Many poultry farmers notice that chickens show extraordinary love for polystyrene, eating it in large quantities if it is in sight. Some owners are guided by the opinion that if the birds themselves choose this substance as food, then this satisfies some needs of the bird's body. However, if you approach the issue rationally, the product is not intended for human consumption, can hardly benefit the body. Let's try to figure out for what reasons chickens eat foam, what causes its harm, and what the consequences may be if birds use this material.
Foam damage
Polyfoam is a building material. And this is his only purpose. The assumption that the material used in construction and repair can be edible is in itself absurd. Chickens eat a lot of things that, apparently, are not intended for food - shell rock, gravel, crushed shells, chalk. And these substances are useful and even necessary for birds, as they normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract, contribute to more rapid and complete digestion of food. Whereas shellfish and other elements are organic and compensate for the lack of minerals, gravel is an inorganic substance that contributes to a faster grinding of food in the stomach of the dog. 
Some poultry farmers believe that foam has the same function as gravel. And since both substances are inorganic, the use of foam may be acceptable or even desirable for poultry. However, it is not. After all, gravel is of natural, natural origin, it does not contain toxins and poisons, does not decompose, does not emit gases. In addition, birds usually give purified gravel, without admixtures of sand, dirt or inorganic compounds of artificial, industrial origin.
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Polyfoam is also known as polystyrene foam - a material that is industrial, artificial, manufactured by chemical means and containing a large amount of substances harmful to a living organism. As a heater, this material is in great demand because it copes with the task of insulating the room entrusted to it, although the question of its safety for a person during internal work remains open.
Did you know? Styrofoam - it is a biologically neutral substance, since it contains absolutely no nutrients, so microorganisms such as mold and fungi never develop on it.
The damage of polystyrene foam is caused by some factors.
- The material contains styrene, a dangerous general toxic substance, poison of the third hazard class, which has a carcinogenic, mutagenic and irritating effect. Styrene oxidizes very easily and starts to be released into the air even at room temperature. And although its concentration is low and can hardly harm a person, if you do not have constant contact with the material, the birds eat it directly. Today there is no detailed research on the effect of styrene on chickens, it is not known whether this substance is delayed in the body of birds, but it would be logical to assume that it certainly does not bring benefit and may linger in meat.
- The foam also contains many other toxic compounds that are particularly active during combustion. These are substances such as formaldehyde, phenol, toluene, benzene, acetophenone, ethylbenzene and many others. Absolutely all of these components are toxic and dangerous to a living organism poisons.
- Particularly dangerous old foam, and the more it is old, the more dangerous. This material, due to the constantly occurring oxidation over time, substantially changes its chemical composition. Its properties have not been fully studied, and it is difficult to say what unpleasant qualities the old foam is acquiring, but the concentration of styrene in it slowly and surely grows and may exceed the safe allowable rate that is established for repair materials.
- Given the carcinogenic composition of the foam, there is doubt about its safe use even for insulation of houses, especially for interior finishes. And if in this case we are talking only about the contactless damage of the material, what then can we say about the damage it can cause if it gets into the digestive tract of a living being.
Important! Foam is considered safe only when used as directed. - for repair work. Any other use (in everyday life, for food, for the construction of any devices and use in the house, as a mattress for sleeping, or even if it just often comes into contact with the skin) is hazardous to health.Thus, despite the love of chickens for this material, there is no need to talk about safety, let alone health benefits.
Reasons for eating foam
In fact, there is no clearly defined reason for this phenomenon. The phenomenon of chickens eating polystyrene is, rather, a complex of various factors, and it is rather difficult to say which one of them prevails.
Make a chicken feed at home, and make the right diet.
Cheating
It is known that chickens eat lime. This substance is beneficial to their health, as it is not only an additional source of calcium, in which birds may have an increased need. The calcareous material also performs a digestive function, contributing to a faster grinding of grain feed, which prevents the rapid passage of food through the digestive tract and helps to avoid problems with digestion. Polyfoam looks like lime. Chickens can simply take him for what he is not. 
Curiosity
Not just like that, there is a saying about chicken mental abilities. These birds are pretty stupid, omnivorous, and can eat absolutely everything that lies under their feet. Curiosity, they also do not hold. And polystyrene foam is an interesting material, bright, crisp, shaped like a grain. It is natural that short-sighted birds make attempts to taste it.
Read also about how to give chickens bran, meat and bone meal and bread.
Drug addiction
Not only chickens, but also ostriches and even small rodents were noticed when eating foam. It is noteworthy that animals, having tasted foam polystyrene, can no longer refuse it, and will prefer foam granules to any other similar and harmless substances.
Important! In the expanded polystyrene contains volatile substance - pentane. This is a gas that has a narcotic effect.When a bird pecks on foam, pentane is released into the air, the bird breathes it, and it develops a condition similar to narcotic effects or alcoholic intoxication. And this effect is addictive and pushes the birds to search for "drugs". Therefore, after the initial accidental ingestion of this building material to the birds, it is necessary to isolate it from birds, avoiding repeated consumption.
Salt
One of the least harmless reasons for birds to eat this building material is the presence of salt in the foam. Salt - one of the necessary body materials. Chickens need it a little, and a large amount is even fraught with poisoning and death, but salt is still necessary for the klusham.
It will be interesting to know what types of feed for chickens exist.
And just with the help of foam plastic birds can fill this need. But this is not the best way to compensate for the lack of this material in the body, because expanded polystyrene, in the first place, is harmful in itself, and secondly, the supply of salt in this case is uncontrolled. Chickens can eat a fair amount of "white death", which will be an additional negative factor for their health.
Spherical shape
The round shape of the grain of the foam is very similar in shape and even color to the grain. Grain is a good food for birds. Therefore, they can simply be confused with one another, taking dangerous inedible granules for grain feed. 
Did you know? Chickens are carried every day. For the formation of the shell of one egg requires 2 g of calcium, but the chicken's body contains no more than 30 mg of this element. The rest of the necessary amount mysteriously alchemically transforms other substances into calcium, and this phenomenon has not yet been fully studied.
Effects
The influence of foam on the health of chickens is still not fully understood. But the composition of such a "feed" does not contain a single useful element. Along with white granules, dangerous poisons also enter the body of the chicken. Scientists still have not figured out whether these poisons remain in poultry meat or the body is cleared of them, and they leave it with feces. If eating polystyrene foam was a one-time, it can be assumed that this did not bring much harm to the bird or the people who would later eat its meat. 
Although it is better to watch such a klushi for some time and make sure that everything is fine with her and she did not get sick. If the use of building material is regular and permanent, it is a reason to think about the quality of the meat of this bird, because the probability that dangerous poisons have accumulated in the tissues of its body is extremely high. To eat such meat is not safe for humans. Granules of this substance are inedible, they are practically not digested and therefore do not move along the intestines, do not go out with feces, as is the case with shell rock or gravel.
Important! Polyfoam becomes the cause of blockage of the goiter and intestines of chickens, which causes obstruction and often causes the death of the bird.When this problem occurs, the bird becomes lethargic, weak, loses its appetite, and in the goiter compaction is easily palpable. Sometimes the chicken can be saved if you quickly clear the goiter from harmful content, but this is possible if you act quickly and if the blockage is not too extensive. But in most cases, in this state, the bird is sent for slaughter, which is also not the best way out of the situation, considering what the health risk is the meat of the chicken that has stuck in foam plastic.
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Expanded polystyrene is a material whose safety is questioned even in the absence of constant contact with it. Eating polystyrene klushki is fraught for their health with a blockage of goiter, substance dependence, and the reason that poultry meat is unsafe for human consumption because of the toxic substances it contains.
Video: foam - a treat for chickens
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