Weeds and such

[ehoneybee]

I have a big area of weeds that I'm wondering if I can turn my chickens loose on. It is periwinkle on the bottom but mainly tall weeds that I'm in the process of weeding out. What would they do in there?

 

[lazy gardener]

They would eat what they want, and thoroughly trash the rest.

 

[ehoneybee]

Oh that's fine. Just wasn't sure if it wasn't ok that the weeds are super tall, like a few feet.

 

[lazy gardener]

I let the weeds grow up in the unused bays of my chicken run before I turned them loose in there. Many of the weeds were my shoulder level. One ambitious weed has even grown up through the netting that covers the 6' tall run. The girls have knocked most of the weeds down to bare stems, and are enjoying the many seeds produced by the weeds.

 

[ehoneybee]

I let the weeds grow up in the unused bays of my chicken run before I turned them loose in there. Many of the weeds were my shoulder level. One ambitious weed has even grown up through the netting that covers the 6' tall run. The girls have knocked most of the weeds down to bare stems, and are enjoying the many seeds produced by the weeds.

Woohoo!

 

[Dawnclucks22]

A couple of my girls absolutely LOVE weeds - trust me, it's good for them and also fun to watch. Go for it.

 

[centrarchid]

Mine work plants harder if feed high in protein like a chick starter and is fed in limited quantities. The chickens then invest more in making up the difference by working on plants. Not using term "weeds" because opinions can vary on that. Plant species can be important as can developmental stage of those plants.

 

[ehoneybee]

Mine work plants harder if feed high in protein like a chick starter and is fed in limited quantities. The chickens then invest more in making up the difference by working on plants. Not using term "weeds" because opinions can vary on that. Plant species can be important as can developmental stage of those plants.

Right! A weed is just a name for a plant we haven't discovered a use for yet ;-)