Bamboo leaves as food....

[azygous]

Ernie, I've been researching edible bamboo varieties. I noticed some vendors sell bamboo seeds. Then I read the reviews, and people complain that bamboo seeds don't germinate easily, and bamboo plants actually rarely produce seeds. My question is this - do you notice your jungle of bamboo ever producing seeds?

 

[seasong]

Ernie - your original request. I study Chi global Natural Farming - Korean Natural farming methods. We are taught to feed baby chicks brown rice and bamboo leaves, supplemented with cooked egg yolk for first 3 days of life. It is our practice.
I am in Hawaii and cant speak to the kind of bamboos for other climates.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I can lay the spent stalks down as a mat over the low muddy spots, burn it for bathing ash

Keep in mind that bamboo has silica in it, so if they're bathing in its ash, they will also probably be breathing in silica dust. Prolonged breathing of it can cause respiratory problems. Don't know if it's any worse than normal soil, or wood ash, but it might be something you might want to look into to.

btw, a tip for all who have bamboo and have to burn it from time to time. If you cut the culms into pieces at every section, or drill a hole in each section, or do something (smash, cut with machete, etc) to allow air to escape each section, you can avoid the loud gunshot bang every time a section heats up and explodes.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

My question is this - do you notice your jungle of bamboo ever producing seeds?

Bamboo only produces seed when it dies. So if your grove flowers and produces seed then there's a good chance it's also going to die. Supposedly bamboo flowers as a species, so if your species of bamboo flowers, then it's likely flowering everywhere else. Supposedly...

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

How does everyone feed their chickens bamboo leaves? Leave the leaves on the stalk? Strip off the leaves? Chop leaves into pieces? I cut off some branches and threw them on the ground, but the chickens, though interested, couldn't pull off the leaves because the branch would move every time they pecked at it.

 

[aart]

Keep in mind that bamboo has silica in it, so if they're bathing in its ash, they will also probably be breathing in silica dust. Prolonged breathing of it can cause respiratory problems. Don't know if it's any worse than normal soil, or wood ash, but it might be something you might want to look into to.

That's interesting....any other plants have silica?
Have read the hardwood ash is best for dust bathing....
...at least in one flock determinately preferred hardwood ash over softwood ash.

 

[azygous]

From what I read about using bamboo for chicken feed, it's the new little tender shoots that you harvest for feed, not the mature leaves. Thinks "sprouts".

 

[aart]

From what I read about using bamboo for chicken feed, it's the new little tender shoots that you harvest for feed, not the mature leaves. Thinks "sprouts".

Bamboo 'shoots'.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

That's interesting....any other plants have silica?

Rice husks/straw.

 

[aart]

Rice husks/straw.

So maybe any grass?