping a lot of black olives. I've offered some to my 6 month old chickens and they eat them up quickly. Does anyone know of a reason why they should not be given olives to eat as a treat? Same question for geese.

Does anyone know how to store them for future treats, and how long they might keep without going bad?


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## barelahh (Apr 13, 2007)

bluetick said:


> There are several olive trees along my road, and they are dropping a lot of black olives. I've offered some to my 6 month old chickens and they eat them up quickly. Does anyone know of a reason why they should not be given olives to eat as a treat? Same question for geese.
> 
> Does anyone know how to store them for future treats, and how long they might keep without going bad?


i would brine them. It won't hurt the chickens at all. Plus you could even eat them.


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## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

Here's some curing info. http://www.turkishlanguage.co.uk/olivecure.htm


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## bluetick (May 11, 2002)

Thank you both! Firefly, I bookmarked your link. 

Well, my geese don't like olives and actually spit them out! Actually, I don't care for them much either. I will continue to feed them to the chickens in small amounts as a treat.


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## Blue Oak Ranch (Aug 23, 2005)

If you brine them, be careful with them as a treat. Too much salt can kill a chicken - one of the Purina Layena recalls a couple of years back was killing chickens because of excess salt. 

Cheers!

Katherine


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## bluetick (May 11, 2002)

Blue Oak Ranch, thanks for the warning but I figured that salt might be a problem and decided to only give them plain olives as they drop from the trees. They will be a seasonal treat, like watermelon in summer.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

Plus you never know, wherever they poop out a pit...a tree might grow.


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## Firefly (Dec 7, 2005)

WstTxLady said:


> Plus you never know, wherever they poop out a pit...a tree might grow.


LOL! OP, be sure that if YOU want to eat them you cure them. Uncured olives are bad for people; I forget what's in them that's bad, but it is leached out with curing.


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## bluetick (May 11, 2002)

Firefly, I found a website that said raw olives are very bitter. The curing process removes the bitterness, but they are still safe to eat uncured.

WstTxLady, although I assume a few pits have been swallowed, I watched the chickens picking the fruit off the pits today. It would be nice if the chickens started their own olive trees! A little extra shade would be a good thing.


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