Why do my chickens dine on dandelions?

[Compost King]

We have a store here that sells dandelion greens, its the expensive grocery store where the fancy people shop. Probably the people who like to manicure their perfect lawns suddenly want to buy weeds to eat because its trendy lol. I prefer to just go out and harvest them out of the lawn.

 

[kcan2]

We have a store here that sells dandelion greens, its the expensive grocery store where the fancy people shop. Probably the people who like to manicure their perfect lawns suddenly want to buy weeds to eat because its trendy lol. I prefer to just go out and harvest them out of the lawn.

Too funny! Sometimes the chickens seem to make more sense than the people...

I sampled a dandelion leaf today and either I chewed it for too long, or I should wait for spring to give it another shot!

 

[Compost King]

Too funny! Sometimes the chickens seem to make more sense than the people...

I sampled a dandelion leaf today and either I chewed it for too long, or I should wait for spring to give it another shot!

I have put Dandelions on sandwiches instead of lettuce and felt they were great. Reminded me of those fancy over priced leaf lettuces that I like but would never pay for. Bitter enough to add crisp refreshing flavor to food. I actually haven't done this in a while because when I find them I feed my rabbits and when chickens find them they disappear.

 

[rosemarythyme]

We have a store here that sells dandelion greens, its the expensive grocery store where the fancy people shop. Probably the people who like to manicure their perfect lawns suddenly want to buy weeds to eat because its trendy lol. I prefer to just go out and harvest them out of the lawn.

I may have bought some from the store before...

In my defense, hard to get greens to eat when your garden is frozen/buried in snow.

 

[Compost King]

I may have bought some from the store before...

In my defense, hard to get greens to eat when your garden is frozen/buried in snow.

Nothing wrong with buying something you want to eat. I just get a kick out of people who treat their lawn to get rid of stuff and then go off and buy that very same thing they treated their law to get rid of. Those people are actually the norm and I am weird guy who spreads dandelion seeds on purpose.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I sampled a dandelion leaf today and either I chewed it for too long, or I should wait for spring to give it another shot!

They can be quite bitter for sure, so if that's a flavor profile you hate, not quite so enjoyable. Baby leaves in spring is apparently the way to go.

 

[Compost King]

They can be quite bitter for sure, so if that's a flavor profile you hate, not quite so enjoyable. Baby leaves in spring is apparently the way to go.

Bitter by itself is not a pleasure but bitter combined with cheese is actually stimulating. I use Feta or Bleu cheese on sandwiches and Dandelions go great with that.

 

[Hidrainja4]

I have honey bees. I used to see empty lots as waste areas but if you look they are filled with blooming plants all summer long giving my bees something to work with. A manicured green grass lawn deprives my bees from making a living. Bees love blooming dandelions. My perspective has changed. I think it is amazing the chickens "know" what is good for them.

 

[Grannybug]

We have a store here that sells dandelion greens, its the expensive grocery store where the fancy people shop. Probably the people who like to manicure their perfect lawns suddenly want to buy weeds to eat because its trendy lol. I prefer to just go out and harvest them out of the lawn.

Your comment about the store that sells dandelion greens reminds me of when I moved to watertown MA from Utah & discovered the grocery store in Cambridge near Harvard sold fresh violet flowers & fiddleheads in the produce dept. I'm back in UT now & eat my own dandelions as do my chickens but oh! I miss fiddleheads!

 

[Flockincrazy]

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.

Dandelions leaves and flowers are sweet you have never eaten Dandelion pie before its so good