What? Chickens can't eat clover?

[SweetSilver]

The March/April issue of Chickens (Hobby Farms) has an article on safetly free ranging your chickens in your yard. A sidebar has a list of toxic plants. Most of these make sense...

Buckeye
Buttercup
Clover I knew I read years ago about White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba, the tall shrubby clover, not the one in the lawn (Trifolium repens.) I get conflicting information, but one source ("Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants (in Wild and Not So Wild Places)" by Steve Brill mentioned dicoumarin, a compound that is formed when coumarin, the vanilla scent present in M. alba, ferments. Googling "dicoumarin" I found a link to a UCLA web page that mentions dicoumarin (no mention of fermentation) and states that it is present in M. alba and caused scores of cattle deaths. I don't know how to print the link, but it was 3rd on the search results. Again, it did not mention fermentation, but it did confirm some of what I remember reading years ago.

Fireweed I'm curious how this got on the list? Fireweed is highly edible and sought after. But even our local wild edible guru, Arthur Lee Jacobsen, admits it can be "acrid" at times but that cooking alleviates it if it is a problem.
Foxglove
Ground Ivy I'm assuming this refers to Creeping Charlie, Glechoma (or Nepeta) hederacea, a mint relative.
Hemlock
Hemp
Hyacinth
Hydrangea
Japanese Yew
Jimson Weed
Kentucky Coffee Tree
Lantana
Larkspur
Lily-of-the-Valley
Lupine Carla Emery's chickens love the seeds, though, and she counted it as a protein source.
Milkweed
Purple Mint ?????
Nicker Tree
Nightshade
Ohio Buckeye
Oleander
Philodendron
Rhododendron
Rhubarb I also know of chickens who will eat this to the ground. Mine never touched it.
Saint-John's-wort
Sudan Grass
Tulip

But clover??? That's safe for human consumption, unlike all of the others. I've read several posts where members recommend giving clover to their chickens, and my front lawn is full of it during the summer. Can anyone clarify this for me?

 

[micareli]

I dont want the birds on my acreage next door, right now wheat, later beans, I have about 1/2 to 3/4 acre lot that is basically crab grass, thought od sowing wildflowers on it, then letting them loose on it when the bugs come to town, otherwise, may fence in a 50x50 run to graze down the crab grass..... any other ideas what to sow on this patch of land

 

[Chicks on DL]

I have learned so much on this forum but now I know that I am not a hippie for having chickens because more people are interested in being self sustaining but I AM a hippie for making my own organic feed.

 

[aggiemae]

Moldy or sour Alsike clover is thought to be toxic to some horses and cattle but not others.

My vet insists that garlic, grapes and onions are toxic for dogs however she doesn't think that fluoridated water is a problem....

 

[cecosugi]

Did anyone else notice hemp is on the list??? What if it's for medicinal use and the chicken as a note from her doctor? ;-)

That's funny, right there.

 

[Chris09]

Did anyone else notice hemp is on the list??? What if it's for medicinal use and the chicken as a note from her doctor? ;-)

I believe there talking about Hemp Seed or Hemp Seed Meal.

Hemp Seed Meal
Hemp Seed

Chris

 

[Roxannemc]

The dog thing...no garlic. I have read that garilic is good to get rid of worms in dogs.Not poison
I put garilic on eveything and all my dogs always have eaten my scraps no ill effect.
Anyway reading here it sounds like most thing chickens eat are ok,Not one person ( i did skip around the replys) has said their chicken died of any particular grass or plant so maybe they have a cortexual ancient knowledge of what they can & cant eat

 

[Atlann]

My chicks are less than 2 months old and in a coop with a small run. Twice I've given them a little freshly picked clover, which they devoured, and both times they got terrible diarrhea. I won't give it to them again, I'll tell you that.

 

[Soma Mesa]

Any one know why sudan grass is on the list?

 

[aggiemae]

Any part of the hemp plant is fine for chickens as long as it isn't moldy, modern cultivars, the kind grown for smoking/eating are cloned so don't often have seeds. Actually after reading the list I noticed that many of the plants on it are susceptible to mold, mildew and fungus so I suspecting that they are listed because they become toxic after they turn or, like rhubarb, they were included because they are toxic to humans.