VickiLynn
Lovin' The Homestead
Has anyone tried to preserve them -maybe freezing or drying- to feed to chickens in the winter? If so, how did it turn out? My chicks love them and it seems a waste to let all that free food go.
Dandelions
- Thread starter VickiLynn
- Start date
freemotion
Food Guru
I make "lawn hay" every summer by drying the clippings from the best part of our untreated lawn on the driveway. I turn the clippings throughout the day and rake them up into grain bags when they are crispy-dry, and store them for the winter.
I always make too many and now I have 3 sacks of lovely bedding for my broody and her chicks. I will be making some fresh in a couple of weeks. The early spring growth is the best.
I always make too many and now I have 3 sacks of lovely bedding for my broody and her chicks. I will be making some fresh in a couple of weeks. The early spring growth is the best.
tommywalnuts
Lovin' The Homestead
Hey (or hay lol), thats a great idea, I'll try that as well with the next mowing.
Jamsoundsgood
Lovin' The Homestead
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2009
- Messages
- 200
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 69
My husband did that last year. It worked great! Our cows liked it too. 
MetalSmitten
Lovin' The Homestead
you can eat the dandelions too use 'em in salads etc.
i'd think you could otherwise dehydrate/dry them, or maybe even freeze them (freeze on a flat sheet in a single layer first, then you can bag them, keeps them from sticking together) but i'm not positive.
you can also make wine.
good luck!
use 'em in salads etc. i'd think you could otherwise dehydrate/dry them, or maybe even freeze them (freeze on a flat sheet in a single layer first, then you can bag them, keeps them from sticking together) but i'm not positive.
you can also make wine.
good luck!
rebecca100
Almost Self-Reliant
I can't get my chickens to touch greens once they are dried :/. I usually feed stuff like that to the rabbits and they practically maul me at the cage door for them.
Aidenbaby
Lovin' The Homestead
The only dried greens that my "girls" will touch is alfalfa... but only the leaves, not the stalks. I'm thinking about drying some grass to save some for winter. Does anyone know what the life cycle for grass is? I'm trying to encourage it to spread and I would like some that is self seeding (I've got a blend of roughly 8 or so different kinds of seeds that I've been planting when I dig up my dandelions.
As far as dandelions specifically, I've been digging them up, sprinkling some grass seed in each hole and walking away. I'm hoping that the dandelion root will have pulls some nutrients to the surface before I've dug them up. Then, between the hole (using the dandelion digger thingie) and the grass seeds falling into the hole a bit deeper, I am aerating and reseeding the lawn. I don't know if it will work for sure but so far so good. I noticed a few years ago that when we had aerated the lawn the seeds that fell into the holes have withstood summer droughts better.
Oh, and I'm one of the people on here making dandelion wine. In fact, it's ready to be bottled. Then, it'll sit for 6 months and
hopefully be drinkable or even yummy. You don't need to kill the dandelion plant to make it as you only need the petals. I used the recipe from The Backyard Homesteader. It also has a recipe to make a coffee like drink out of older roots.
As far as dandelions specifically, I've been digging them up, sprinkling some grass seed in each hole and walking away. I'm hoping that the dandelion root will have pulls some nutrients to the surface before I've dug them up. Then, between the hole (using the dandelion digger thingie) and the grass seeds falling into the hole a bit deeper, I am aerating and reseeding the lawn. I don't know if it will work for sure but so far so good. I noticed a few years ago that when we had aerated the lawn the seeds that fell into the holes have withstood summer droughts better.
Oh, and I'm one of the people on here making dandelion wine. In fact, it's ready to be bottled. Then, it'll sit for 6 months and
hopefully be drinkable or even yummy. You don't need to kill the dandelion plant to make it as you only need the petals. I used the recipe from The Backyard Homesteader. It also has a recipe to make a coffee like drink out of older roots.
Rebecka
Lovin' The Homestead
We use them ourselves so I happen to have some that I have dried. I like Dandelion tea. So, for the sake of experimentation.. I grabbed a handful just now and threw them to the chickens. They got all excited that the food lady was throwing stuff and then looked at me like I was crazy once they poked at them. A few of them ate the dried green portion but none of them were interested in the flower heads.
hwillm1977
Almost Self-Reliant
My mom used to make wine from dandelions...
Now I feed them to the chickens but like most other posters, mine won't eat anything dried... they only like the fresh greens.
Now I feed them to the chickens
but like most other posters, mine won't eat anything dried... they only like the fresh greens.- Thread starter
- #10
VickiLynn
Lovin' The Homestead
Sounds like a mixed bag of results - those fickle chickens! I guess I'll try drying some and see what they think of it. The farmer that rents our land has alfalfa planted, so maybe I'll grab a few handfulls and dry that along with it. The lawn hay for bedding idea sounds like a winner, I'll have to try that, too. So my "To Do" list just got a little longer.
