Poke Sallet

[willy3486]

I have a lot of poke sallet around that I need to cut down. I was wondering can I put t in the chicken fence with them after I cut it down? Its the plants with a color between red and bright purple. They have berries that will stain your clothes purple if you get it on them. I was thinking if you cook it you have to do it a cerian way because it has a poison or something that will make you sick or I could be wrong on the poison. So will raw poke sallet plants and berries hurt chickens? My chickens go crazy for any berries and I thinking of getting some for them. They are about to start laying in the next few weeks.

 

[oldchickenlady]

Poke sallet has such a strong flavor I don't know that your chickens will eat it raw. I have some growing around my yard here and there and I don't recall seeing 'chicken damage' from my free ranging hens. Unlike my Hostas and begonias! They love those! Anyway, to cook it you just put in a pot (takes a lot because it wilts down) cover with water and bring to a boil, then turn down fire and simmer for a few minutes. Drain off that water, fill pot again and boil it again. Drain it, cool, then see if your chickens will eat it. Full grown plants are probably not going to be their favorite thing to eat, but who knows...they may be all over it! At least if you boil it 2x it will be less strong in flavor. Spring poke sallet is mine! I won't share with my chickens!

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

you are kidding right? LOl LOl..poke Sallet is something that I grew up eating every spring and first part of the summer. I love it, absolutely love it. Now once the berries get on there we were always told it was poisionous so we stopped eating it by then. but we would eat it up until then. boil it, then drain it and put it in a frying pan of lots of smothered onions and some oil and saute it plenty, and it is some of the best ever. i grew up on a farm and My Grandmother was a major survivor of the land, we had huge and I mean huge gardens, cattle, pigs, chickens, geese, rabbits...you name it. To this day, I still eat lots of Poke sallet when it starts coming up. I miss my Grandmother so much. she was my best friend and mentor....

 

[oldchickenlady]

D'Angelo N Va. :

you are kidding right? LOl LOl..poke Sallet is something that I grew up eating every spring and first part of the summer. I love it, absolutely love it. Now once the berries get on there we were always told it was poisionous so we stopped eating it by then. but we would eat it up until then. boil it, then drain it and put it in a frying pan of lots of smothered onions and some oil and saute it plenty, and it is some of the best ever. i grew up on a farm and My Grandmother was a major survivor of the land, we had huge and I mean huge gardens, cattle, pigs, chickens, geese, rabbits...you name it. To this day, I still eat lots of Poke sallet when it starts coming up. I miss my Grandmother so much. she was my best friend and mentor....

Me too! I really miss picking poke sallet with my grandmother. She always had a big garden also and some of my earliest memories are of her in her garden showing me how to pick vegetables, dig potatos, etc. I learned so much from her...we canned all kinds of stuff and made jelly, etc and I don't have anyone to pass that knowledge down to. My 3 boys have nooo interest in gardening and certainly not canning or cooking! Maybe a granddaughter someday...​

 

[GardenerGal]

I have lots of poke on my property. Poke sallet is fine to eat as young shoots, BUT all parts of the mature plant, including berries, are poisonous to humans and I think to chickens too. I wouldn't feed it to my flock.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

It is poison to goats, as it makes them go blind, so I wouldn't feed the chickens raw polk. If you cook it, forget the chickens, feed it to me! I love it with scrambled eggs cooked in it.

 

[jomercer]

Pokeweed is toxic in all parts of the plant. The young sprouts in the spring are o.k. as a spring "tonic," but I wouldn't eat it or feed any of it to my animals.

Cornell has a really good toxic plant page with links to photos and details on the plants. http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/alphalist.html

 

[NellaBean]

My girls were having some fine dining on the poke berries last night..........one wandered up with a bright purple beak........she was fine and dandy this morning though. I have tons of it all over the place so if they want to eat it, go for it. Judging by the amount of purple wild bird poops I find around the place, they aren't the only birds that like it.

 

[oldchickenlady]

Quote:
I can say, from personal experience that poke sallet berries are not poisonous. I found this out years ago when my twins boys were about 2. We had a big fenced in backyard that I kept 'danger free' (except for the stupid fire ants!) for the boys to play in. Well, we had enclosed our carport to make a play room for them and that formed an 'L' shape at the back of the house. Unknown to me, a poke sallet plant sprouted up in that corner. They came in from playing one day with purple stains all over their hands, mouth, and clothes! I freaked and ran outside and found the poke plant...berry-less. At first I was going to take them to the emergency room, but then, as I could see they were not in any distress, no drooling, vomiting, crying, or anything, I decided to clean them up and watch them for a while first. I washed them up good (those purple stains don't come off easy) then sat them down and watched them. I checked their breathing, pulse, and the pupils of their eyes, and told them to tell me if they felt sick at their stomach. 2 hours go by and...nothing! Hmmm...I thought they must not have ingested any, just smashed them and/or spit them out. Soooo, next morning they wake up and when I go to change their diapers....they were full of poke berry seeds! Not just one or two, but more than a handful! They never had any problems with eating the berries! So...either poke berries are not poisonous -OR- my boys have really really strong stomachs! Or it takes huge quantities to be poisonous...

 

[AKsmama]

Pokeweed is on the toxic plant list at http://www.poultryhelp.com/toxicplants.html:


POKEBERRY, POKEWEED (Phytolacca americans); leaves, roots; gastrointestinal tract affected by saponins.

Just an FYI.