Pokeweed

[janinepeters]

[I have loads of poke and the chcikens don't touch the plant or the berries. It's one of the FEW things they don't eat in the yard lol

I wonder, though, if the chickens don't eat the berries, if it is because they can't reach them. Poke berries tend to be borne at the top of the plant.

 

[Mskayladog]

I wonder, though, if the chickens don't eat the berries, if it is because they can't reach them.  Poke berries tend to be borne at the top of the plant.
[/quote]

True but they fly jump up to get at the grapes and the apples and the seeds on tall weeds yet I have never seen the jump up to get the berries off the poke.


edit look how short this one is and they dont touch it

this is a tall one they could jump and get the berries

Im curious now, Has anyone had your chicks eat the poke berries???


its the seeds that are posion
] Phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin are present in many species which are poisonous to mammals if not cooked properly. However, the berries are eaten by birds, which are not affected by the toxin because the small seeds with very hard outer shells remain intact in the digestive system and are eliminated whole.[citatio

http://westboroughlandtrust.org/nn/nn145.php

above is a list of birds that eat it.


from everything i have found and read poke berries are fine for chickens and some claims it acts a wormer.
My chicks wont touch it though...they want watermelon or the sqush and grapes in the garden.

 

[animallover505]

they probably only eat the really ripe berries.

 

[janinepeters]

they probably only eat the really ripe berries.

Could be, but they certainly eat unripe berries of other plants, such as blueberry, autumn olive, and elderberry.

 

[black_fleet]

Wondering this myself as I have this plant spring up every year, I found this on the chicken dvm website. It states that all parts of the plant are toxic to poultry.

 

[AustralorpSupremacist]

If you free range your flock they may utilize poke weed on their own perhaps for medicine. Sepp Holzer suggests this point with other free range animals such as pigs or bison.

 

[Al Gerhart]

The old folks in Eastern Oklahoma ate full grown poke salad in the spring and summer but they boiled it and changed the water to make it edible or non poisonous. I suppose you could do the same for the chickens, boil it up. Not sure how nutritious it is, maybe some minerals and vitamins, couldn't have much food value.

 

[StandinginSovereignty]

My chickens eat poke salad down to the stems, when they are foraging.

Chhris

Yeah I'm wondering if this whole things about poke being poisonous to chicks Is actually false. Mine eat it too, leave the stalk and they are fine. Even when it's a mature plant

 

[StandinginSovereignty]

The old folks in Eastern Oklahoma ate full grown poke salad in the spring and summer but they boiled it and changed the water to make it edible or non poisonous. I suppose you could do the same for the chickens, boil it up. Not sure how nutritious it is, maybe some minerals and vitamins, couldn't have much food value.

Why do you think it wouldn't have much food value? Just curious. There are actually lots of green plants that are packed with nutrients. They also make great garden fertilizer teas when steeped in water.

 

[neo71665]

The way we grew up eating it was you boiled it at least 3 times. Boil it for about 10 minutes and change the water, repeat. Keep doing it until the water comes off clear. You can eat it just like that but IMHO the best way is to scramble it with some eggs in bacon drippings. I could make a whole meal off that and cornbread.

Alot of us old timers would also throw in some squirrel or pig brains and scrambled that with it also.