The birds love the Comfrey!

[Ra_]

Interesting thread. I have been working with comfrey myself. I am drin’ing an infusion of comfrey leaf once a week.

Are you feeling any effects?
Be careful, it's powerful stuff.
I read that the roots are 10x as potent as the leaves.

 

[h2oratt]

Are you feeling any effects?
Be careful, it's powerful stuff.
I read that the roots are 10x as potent as the leaves.

Only do the leaf, not the root. No effect yet but I have suffered from chronic fatigue my whole life.

 

[Molpet]

interesting thread
basically the blocking one's leaves are safe to ingest

https://permies.com/t/56870/kitchen/comfrey-bad-ingest

 

[Ra_]

Only do the leaf, not the root. No effect yet but I have suffered from chronic fatigue my whole life.

I tried a cup of root tea a month ago but that's the only time I've ingested it myself.
I like the salve a lot but my main goal is to eventually cut my feed bills in half.

 

[Ra_]

interesting thread
basically the blocking one's leaves are safe to ingest
https://permies.com/t/56870/kitchen/comfrey-bad-ingest

I don't know about the Bocking varieties being any safer but I like what Martin Jaeger said;

"All this controversy started because a guy in Australia decided to self-medicate using Comfrey, and could not be bothered to research it enough to know what he was doing. Basically he brewed up a cup of Comfrey tea, using couple teaspoons of the root each time, and drunk two or three cups every day, day after day, week after week, month after month, until the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (symphytine, echimidine, symglandine and lycopsamine) built up enough to poison his liver. I don't recall how many months that took to kill him...I'd guess six months to a year. So then the Aussie equivalent of our FDA banned Comfrey as a deadly substance, and not to be outdone, our beloved FDA tried to do the same. It would seem neither understands that everything has an overdose potential, and everything that has a good effect also has a bad effect. Chug a big bottle of Bacardi 151 Rum, and you die. Take too many AMA-sponsored, FDA-approved, doctor-prescribed sleeping pills, and you die. Anyway, using comfrey leaf poultice, salve, etc., is not dangerous. Comfrey leaf tea is not dangerous if taken sensibly. Comfrey root should only be used by a actual herbalist that knows what he is doing."

 

[h2oratt]

I have been following an herbalist who has drunken the infusion of the leaves for at least 50 years. Not sure what variety she uses. An infusion is much stronger than a tea.

 

[h2oratt]

I have been following an herbalist who has drunken the infusion of the leaves for at least 50 years. Not sure what variety she uses. An infusion is much stronger than a tea.

In the link you provided it has the info from susun weed. She is the herbalist I follow.

 

[Ra_]

Only do the leaf, not the root. No effect yet but I have suffered from chronic fatigue my whole life.

I just posted some info here that you may find useful?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/iodine.1314941/#post-21491162

 

[Ra_]

I planted a patch in-ground this year that is doing phenomenal.
After the birds feasted for about 3 days, I sliced the remaining thick stalks off right at ground level. Most advice tells you to cut it about 2 inches above ground but that's bad advice, in my opinion. Get all the old stuff out of the way.
It grew back bigger than ever in a MERE THREE WEEKS!

 

[Jac Jac]

I planted a patch in-ground this year that is doing phenomenal.
After the birds feasted for about 3 days, I sliced the remaining thick stalks off right at ground level. Most advice tells you to cut it about 2 inches above ground but that's bad advice, in my opinion. Get all the old stuff out of the way.
It grew back bigger than ever in a MERE THREE WEEKS!

View attachment 1823373

Nice Pic. I will be proud to plant Comfrey if it grows as beautiful as this and is as healthful to the flock as the info I've acquired from this site "proves". Many thanks to you and all the other "flockkers", as I'm well on my way to being an excellent chicken/duck Mama.