Dandelions

[Hayduke27]

AFAIK, chickens are scavengers and like other carrion eaters, are pretty much immune to most of the stuff that would make us sick. Ever see them on the farm, merrily picking through cow and horse dung and compost heaps? Mine routinely eat mice, frogs, and even the little birds that fall from the nests in the trees in spring. They dig through the dog poo. We always give ours the old and moldy stuff from the fridge and its never hurt them a bit.

And don't worry about grapes; dogs and cats, like us are mammalia, yet have different food tolerances. Chickens are aves, a totally different class, a whole different animal, if you will.

And, I've never worried about some plant or mushroom being poisonous to them; they've been foraging fields and farms for millennia without people worrying that they might eat the wrong thing.

When can chicks eat this or that and what grit do they need and when? I let mama hen worry about it. She seems to think they are okay as soon as they're able to follow her around the yard. The chicks we've let a broody raise are always healthier and happier than the ones we raise in a brooder.

So, take it easy folks. These are, after all, the descendants of the dinosaurs that survived the great extinction, the toughest of the tough.

AMEN!!!!!!!

 

[Borealis]

our 3 silkies love comfrey - it also grows into a big hearty shade plant that they can hide under in the heat of the day! they love greens it seems more then slugs they dont really go for those like i hoped

 

[PrimroseMom1]

There's a fruit and vegetable stand near my house and the man gives me his throw always for free. I don't give rotten food to my girls, but ugly or overripe I definitely do. They love it and it's home grown.

 

[DuluthHomestead]

My chicks are about nine weeks old now and they love dandelion leaves... but I have to "de-stem" it for them, tearing off little bits of leaf from the spine and offering it to them by hand. They might be slightly spoiled. I also just learned that they REALLY love dandelion seeds. It is the cutest thing ever to watch them eat the fluffy dandelion seed heads.

 

[Highcotton]

My chickens never met a weed they didn't like.  I pick "salad" for them every morning from stuff growing around my back yard,  They know what I'm doing and start squawking.

Florida Pusley grows plentifully in my garden and my chickens come running for it. We fed it to chickens when I was growing up. In the summer there was never a shortage of it with acres and acres of corn with that gorwing among it as a weed. I just fed the chickens an arm load out of my small garden.

 

[Highcotton]

I am surprised that it is okay for chickens to eat grapes as they are poison to dogs and cats.
I have not tried to feed mine grapes and a little paranoid to do so. I even asked my daughter who
is a vet tech and she said she would be leary of it also. Anybody know why chickens can tolerate
the grapes. Just wondering. I think I will stick with the clover and honeysuckle for now. LOL.

Below is a link from the University of West Virginia on poisonous plants with information on them.

http://www.caf.wvu.edu/~forage/library/poisonous/content.htm

 

[jkraze]

The charity who does this all the time deserve all the credit, absolutely fantastic dedicated team of lovely women. They turn up at these places, find out slaughter dates and re home as many as they have room for. All for the love of it! Wing and a Prayer are awesome

I wonder if there's a similar group in the U.S.? I was all "eggcited" to adopt a rescue chicken, and realized you're in the UK!

 

[Hayduke27]

I have been free-ranging my chickens in the yard much more lately, and have discovered that Bindweed is another favorite. It looks a lot like Morning Glories, but its vines spiral up and around everything it encounters. The leaves are broad and green, and the chickens just love to shred them.

Some other favorites: They really did a number on my green beans. They ripped up my sunflower bed pretty badly. I will be lucky if any lettuce survives long enough for me to get to try it. Pumpkin plant? They love it, but it has proven resilient! And yes, in case you are wondering, I do have fences around these gardens...

 

[makrands]

Got the same "problem". Can't go near run without a fistful of dandelion leaves. Hate to see what they would do to the flowers. I have 7 Golden Comets, sex link, one of them has started laying at 13 weeks. Small eggs now but I wonder if extra greens is doing it.

 

[LDev]

If there isn't a rescue charity, one of you lovely chicken loving folks should think of starting a rescue group. Bet there would be a demand for it;-)