Can Chickens Eat 4 O’clock? Why Should You Keep Them Away From It?

It is very famous to find some people owning a backyard where they raise some chickens and plant some flowers. Chickens are among the easiest birds to maintain and do not require much preparation for their housing.

It is known that chickens are inquisitive and eat everything, so it is not strange to find them tasting flowers and plants. This behavior is often safe as there are not a lot of things that can harm chickens as they are prepared to run, hunt and eat a wide variety of food.

But for every odd rule, despite the ability of chickens to deal with many foods, whether plants or herbs and even worms and insects. There are some things that harm chickens and even cause poisoning and kill them!

With research, we found that there is a plant with a beautiful appearance and elegant smell that many keep in their gardens, but in fact, it is poisonous to chickens!

So we wanted to help you be aware of the seriousness of the matter so that you do not lose any of your chickens. Come with us while we learn in the following lines about the 4 o’clock plant and its relationship to chicken, and whether is it safe for them or not.

Can Chickens Eat At 4 O’clock?

Chickens With Different Colors

Chickens should not eat a 4 o’clock plant, since the seeds, stems and leaves of the 4 o’clock plant are known to be toxic to humans and pets. Therefore, close attention should be paid to this matter, especially since it is a plant of flowers with a beautiful aromatic scent that some people like to have in their gardens.

It is also distinguished by its beautiful and attractive colors, and it has a different way of flowering than other plants.

4 o’clock flowers do not bloom in the morning like other flowers, but rather they bloom in the afternoon and remain blooming all night! That’s why it’s called plants because its flowers usually open around 4 pm.

Indeed, this plant makes a good addition to your garden flowers, its flowers open about 2 inches long in a beautiful trumpet shape with five petals in several colors, the most famous of which are pink and red.

If you want to keep these plants, they must be far from the chickens, and there should be no way for the chickens to access them. Although the 4 o’clock plant has medicinal uses and it was widely used in folk medicine in some countries for healing and is also used in the manufacture of colors and dyes as well, it contains a group of toxic alkaloids that cause chicken poisoning.

Symptoms Of Chicken Poisoning

In fact, there is not much accurate information about the symptoms of chicken poisoning with 4 o’clock plants. Most often, chicken breeders rule out that chicken poisoning occurred due to this plant. As it is an uncommon cause for poisoning and it does not come to the mind of many that it may harm poultry.

Scientific research has not also reported much detail about how 4 o’clock plants cause poisoning in chickens. However, common clinical signs of poultry poisoning often include:

  • Anorexia
  • weakness
  • paralysis
  • Diarrhea
  • Loss of engine control
  • Depression and isolation from the herd
  • cramps
  • Respiratory changes or shortness of breath
  • Increased death rate

How To Treat 4 O’clock Poisoning In Chicken?

The first thing, if there are any deaths, you should not throw the dead chicken. but rather put it in a cool place to take it to the veterinarian later to examine it and identify the problems that led to the death of the chicken.

As for the reduction and control of poisoning, You can use a substance that helps remove the poison from the chicken’s body. There are many flashes that you can use to treat chicken poisoning, the most famous of which is

Molasses flush and an Epsom salt flush. They can be a good choice As long as the chicken drinks enough of it.


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Doaa Salah
The shy one (too shy to put her photo) and the only girl in our team! Doaa is a veterinarian who is passionate about writing content. She knows a lot about animals and birds, as she has been studying them for many years now. Her goal? She is researching and learning to convey to you all the knowledge she have and what's new about farming.