Mulberries

[Okiedori]

We have several mulberry trees growing wild on the property. I was wondering if it is ok to let the chickens eat all they want? I know the dog likes them but the results are not a pretty shade of purple if she eats too many. I am hoping the chickens keep them cleaned up enough that the dog can't eat them.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Mine do, we have no problems. We have 6 plus trees around and it hasn't bothered them a bit

 

[ericatdallas]

I was just wondering the same thing 20 minutes ago. The search I did said there shouldn't be a problem. Apparently wild birds like to eat them too.

 

[FlyWheel]

So long as they are eating enough of their nutritious food as well and not just stuffing themselves with 'candy' I would think it's all right.




"If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! HOW can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat??" - Pink Floyd / Another Brick In The Wall

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have a mulberry tree in the run. During mulberry season the first place they go in the morning when I let them out is to see what fell under the tree overnight. It’s not a problem.

Don’t be surprised if you see some color in the chicken poop. I feed mine beet skins when I can beets. The first time I did that I thought they were pooping pure blood until I remembered what they ate. When I feed them red cabbage leaves you can see an interesting blue sheen in their poop. There is nothing wrong with this, it’s normal, but it can be disconcerting if you are not ready for it.

With that many trees you might consider making mulberry jelly. That’s one of my favorites. Strain it to just get the juice and avoid the seeds. Some people don’t like mulberry trees because birds eat them then poop on sidewalks, driveways, or cars and stain them, but my tree is far enough away that is not a problem. I like my mulberry tree.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

X2 I'm with you.
We've always had a lot of mulberry trees at the farm where we had chickens growing up and where I am now. I'm going to try to collect this year and make wine.

 

[Okiedori]

We did just that last year before w had chickens. They make a pretty good cobbler too.

 

[Okiedori]

We tried wine too, but it seems that takes more skill. There we so many that we finally had to freeze them.

 

[Okiedori]

Oh well good to know. I guess I should have suspected that after the dog expelled purple. I really hope they keep the area cleaned up for the dog's sake.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have so many that even with 40 or 50 chickens, they can't keep up.

As for wine, they require the addition of a very sweet fruit or a lot of sugar or it won't ferment well.