[Springlands]

My efforts at growing celery were not good - very stunted and mainly leaves - would this be OK to feed to my hens or would it be too strong. I have mainly fed them on lettuce, cabbage, apples and a few grapes in the past. Thanks for any advice.

[Prod]

I have given mine celery leaves before now (which I trim off when I buy before it goes in the kitchen, honest   and they loved it. I normally give them an apple as a treat which I slice and hand feed them but today I ran out so I gave them a sliced potato  They went mad for it!!!  They dont like cabbage leaves or carrots tho....

[splash101]

Mine like it too, the sticks as well as leaves.

There isnt any real nutritional value to it, like a lot of things i suppose, but they dont have it that often.

[Springlands]

Thank you for your replies. I am not in a hurry to clear the area where the celery is so I will try feeding the hens a little at a time and see how they respond.

[ANHBUC]

I have given mine celery leaves before now (which I trim off when I buy before it goes in the kitchen, honest   and they loved it. I normally give them an apple as a treat which I slice and hand feed them but today I ran out so I gave them a sliced potato  They went mad for it!!!  They dont like cabbage leaves or carrots tho....

Was the potato cooked as they shouldn't have raw potato?   

[Prod]

It was cooked  but why not raw???

[pink aubergine]

I feed mine any left over green stuff from the lottie, and they have access to the compost heap which they scrat around in.
 However regarding anything harder  which we perhaps wouldn't eat raw, I cook up and feed to them.
So when I'm preparing a meal I put all the potato, carrot, & squash peelings as well as the cabbage stalks chopped up in a saucepan and cook up and feed mixed in with some mash or pellets, a real treat on a cold morning. Like a warm mash.
They have always laid eggs right through the winter, and we put down to this, done it for 25 years. My mother in law always kept a crock pot for peelings in the bottom oven of the aga for the same.

[ANHBUC]

It was cooked  but why not raw???

I understand that raw potato skins~contain Solanine which is poisonous to birds.   

[andy46]

My girls love it i chop it up into small pieces and mix it with there cabbage and its all ways the first to get eaten

[arugula]

I feed mine any left over green stuff from the lottie, and they have access to the compost heap which they scrat around in.
 However regarding anything harder  which we perhaps wouldn't eat raw, I cook up and feed to them.
So when I'm preparing a meal I put all the potato, carrot, & squash peelings as well as the cabbage stalks chopped up in a saucepan and cook up and feed mixed in with some mash or pellets, a real treat on a cold morning. Like a warm mash.
They have always laid eggs right through the winter, and we put down to this, done it for 25 years. My mother in law always kept a crock pot for peelings in the bottom oven of the aga for the same.

Just to remind you, per DEFRA's instruction:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=100729.msg1119863#msg1119863

the forum cannot condone any illegal activity you may undertake.

[Eileen M]

I think our hens would eat anything they can get there beaks on.  We had our builder here a few weeks ago, he sat out in the garden to have his lunch & lost his blueberry muffin out of his hand!

[Springlands]

I dug up the first of the celery today. The hens were not too sure but the ducks were certainly enjoying it.