I’m thrilled to tell you that
I was wrong.
I’ve tried all the methods folks recommend using to feed
comfrey to chickens,
and our flock has always turned up their spoiled little
beaks. In the end, I decided that the experts were simply
repeating conventional wisdom without trying it themselves and that
chickens don’t really like comfrey, fresh or dried.
However, I changed my
tune when our current batch of month-old Australorp chicks
discovered a comfrey plant in the forest
garden island and
picked it to
pieces. My guess is that one chicken thought the plant was tasty
and all of his or her siblings had to see what the fuss was
about. Now, if I could only figure out why they’re ignoring the
other
five comfrey plants in their pasture….
As a side note, I’m
absolutely thrilled by the hard work our chicks are doing in the whole
forest
garden island. I can tell my little ecosystem is much
healthier as a result of these busy chicken feet.
The chicks
are mostly ignoring the Egyptian onions, daffodils, and crocuses in
favor of
scratching through the leaves, which has the side effect of controlling
orchard pests.
Even though the chicks don’t eat most of the plants present, the tall
onions, especially, seem to make them feel safer and more inclined to
forage a distance from the coop.
I’m ready to proclaim
this chickens + forest garden experiment a success, to be repeated
every spring. I only wish I had enough chicken power on the
ground to have hit all of the fruit trees during this critical period!
