Foraging for Fodder

When it was looking like it would never rain again, I started to think about how I could supplement the livestock's increasingly meagre supplies.
There are some things which I know they like. For instance, the sheep go mad for willow or indeed any part of any tree. And I know the hens enjoy a bit of Fat Hen - it doesn't get its name by accident.

Believe it or not, most animals like a bit of nettle too, but you have to cut it for them. The turkeys are the exception to this as they'll happily peck at the growing plants. It's such a shame that for their own safety I cannot let them wander. I have discovered that the turkeys are also hooked on two other things. Dock seeds, which I have oodles of, and squidgy tomatoes. So every day I snip a few dock stems for them. They are easy to find as their rusty brown seed spikes protrude above the vegetation.

It turns out that the sheep like dock too, but I have decided to reserve it for the turkeys. The sheep like Fat Hen too and there is plenty of it growing in my veg patch. So every day I pull some for them. I snip off the fibrous roots and return them to the soil. The fat hen is absolutely laden with seeds which must be a source of goodness for the sheep.

The Muscovies prefer a nice bit of comfrey, especially if it has flowers on. This is jam packed full of minerals and vitamins.

Back to the sheep and a nice bit of Jerusalem Artichoke stem. I cut the sunchokes back at this time of year and they give a good bulk of greenery. Usually it is reserved for the compost heap, but this year the sheep take precedence.

The geese have been let into the lower orchard, mainly to keep them away from the brown chickens' food for my laying girls have been given total free-range during the day.

Main job for the geese is to trim the long grass in there, though they are quite adept at getting to any low growing fruit too! No worries, there is plenty for everyone.

It is not just the turkeys who have a penchant for tomatoes. The Pekin ducks enjoy them too. The problem here is that my ducks live in the veg patch. They are doing a brilliant job at keeping down the slug population but I have drawn the line at swapping this service for tomatoes. The tomatoes are now protected by spare sheep hurdles and netting.