Chickens and mint

[crooked stripe]

My chickens seem to love Lilly's of the valley. They have eaten all the plants. They haven't even had time to develop flowers. Grass is another favorite but won't touch dandelions. What a shame. John

 

[digitS']

Here's what you can do with dandelions, John.

Pull 'em out, roots and all. Rinse them off and place in a plastic bag. Microwave for 1 minute, allow to cool and see if the hens enjoy cooked dandelion weeds.

They get progressively more bitter (to my taste

) once they begin to bloom and a big, lush plant is best

.

Steve

 

[Portia]

Hmmm, mine eat dandelion leaves, not the flowers; but increasing bitterness sure makes sense for avoidance of the larger plants.

 

[digitS']

Quote:
I kind of meant, large plants that have not yet bloomed. Digging a puny weed out of a crack in the sidewalk wouldn't be a fair trial. And, I realize that for most of the country - the dandelions are probably between full bloom to well past seeding every square foot of the landscape. Not the best of times for tasty dandelion greens but there are still some nice plants here.

On a side note, you can wash the roots, mince them, toast in a cast iron skillet, and s t r e t c h your ground coffee. I'm not really recommending it but you can do it. Up to about one-third of the blend, the dandelion root is a little difficult to detect.

Steve

 

[Portia]

Our dandelions are in varied states of growth right now, but certainly evident in our yard. Of no worry, we are not big on monoculture lawns; so as long as its green and not poisonous to anyone in the family it can stay.
As for the coffee...I have heard of that sort of addition; however I drink tea and I think my husband might not be thrilled if I messed with his morning brew.

 

[lfoose]

Once my step-daughter and I made homemade dandelion jam. It came out very sweet and was a mess to make.

 

[EweSheep]

Mine loves chick weed or Creeping Charlie weed that grew in our backyard with a vegenence! They love clover too!

I tried feeding my chickens peppermint and spearmint and they didnt like the taste of it at all.

 

[countryatheart]

I offered my 6 week old chicks some banana and apple today. The black australots are braver about trying new things. They each took a peck and then went off to wipe their beaks! They nibbled a bit of apple , but still preferred grass. They do LOVE the lovebugs we have had invading us lately. I found a tomato worm today and took it to their pen, but they would have nothing to do with it.

 

[Cetawin]

Oh my girls love dandelions...flowers, leaves, stems and all...but the LOVE moths and anything that flies by. I have noticed they are not messing with the little beetles we have here in the yard...not sure what they are...black with orange/red line around their back.

They did not like my sage, mint or rosemary at all...just the smell of it makes them turn away.

 

[Portia]

I've had some more tender/annual herbs out for 2 weeks now...parsley, dill, cilantro, fennel & basil. The chickens have sampled all of them but the only one that actually show some damage (several leaves gone, but the plant still strong and healthy) is one of the dills. Seems herbs are a good bet with, at least my chickens. Right now the lawn grubs (various scarab beetles) are rising to the top of the lawn due to the rain, warmth and time of year. The chickens are going nuts eating them. We had a major Japanese beetle infestation last year, so there are plenty of grubs. You go girls...eat em up! Its also fun to watch them when the find an ant hill. I never imagined that15 chickens could huddle close enough to all have their beaks in the same spot at the same time.