Mallow weed toxic to chickens?

[lazy gardener]

I've heard that as an herbal, it's a good expectorant.

 

[lazy gardener]

Not much concern about chickens getting too much mallow this season. Seems that there's going to be a national shortage due to unpredictable weather patterns.

 

[FlockVillemaire]

Hey Haley! It sounds like your paddock area could use a make over. I know you've not asked for advice, but I just can't resist sticking my nose in where it's not invited. If I had this area for my chicken run, this is what I'd do with it: First, I'd make one or more grow frames out of 2 x 4's standing on edge in a box configuration. Then plant them with some oats or wheat, or other greens, perhaps even some kale and some lettuce. A nice mix. Cover the top over with wire, so that the chickens can eat the stuff that grows up through the top, but can't pull out the plants themselves, or dig up the soil there. Then, in the rest of the run, I'd put a deep layer of mulch. You could use grass clippings, leaves, hay, straw, bedding from the coop, garden debris, wood chips... basically anything you can get your hands on to create a nice 6" thick layer of mulch. This will give your birds a nice healthy compost to work through. It will call lots of beneficial organisms to the soil. And it will turn it into a healthy environment for the flock.

Wonderful suggestion! My very first mixed flock of 2-week-old chicks are growing like gangbusters and I'm trying to figure out how to plant out my Dad's (passed last Jan from cancer-not Covid) beautifully built coop & run. I've lots of appropriate plant starts/seeds and was wondering how I should protect them from the voracious eaters my babies have quickly become! This sounds perfectly easy, even for someone who has never done any construction.

 

[FlockVillemaire]

I've heard that as an herbal, it's a good expectorant.

Human medicinals in small amounts can be very dangerous for chickens with limited green options!