Weeds 101 | A Nutritious, FREE Treat for your Backyard Chickens
Chickens love weeds....so do ducks.
As an added bonus, most backyard weeds are extremely nutritious and contain tons of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
Winter weeds are especially good healthy treats when grass and other greens are scarce.
Weeds 101 | A Nutritious, FREE Treat for your Backyard Chickens
Certain weeds like pennycress and alfalfa contain the compounds that make your egg yolks bright orange, and some - like chickweed, henbit and fat hen - were originally so named because chickens loved them so much.
Chickweed is also a natural pain reliever.
Clover is one of the most nutritiously complete weeds you could feed your chickens and other livestock. Yarrow is common almost everywhere and while the chickens probably won't eat it, it has lots of antibacterial properties and hanging yarrow in the coop can help clear their respiratory systems.
But if your husband is anything like mine, our lawn is his pride and joy.
Every weekend spring through fall, he is out there on weekends riding around on his John Deere cutting the grass or fertilizing or spraying weeds. Weeds are the bane of his existence. He sprays and pulls and cuts, trying to obliterate them all.
I am a bit different.
To me, if it's green, its fine. A lawn full of dandelions, clover and other weeds is okay by me. It's more natural (we live in the country after all) and the bunnies love the clover. I don't like using pesticides or herbicides at all anywhere.
However, we have managed to compromise. The front lawn is his to mow, pamper and keep weed-free. Out back stays natural and full of weeds.
If you can choose a spot in your yard to let the weeds grow untreated and unmolested, your chickens will love you for it.
(Update: since moving to Maine, we leave our entire property pesticide-free and live a far more natural livestyle! Yay!)
Safe Weeds for your Backyard Chickens
Here are some of the more common weeds that grow like crazy in many parts of the country. They are all perfectly safe to feed to your chickens in unlimited amounts.
Potentially Toxic Weeds for your Backyard Chickens
There are long lists of toxic plants and weeds to avoid, but for the most part, chickens will know what they can eat and what they can't.
Most of the common 'yard' weeds are fine, except for this one: the Buttercup (Ranunculus spp) can be toxic.
But other than the buttercup, give a handful of (untreated with pesticides or herbicides) weeds to your chickens and see which ones they like.