This is helpful to know! ECHO has been getting some reports that when network members pot the chaya cuttings before transplanting into the field, plants are stunted compared to plants established by cuttings being directly sown into the ground.
Hopefully we can hear from other network members about their experience with chaya propagation here! ECHO Community members - If you have anything to share or add to this conversation, please do so that ECHO staff can better advise others in chaya propagation practices!
I was afraid to feed chaya to my chickens because of the cyanide. Apparently it can be given to them raw.has anyone experienced a problem with feeding it to animals or chickens?
Rachel, we feed chaya to our chickens most everyday and have not seen any issues with it. It is a part of our routine leaf mixture we feed them. Our ducks also eat it as well as our sheep.
Hi @AFHGlen, Would you be able to estimate how much chaya you are feeding each day per animal, and the overall percentage of the diet? It would be interesting to know from your experience what an upper limit on safe feeding levels could be. If you could give a rough breakdown of the feed components and the weight of each that would be useful.
@Rachel_Smith_Coggins chickens can deal with low amounts of cyanide in their food without negative symptoms. As the rate of cyanide in their feed increases, it will start to cause problems. As the dose increases symptoms may include panting, eye-blinking, lethargy etc, and then at too high a dose it can cause death.
Some ECHO results shared in EDN 80* showed that freshly ground chaya contained up to 50 mg per kg of cyanide on a fresh-weight basis. An old study** found that it took around 21 mg sodium cyanide to kill domestic chickens. So chickens would have to be eating a lot of fresh chaya (potentially more than they can physically eat each day) to be toxic.
If you are wanting to include at higher rates of inclusion, there is some evidence that fermenting (making silage) from chaya, chopping, wilting, and drying can all reduce cyanide content without needing to boil.
If increasing your current dose, it’s a good idea to do it slowly and observe your chickens closely until you’ve established that are a particular amount of feed there is no negative symptoms.
*Leaf Protein Concentrate from Chaya Leaves?, EDN 80
** Wiemeyer SN, Hill EF, Carpenter JW, Krynitsky AJ. Acute oral toxicity of sodium cyanide in birds. J Wildl Dis. 1986 Oct;22(4):538-46. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-22.4.538. PMID: 3503141.
Shaun, can’t give you exact numbers or even good estimates. It is a typical farm situation where many things are not measured. The chickens are of various sizes/ages from a week old to a year old. Most are on the younger size…under a pound. They free range and so we have no idea how much chaya they eat but some. . There are about 100 chickens. In addition to free ranging during the day, they receive about three buckets full each week…5 gallon buckets in the late afternoon as they are being penned up. We give them a lot of leaves in the late afternoon so they can eat early the next morning before we come to release them for free ranging.
Not sure that it’s pertinent but the chickens do enjoy eating not only the leaf but the tender part of the branches… the ends of the branches. Ditto for the sheep.