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What? Chickens can't eat clover? - Page 8

post #71 of 78
4/21/12 at 9:30pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by americanvalkyrie View Post

The March/April issue of Chickens (Hobby Farms) has an article on safetly free ranging your chickens in your yard.  A sidebar has a list of toxic plants.  Most of these make sense...

 

Buckeye

Buttercup

Clover  I knew I read years ago about White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba, the tall shrubby clover, not the one in the lawn (Trifolium repens.)   I get conflicting information, but one source ("Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants (in Wild and Not So Wild Places)" by Steve Brill mentioned dicoumarin, a compound that is formed when coumarin, the vanilla scent present in M. alba, ferments.  Googling "dicoumarin" I found a link to a UCLA web page that mentions dicoumarin (no mention of fermentation) and states that it is present in M. alba and caused scores of cattle deaths.  I don't know how to print the link, but it was 3rd on the search results.   Again, it did not mention fermentation, but it did confirm some of what I remember reading years ago.

 

Fireweed  I'm curious how this got on the list?  Fireweed is highly edible and sought after.  But even our local wild edible guru, Arthur Lee Jacobsen, admits it can be "acrid" at times but that cooking alleviates it if it is a problem.

Foxglove

Ground Ivy  I'm assuming this refers to Creeping Charlie, Glechoma (or Nepeta) hederacea, a mint relative.

Hemlock

Hemp

Hyacinth

Hydrangea

Japanese Yew

Jimson Weed

Kentucky Coffee Tree

Lantana

Larkspur

Lily-of-the-Valley

Lupine  Carla Emery's chickens love the seeds, though, and she counted it as a protein source.  

Milkweed

Purple Mint  ?????  

Nicker Tree

Nightshade

Ohio Buckeye

Oleander

Philodendron

Rhododendron

Rhubarb  I also know of chickens who will eat this to the ground.  Mine never touched it.

Saint-John's-wort

Sudan Grass

Tulip

 

But clover???  That's safe for human consumption, unlike all of the others.  I've read several posts where members recommend giving clover to their chickens, and my front lawn is full of it during the summer.  Can anyone clarify this for me?

 

 

Never mind me.  I really have no idea what I'm talking about, I just like pretending that I do.

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Never mind me.  I really have no idea what I'm talking about, I just like pretending that I do.

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post #72 of 78
4/23/12 at 7:36pm

I dont want the birds on my acreage next door, right now wheat, later beans, I have about 1/2 to 3/4 acre lot that is basically crab grass, thought od sowing wildflowers on it,  then letting them loose on it when the bugs come to town, otherwise, may fence in a 50x50  run to graze down the crab grass..... any other ideas what to sow on this patch of land

 

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post #73 of 78
4/23/12 at 8:25pm

I have learned so much on this forum but now I know that I am not a hippie for having chickens because more people are interested in being self sustaining but I AM a hippie for making my own organic feed. yesss.gif

Aspiring Urban Homesteader with 2 BR, 1 Golden Comet, and 1 Buff Orphington.

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Aspiring Urban Homesteader with 2 BR, 1 Golden Comet, and 1 Buff Orphington.

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post #74 of 78
4/23/12 at 8:37pm

 Moldy or sour Alsike clover is thought to be toxic to some horses and cattle but not others.

 

My vet insists that garlic,  grapes and onions are toxic for dogs however she doesn't think that fluoridated water is a problem....

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post #75 of 78
4/24/12 at 12:28pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by angusshangus View Post

Did anyone else notice hemp is on the list???  What if it's for medicinal use and the chicken as a note from her doctor?  ;-)

 

That's funny, right there.  lau.gif

~ Suzy ~

 

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~ Suzy ~

 

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post #76 of 78
4/24/12 at 1:58pm

 

Quote:

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by angusshangus View Post

Did anyone else notice hemp is on the list???  What if it's for medicinal use and the chicken as a note from her doctor?  ;-)

 

 

 

I believe there talking about Hemp Seed or Hemp Seed Meal.

 

Hemp Seed Meal

Hemp Seed

 

Chris

 

 

 

NPIP # 31-516
Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities http://sppa.webs.com/

Breeding Large Fowl Single and Rose Comb Rhode Island Reds to APA Standard


"I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman's cares." – 

George Washington

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NPIP # 31-516
Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities http://sppa.webs.com/

Breeding Large Fowl Single and Rose Comb Rhode Island Reds to APA Standard


"I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman's cares." – 

George Washington

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post #77 of 78
7/5/12 at 5:45pm

The dog thing...no garlic. I have read that garilic is good to get rid of worms in dogs.Not poison

I put garilic on eveything and  all my dogs always have eaten  my scraps  no ill effect.

Anyway reading here it sounds like most thing chickens eat  are ok,Not one person ( i did skip around the replys) has said their chicken died of any particular grass or plant so maybe they have a  cortexual  ancient knowledge   of  what they  can & cant eat

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post #78 of 78
4/10/13 at 9:10am

My chicks are less than 2 months old and in a coop with a small run.  Twice I've given them a little freshly picked clover, which they devoured, and both times they got terrible diarrhea.  I won't give it to them again, I'll tell you that.

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BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Raising BackYard Chickens › Feeding & Watering Your Flock › What? Chickens can't eat clover?