Why do my chickens dine on dandelions?

[Compost King]

I spread Dandelion Seeds (some neighbors hate me doing it) They are one of the most beneficial "weeds" you can have. Great food for humans, chickens love them but if you have an organic lawn their deep roots bring Calcium up and when you mow them or their leaves fall off they distribute Calcium to a level that your grass can access it. I prefer a lawn full of Dandelions... as well as clover, Plantains etc over a one of those perfect weedless lawns that have become the norm. If I do get a weed I prefer not to have in the lawn I uproot it remove seeds and compost it.

 

[kcan2]

I spread Dandelion Seeds (some neighbors hate me doing it) They are one of the most beneficial "weeds" you can have. Great food for humans, chickens love them but if you have an organic lawn their deep roots bring Calcium up and when you mow them or their leaves fall off they distribute Calcium to a level that your grass can access it. I prefer a lawn full of Dandelions... as well as clover, Plantains etc over a one of those perfect weedless lawns that have become the norm. If I do get a weed I prefer not to have in the lawn I uproot it remove seeds and compost it.

How interesting! I will definitely look at my dandelions with more mercy knowing all of this. We have plenty of clover, which come to think of, I have seen my chickens snatching bites of, too.

Composting is a skill I'd love to learn, as I also have a very "needy" garden!

 

[Compost King]

How interesting! I will definitely look at my dandelions with more mercy knowing all of this. We have plenty of clover, which come to think of, I have seen my chickens snatching bites of, too.

Composting is a skill I'd love to learn, as I also have a very "needy" garden!

I am just a composting enthusiast, far from an expert. My composts are not even the official correct way to compost. I am just a weird guy who loves poop. Not cat or dog poop... but most live stock poops. I love turning Poop into rich soil. I love growing in 100% compost and never adding fertilizer, or rarely adding it. If i have a plant problem caused by a deficiency I will add a little something here or there... usually Calcium. I have had conversations and read posts with people in here who are far more knowledgable on composting than I am. The basic thing you need to know with composting is have high nitrogen materials (Manure) and high carbon Material (straw or saw dust or wood mulch) mixed together and it will compost. Keep it on high ground and avoid having a pile in standing water. Keep experimenting with that and you will eventually develop a composting system that fits you. My system is basically a giant pile on the highest ground on my property. I like to use Bamboo to create air pockets others like to turn their piles. Turning is probably better but Bamboo air pockets is easier... everyone has their own way of doing it

 

[Folly's place]

Another wild plant in the lawn, especially in part shade, is the wild violets that flower in season, look pretty, and can be mowed occasionally to keep them even with the lawn.
If it's green in the lawn, we mow it, and all is well. Never weed, never fertilize, all good!
Mary

 

[3KillerBs]

I will have to try that! Maybe tomorrow as salad is already on the menu.

Like many other leafy plants, dandelions in the summer are often unbearably bitter.

Young leaves in the spring, however, are absolutely delicious.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I've got dandelions, clover, wild violets, buttercups, and crabgrass.
My chickens prefer plain old grass, unknown weeds and bugs.
When I was a child, one of my babysitters would take me out to a field and pick dandelions.
I don't remember if she made a salad or cooked them. GC

 

[Sonya9]

In addition to their normal bug-hunting, I noticed that my chickens specifically eat dandelion leaves (not the flowers) pretty often.

Besides attempting to remind me to eat more salad, does anyone know why they like dandelion leaves so much?

They actually have me wondering of there is something healthy or beneficial to eating dandelions.

The common Dandelion is actually a European plant that was brought over by the earliest settlers for food. During harsh winters a lack of Vitamin C was always a problem and dandelions were the first edible greens to pop up in the spring making them very valuable.

Many people still eat fresh young dandelion greens today. Course now we also know pine needles contain vitamin C too (so if 2020/21 brings teotwawki and we all become subsistance farmers eat your dandelion greens and make some pine needle tea to keep the scurvy away!)

 

[kcan2]

I am just a composting enthusiast, far from an expert. My composts are not even the official correct way to compost. I am just a weird guy who loves poop. Not cat or dog poop... but most live stock poops. I love turning Poop into rich soil. I love growing in 100% compost and never adding fertilizer, or rarely adding it. If i have a plant problem caused by a deficiency I will add a little something here or there... usually Calcium. I have had conversations and read posts with people in here who are far more knowledgable on composting than I am. The basic thing you need to know with composting is have high nitrogen materials (Manure) and high carbon Material (straw or saw dust or wood mulch) mixed together and it will compost. Keep it on high ground and avoid having a pile in standing water. Keep experimenting with that and you will eventually develop a composting system that fits you. My system is basically a giant pile on the highest ground on my property. I like to use Bamboo to create air pockets others like to turn their piles. Turning is probably better but Bamboo air pockets is easier... everyone has their own way of doing it

Thanks for the great info! This sounds like enough to get me started. I certainly appreciate your poop wisdom, especially since I'm a beginner!

Course now we also know pine needles contain vitamin C too (so if 2020/21 brings teotwawki and we all become subsistance farmers

I actually had to google this word. Although the pioneer days have always intrigued me, I believe I'm too big of a wimp to deal with any but the most minor forms of teotwawki. Here's hoping to eating my dandelions as a hobby, not a necessity!

 

[Compost King]

I certainly appreciate your poop wisdom

I grow plants for a living, I actually got chickens for poop. Turns out its cheaper to just buy poop than it is to feed chickens but I got hooked on the meat and eggs from home grown chickens.

 

[Sonya9]

I actually had to google this word. Although the pioneer days have always intrigued me, I believe I'm too big of a wimp to deal with any but the most minor forms of teotwawki. Here's hoping to eating my dandelions as a hobby, not a necessity!

Ha! It is a prepper term though with everything 2020 has brought so far it is within the realm of possibilities!