Weeeeeeeeeeds

[lizzylemon]

Hey all, from experience which weeds do you feed your hens please?

I know there's that 101 poisonous plant site but I'm not totally convinced by it so am looking for real experience.

Stingers and Cow Parsley are the main culprits at the mo.....

[MaureenHall]

Mine won't eat nettles but they do ok on dandelions!

[Flummery]

Mine love dandelions too. My grand-daughter (4 years old) was poking dandelion leaves into the run the other day. After a bit they 'stalked' her whenever she came near -- hoping for more!

[Hilary B]

Dandelions are VERY good food for anything that eats grass-and-weeds. Loads of handy trace elements, etc. Clover (if you count that as a weed), plantain, rib-grass (actually a type of plantain), yarrow, chickweed of course, nettles (the non-stinging ones as well as stingers)........


Go take a look around an old 'permanent pasture'. If it grows there, it is probably good.

One thing I would say is that if you are placing weeds in the run, either cut things up small, or tie them so that the chooks pull bits off the way they would with a growing weed. Long, loose stems are what can risk a bunged-up crop!

[Snadger]

Dandelions are supposed to have a natural worming effect so mine get loads!
My compost heap has never looked so lean as all my allotment weeds, including nettles go through the chooks before use. I don't even compost the chook manure now preferrring to spread it on part of my plot each Saturday (wonder if that's why my allotment neighbours always have a Saturday off?????????)
Whatever goes into the run gets eaten eventually, even if it takes a few days. They eat the nettles when they've dried and wilted a bit
I threw some swedes in a couple of days ago which they didn't at first seem to bother with. When I went today I had hollow swedes as they had eaten the middles out of them!

[Lemon]

Interesting what you said about chook manure.....you mean after mucking out the house you just chuck it on veg beds? Thought you had to leave poop to fester in the compost bin for a bit?

By the way, is chook poop considered 'greens' or 'browns'?

[chicken slave]

Elder is good for them as it also is a natural wormer, my lot devour anything if it stays still long enough, I haven't got a weed in the garden. They even tried to eat the hedge trimmings as I was cutting it last week end. I know they don't eat tomato plants but are partial to fig leaves (that what happens when you leave the greenhouse door open) and a few chives.

[lizzylemon]

Elder is good for them as it also is a natural wormer, my lot devour anything if it stays still long enough, I haven't got a weed in the garden. They even tried to eat the hedge trimmings as I was cutting it last week end. I know they don't eat tomato plants but are partial to fig leaves (that what happens when you leave the greenhouse door open) and a few chives.

Exactly why my little b**gers are locked up these days. Let them out today and they ate my rhubarb I been forcing.(OMG I'm STILL ranting about it several hours later....... I need to get a life)

[Snadger]

Interesting what you said about chook manure.....you mean after mucking out the house you just chuck it on veg beds? Thought you had to leave poop to fester in the compost bin for a bit? ...........................

I like experimenting so don't copy me.......doesn't seem to have done any harm up til now and saves having a rotting pile of chook poop. After it dries a bit, which it does very quicly this weather, I just hoe it in!
Ask me in a year whether my experiment had a satisfactory conclusion!

[chicken slave]

I like experimenting so don't copy me.......doesn't seem to have done any harm up til now and saves having a rotting pile of chook poop. After it dries a bit, which it does very quicly this weather, I just hoe it in!
Ask me in a year whether my experiment had a satisfactory conclusion!

It must be good stuff as I threw a rotten pumpkin on the chicken compost pile and I now have pumpkin plants growing in it. So thinking of planting my courgettes there as well. So maybe nature knows best after all

[Hilary B]

It must be good stuff as I threw a rotten pumpkin on the chicken compost pile and I now have pumpkin plants growing in it. So thinking of planting my courgettes there as well. So maybe nature knows best after all

About 25 years ago, I had a neighbour who grew marrows that way. She didn't LIKE marrows, so when she was given one, it ended up on the muck heap...... I got a LOT of marrows that year!!! (I think she gave quite a lot to the chickens too)

[Bephlam]

Mine love chives...they always head straight for the herb pots...little s$its!! They smell fab after it though...

[di]

I think people at the lottie think me a little nutty.We've used up all our chickweed so I've taken to asking other plotholders if I can have theirs!I've got my eye on a chaps compost heap at the mo...it's covered in the stuff...not sure ifhe's keeping it there to keep the heap moist though?,,,but can always ask!
On the subject of fresh manure...can't remember where I read it,but a chap used to grow his toms on a fresh chook poop heap...looked successful in the pics!

[francesbean]

Yep my little garden plot is the most weedfree for years because of the girls. Ive given them all the weeds mentioned so far, and they also seem to like brambles, especially the young leaves that are growing at the moment. As for my compost bin, its just peachy with their leftovers,best compost ive ever made.

francesbean