Just noticed a bunch of chickweed growing up on last season's corn field next to my mother's house. I had a big garbage bag filled in no time. Talk about a feast! I grab a big ball of it and walk around while using big sharp scissors to cut it up smaller for the hens and The ducks get it floated in a clean pool or bucket of water. Love to see everyone having a good time! I am always admiring and coveting good pasture! I pick the heck out of dandelions too. Been a mild winter here and lots of greenery growing. Not so much in my back yard though. But its worth it.
Both the common and the larger mouse earred chickweed is all over the place now, along with henbit. Both are just starting to bloom because of all the warm weather that we have had, the past couple of weeks. The reason I noticed it, my bees were poking around it. This is a photo of henbit in full bloom. I don't know if any thing will eat it or not.
It is an annual weed that we have here in Tennessee that comes up in the late fall and stays until hot weather. I guess that makes it a cool season annual. Most home owners use 2,4-D mixtures to eradicate it in their lawns. When the seeds are mature and you pull the plant up, 10000's of fine black seed. the same size of mustard seed, fall out of the seed pods.
I too have lots of weed. I don't get it all at once. I go out most mornings and cut a little for them with an electric weed eater and give it to them fresh. Of course, I often wonder if anyone driving by wonders why my lawn is cut in such a patchy fashion. Ahhhh! The advantages of no home owners association.
Our yard is full of the stuff! We don't practice weed prevention here at all (our yard is bermuda mixed with wild pasture grasses and weeds). The chickens LOVE chickweed. They also enjoy the purple deadnettle that's growing with it.
