Feeding Comfrey to Chickens: They Love it!

www.edibleacres.org/purchase/c...
We feed a LOT of comfrey to our chickens, and they really thrive on it. Of course, we offer other foods, but it is one of their top sources of quality protein, minerals, vitamins and nutrients during the summer. Incredibly easy to grow, super functional in the landscape if designed in properly and incredibly easy to propagate and spread if you wanted more. It's the perfect companion plant to supplement and support your chickens.
Some other folks sharing thoughts on comfrey:
www.albertaurbangarden.ca/201...
www.allotment-garden.org/comf...
www.nantahala-farm.com/comfrey...
www.edibleacres.org/ - our permaculture nursery in NYS
Edible Acres is a full service permaculture nursery located in the Finger Lakes area of NY state. We grow all layers of perennial food forest systems and provide super hardy, edible, useful, medicinal, easy to propagate, perennial plants for sale locally or for shipping around the country...
www.edibleacres.org/purchase - Your order supports the research and learning we share here on youtube.
We also offer consultation and support in our region or remotely.
www.edibleacres.org/services
Happy growing!

[@PermaPen]

I could watch chickens for hours, like those videos of birds for cats to watch....

[@lblake5653]

I don't know why but your chickens make me happy. They are just content and clucking away..Probably some of the healthiest birds I have seen on yt.

[@debrajones7349]

I’ve watched many comfrey videos but you’re the first to discuss how it can act as a natural barrier! Thank you!

[@isabelladavis1363]

Wow I love how this cycle works…you derive pleasure as well as the chickens…how wonderful!

[@edibleacres]

It seems to work nicely!

[@FamilySmith]

Wow! You're the first one I have seen so far who has discussed comfrey! I'm so glad you did! I can't wait to see your other videos discussing it!

[@edibleacres]

Thanks for coming to the channel. I have a few other comfrey videos and absolutely will be making more this season. It's a wonderful plant!

[@dirtpatcheaven]

I love comfrey

[@PetalsonthePavingSlabs]

I can get comfrey leaves, I'll try this for my chickens. Can't believe I've never come across giving comfrey to my hens before, thank you!

[@kevinwharem6464]

So, you're telling me that comfrey tastes like chicken... eventually! :-) Thanks for another great video.

[@melvinaroundy4647]

Love your set up, sounds like you are a good person to raise chickens.. I can tell that you love them

[@Redberryfarm888]

Our chickens love new piles to scratch through... even if the pile was just raked from their previously well scratched area - look! another pile! (...kinda reminds me of those clearance racks at a store...) Great video. Will have to construct a similar compost run at our place. Genius design using what chickens love to do!

[@edibleacres]

They love anything 'new' (even if it's a pile of old!)

[@steph6337]

I genuinely thought my flock was just weird doing that, lol!

[@truckertom3323]

A very good video,nice chickens you have there,they look well happy and healthy too.

[@yewsmile9928]

My horihori had a root puller end, I loved it ... It got lost in a field years ago, now I can find one like it.

[@joanl3669]

I will never need to know this, but I really enjoy learning about it. Your chickens look healthy and happy. Thanks for sharing your videos.

[@edibleacres]

Glad you found them enjoyable!

[@sherryberry2394]

Just discovered you the other day on KZbin, and I love your videos! I'm a minimalist and seek to be self-sufficient, so I find your information very useful. Your calm voice is almost meditative 💚😃🙏.

[@edibleacres]

Glad you are enjoying and welcome!

[@monabale8263]

i love your chickens...

[@travdutton6551]

Wow they're so healthy looking

[@oooops537]

Thank you for sharing. :) Love your set up and share.

[@edibleacres]

You are so welcome!

[@gladysgreen2]

So good. I'd love to see the eggs that your chickens lay, I'm sure they're deluxe & healthy

[@lilivdl]

Lovely video!

[@michaeljackson7361]

I think that's the happiest chickens I've ever seen

[@whatthestuffman]

I loved seeing the chicken yard flow and the development of the compost. I love the system!! I think you've got the happiest, healthiest chickens I've ever heard of. What incredibly nourishing eggs they must lay! And what "rich, exquisite compost" indeed. It's so cool to watch the evolution of your systems. Brings me abundant smiles and inspiration. Does it flow so nicely just from the slope and the chickens? Or do you help things move along manually at all?

[@edibleacres]

I definitely help it out by piling things up some what frequently. Pretty much every day I turn the compost and pile it to help it all along. A mutual project indeed! Thanks for watching!

[@whatthestuffman]

EdibleAcres I appreciate the reply! Good to know. Lots of love going into that compost :)

[@cjandauntieyaya1446]

Free chicken food. Use comfrey as ground cover and it helps once you take it out. Perfect plant and a perfect plan.

[@ednaofeliasabile5737]

I brew comfrey as a fertiliser for my veggie garden.

[@edibleacres]

Awesome!

[@ShadowWalker2024]

:-) Thanks for sharing! You are livin' my deam!

[@b.e.adventures2329]

You know it's good when they start singing.

[@lovemybabygoat]

Thank you ... really enjoyed this video. 👏👏👏

[@MistressOP]

I found with chickens if you put it through a leave shredder they eat more of it and quickly

[@bestofourlifes4725]

I'd really enjoy an update on this design!

[@drcongoheartofafrica7175]

Isn’t this wonderful...yes indeed.. nature as it was intended. Perfect example..from nature to nature. I would love to eat the eggs and meat from your chicken farm...Congrats.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@CanadianFarmGirl1]

I absolutely love how you have stacked function. I was wondering, if you had goats or cow manure would it be possible to incorporate it with the chickens compost area?

[@edibleacres]

That seems really reasonable.

[@mariannefroholdt9783]

I love your videos🥰

[@despicabledavidshort3806]

Love your vids. I just got my 1st chicks, I'd never even touched one before. I need all the help I can get

[@joydavis4087]

I was wondering if you have any predator pressure to deal with regarding your chickens? Also, do you clip their wings to keep them inside their run? I am hoping to mimic your set up. Was wondering if these are issues you deal with?

[@lifepuzzler8004]

Spectacular! Who was that tall, handsome fella with the palmate leaves in the garden shot?

[@edibleacres]

That gentleman was castor bean, a beautiful killer!

[@lifepuzzler8004]

Now I know - and knowing is half the battle! Thanks!

[@candidethirtythree4324]

Can you do an update on your worm and soldier fly harvest? I would like to see how that turned out.

[@edibleacres]

I should... It failed! So it hasn't been inspiring to make a video. I'm not sure why it failed, so it hasn't been a driving force to make an update video. Maybe title should be "Soldier Fly experiment: a failure, not sure at all why" I bet it would be a hit!

[@ruckus0407]

I checked your website and your all sold out of comfrey amd everything lol that's a good thing . I was wondering if it matters what kind of comfrey is good or if it matters. Great videos. been subscribed for a long time!

[@tracycrider7778]

Bocking 14

[@billthomas6592]

Great video! I just planted my 1st comfrey cuttings & cant wait! What is the info on the push mower? I've bought 2 that didn't work well & need a good one. Thanx!

[@edibleacres]

I got a greenworks 80V mower that is amazing.

[@candidethirtythree4324]

That is an awesome use of comfrey, I didn't know there were so many uses for it. Could you tell us more about that lawn mower? Looks like a great way to harvest greens too, no need to chop them up before you cook them LOL.

[@edibleacres]

Maybe, although with a dog in the backyard I use the greens only for the chickens! :) Its a 'fiskars reel mower' You can look it up online and learn about it. I'm not in the business of promoting products otherwise I'd put it in the description or something.

[@candidethirtythree4324]

ok, thank you. I get it about the dog LOL. I was thinking it would be a way to pick cut and come again greens in the garden but I realized it would chop up the salad greens into mush. It does look great for cutting just in the winding paths of permaculture forest or for chop and drop.

[@gracegwozdz8185]

Awesome info. Thanks. Do you feed your chickens with other herbs like Yarrow, Stinging nettles, dandelions?

[@edibleacres]

Dandelions for sure, nettles and yarrow they don't seem to go for

[@peterellis5626]

chuckle. I just had to cut back the sunchokes from around my lone comfrey. Both are notorious for their expansionist tendencies, but the sunchokes had closed canopy over the comfrey and were not giving it a chance! I should probably get in there and divide that comfrey to propagate it.

[@edibleacres]

keep cutting the sunchokes and feeding the cuttings to the comfrey and they'll figure out a balance I'm sure!

[@peterellis5626]

@@edibleacres petty much what I'm doing ;) I just had to laugh at the irony when I found it happening ;)

[@williamlookas7056]

Is comfrey better suited outside the run or inside ?

[@dianehall5345]

Thanks so much for this informative video. Our hay customer gave me a comfrey plant that is thriving at the end of my garden, along with my herbs that do not get tilled. I will cut the leaves for my neighbor's laying hens. At some point I will have hens and they will enjoy this thoughtful gift.

[@edibleacres]

I bet they'll appreciate it!

[@aliciaestrada4082]

Nice

[@lindajustice2000]

I love your chickens. What breed are the black and white chickens. Are they good layers? Gentle?. I will have to grow comfrey this year if I can find a source to buy it. Thanks for sharing your wonderful videos

[@edibleacres]

I believe those are Barred Rock. Very nice birds, very adventurous and mellow.

[@pauljohnston9446]

Comfry has significant amounts of calcium which makes nice eggshells

[@edibleacres]

Good note!

[@peterellis4262]

Well, you know full well where all that "excess" food ends up :) I wonder sometimes how much of what a chicken eats comes right out the other end. :)

[@missyt3017]

We have clay soil that tends to be wet over winter. Wondering if the comfrey will grow in these conditions?

[@erikjohnson9223]

Probably. I would suggest Prairie Dock or any other member of genus Silphium. They love raingardens, are native, and are deeper rooted.

[@yoopermann7942]

it seems to me chickens will eat any thing, now i know what to do with the comfrey trimmings,,, thank you for the tip

[@geomundi8333]

nettle is hard to cut and handle; but do you think they would like it for mite control? or for eating? I might try that; somehow nettle got in my comfrey patches

[@edibleacres]

I'm not sure they eat it directly, but we cut it and drop it in areas and consider it amazing worm food which the chickens definitely eat later!

[@norikotakei9417]

Wouldn't it be better if you cut the leaves a bit higher so that you don't cut off the smaller leaves? Better yield

[@hipolitozamorano2214]

Nice video at 4:41 what is that tall plant thanks

[@edibleacres]

That was a Castor plant

[@elhombredeoro955]

I also grow comfrey but there is larger greedier animals on the farm get most of them.

[@anniegaddis5240]

Good to know about Comfrey. Can they also eat Turmeric?

[@edibleacres]

I would think the flavor would be too strong for them to choose, but I haven't tried.

[@erikjohnson9223]

Why waste tumeric on livestock?

[@georgecarlin2656]

In my experience chicken like dandelion best of all, IIRC my chicken didn't like comfrey much. Some people said, and I tend to believe, that there's no scientific proof that comfrey has special nutrients not found in other plants, it's a plant revered in permaculture and hence its followers universally believe this. To me it's just a nice plant that provides diversity, has a deep root because it's perennial and doesn't have thorns. I try to grow alfalfa (lucerne) where possible because it's all of the above and also a nitrogen fixer and is one of the best (if not the best) foods for cows, didn't check on chicken.

[@edibleacres]

Comfrey is a great plant in that it's roots really go super deep for nutrients, but you are right that there are so so many other excellent plants to work with.

[@TheSittingmonkeyd]

could you please explain the comfrey rhizome barrier? I have a HUGE problem with bermuda grass!

[@edibleacres]

Certain plants with deep powerful roots and thick, full above ground vegetation can provide a lot of resistance if not complete protection from running plants. Comfrey planted in a line at 6" to 1' spacing for me will provide near complete blocking of grasses into gardens after about a year or two... The downside is that ANY soil disturbance near this planting will result in its spreading, which is a challenge. But overall quite effective. Here is a thread I found where people discuss the idea of rhizome barriers: permies.com/t/35378/Living-rhizome-barrier-plants

[@erikjohnson9223]

It is my observation that northern turfgrasses are positively wimps compared to Bahia and Bermuda (running crabgrasses as I call them). Perennial Tithonia is more likely to survive the Deep South than comfrey and is a common recommendation for biomass & nutrient accumulator, but is much taller, so not good for edging. When I was in Florida, the only taprooted things I remember were thistles (prickly) and weeds in the genus Crepsis. If you ruthlessly cut their flower stalks they might serve as broad edgers, but have a weedy potential of their own from seed. And your grass may be more powerful anyway. After my dad retired, he neglected mowing the lawn and native little bluestem (or something in the same genus--seems taller, narrower, and more upright than the Midwestern type) took over and displaced the turf. I don't know if your city will allow bluestem meadows, and it certainly will shade vegetables and other low plants, but it is a bunchgrass (which spreads by seed rather than runners) and seems to block / outcompete turfgrass, so it might work as a barrier around trees and large shrubs.

[@garywhiteman8837]

Can someone please tell me which type to sow for chickens block 14 or normal comprey

[@edibleacres]

We use Bocking 14 and that has been good to us

[@davidtribolet2667]

I'm looking to buy some comfrey, do you still offer it for sale?

[@edibleacres]

We are done with taking orders for spring, but edibleacres.org/permaculture-nurseries has a list of some wonderful options!

[@jenniferjefferies6570]

Which cultivar of comfrey do you use?

[@edibleacres]

Bocking 14 is the main variety we work with and I believe Bocking 9 may be in our midst in a few patches

[@ednaofeliasabile5737]

Very smart thing and I will copy you, I got over 50 chicken

[@edibleacres]

Great!

[@RAFAELGARCIA-cy4fc]

I have sme comfrey, but I think I read somewhere that comfrey may be harmful to the birds if they consume too much. Do you have any information that you can share on that topic? And thank you for your informative videos.

[@edibleacres]

The chickens know what they want to eat... Comfrey being available means they can eat as much as they need. So long as there is a ton of other options also available I've never seen an issue and I personally don't have any concerns with it...

[@RAFAELGARCIA-cy4fc]

I have other greens available like forage peanuts which they go crazy for flowers and green leaves. Thank you for you reply.

[@pavledjukic8502]

What about all the websites saying that too much comfrey can cause serious health problems? I suppose healthy and free chickens with a variety of available food instinctively know what they shouldn't eat too much of, right? But do you have clear conclusions about this aspect from your experience?

[@edibleacres]

Free choice in all directions works great... Ample options, a healthy environment and minimal stress and all beings make good health decisions...

[@VickyHafler]

A friend gave me comfrey. Then I found out it’s not the special kind that has the non fertile seeds 😬 I planted it by my garden fence. If I manage it will I still have problems with it spreading all throughout my garden? I’m just excited to have it and boy is it growing good! My chickens are not sure about it...yet.

[@edibleacres]

If it flowers with blue flowers it should be the sterile type. If yours has yellow or white flowers you need to be careful. We don't grow that type so I can't say for sure but you'd most likely want to keep it from really going to flower. Don't dig near it!

[@VickyHafler]

Blue Flowers! Yay.

[@Bg-xk1uw]

If you can container plant it and keep the seeds under control you will hopefully be safe either way but comfrey spreads by root as easily or easier than by seed. I have the overwhelming, invasive, proof all over my backyard and garden.

[@rghising]

what breed are those striped chickens ?

[@edibleacres]

I believe they are Barred Rocks

[@Warrior-In-the-Garden]

I have been on a mission to find comfrey to propagate for my chickens. Finding other wild edibles but just not seeing it...I know its here somewhere...the search continues.....

[@edibleacres]

I sell it through my website, edibleacres.org, if thats helpful

[@erikjohnson9223]

The stuff is used externally as a wound healing salve. Most herb companies sell it. Big Box stores will avoid it because it isn't especially beautiful and is (like horseradish) known to be an impossible-to-remove weed. Unless you are in Eurasia, it is NOT native/wild, so don't look for it in a native nursery. Given the pyrollizidine alkaloids, I would not call it "edible" either--pretty sure it has been banned as a food product in the USA.

[@maryedmo7798]

I love all your videos. I will say that recently I've noticed that you occasionally cuss in videos. My kids have been watching, but I'm hesitant to let them now. I would love it if you could keep it G, so they can watch with me. It's your channel, of course, but it's something to consider.

[@edibleacres]

I will keep an eye out for that, and appreciate the feedback.

[@heavensabound]

M Edmo For the word damn? Wow. I don't know if sheltering our kids to that extent is even healthy in this day in age. I am grateful for parents like you, apparently raising your kids to have values, it's such a benifet to our culture & society. Although, I have lived long enough to see the flip side of how this kind of parental control can back fire. I always thought it better to teach my kids how their hearts & minds ought to respond to what they hear or see, in light of God's truth. But to each their own. Just a heads up though, you do realize we are in an age completely dominated by social media, your kids are already watching youtube, and this will be nothing compared to what they may hear or see at their friend's houses!

[@autumnsglass]

@@heavensabound my kids don't go over to the houses of kids whose parents I'm not well acquainted with. My kids only watch media in the family room while supervised by an adult. My kids know about sex, how to recognise grooming behavior, and have heard bad language before. Still I don't purposely put on content that isn't wholesome. To say "in this day and age" is a reason to give up on insisting on clean language is simply an indication that you lack experience doing so.

[@yLeprechaun]

Aaahhhhh!

[@ImAlwaysR1ght]

I like comfrey as a green mulch because it's so rich in nutrients. However, when ingested it's been linked to liver toxicity. Just something to keep in mind as anyone could watch these videos and get the wrong idea that it's all beneficial with no draw backs.

[@edibleacres]

I would look deeper into that. When I researched it, it seems the studies that show that would require MASSIVE amounts of comfrey ingestion to create a very tiny increase in potential harm.

[@LWren-nr6ud]

I looked into this a few years ago. The only real scientific research I found was a lab rat test, they wanted to "prove" ingesting comfrey causes cancer. If you looked deeper into it you could find out they used a strain of lab rats that readily got cancer (used for cancer research) In the comfrey group 80% had cancer by 2 years and they never showed data for the control group, I think they said it was lost. 80% by only 6 months for this strain is normal, maybe even on the low side. Without looking into it further many people believe this study. Yes VERY high levels long term might not be the best for your, but that's the same for practically all vegetables.

[@rubygray7749]

I recall, a few years ago, reading research that showed dairy cows in Russia which were being fed comfrey hay, all got liver cancer. So surely no further "testing" needs to be done. Maybe this research just never made the transition to the internet age, since I can't find it on the Web. Any plant containing alkaloids can cause this effect. Ragwort is one prime example. I had a draught horse die from eating ragwort, and it was a horrible thing. But then again, I eat parsley more as a vegetable than a garnish (though not every day) and it also contains alkaloids with provisos against consuming too much of it. So though I choose not to eat comfrey because of its health dangers, I don't intend to give up parsley. I'm not sure of the relative potency of the toxins in these 2 plants, but I believe comfrey would be far higher, and much less mouth-feel-friendly. There are so many other things to eat! Many of our "natural" foods do contain anti-nutrients, and our diet should be widely varied so as not to OD on any particular one of them. I just can't see the point in trying to get a taste for a leaf that is hairy and bristly and none too flavoursome, when it also contians quesrtionable toxins. Nor can chickens, who apparently only eat confrey leaves when they can't get fresh greens that they actually LIKE to eat. I have free range chooks, and free range comfrey, and the chooks NEVER touch comfrey, although they do eat many other green things during their foraging days.

[@LWren-nr6ud]

The alkaloid level in comfrey is relatively low, and of those alkaloids only 5% are seen as a possible carcinogenic. I no way think that comfrey is a fodder replacement crop, It's great mulch and compost and if animals want to eat a bit by choice that's fine. I use mine as a rub if I get flareups of dermatitis and have never eaten it although I know some people make tea with it (which sounds awful). In this video he is putting comfrey, grass and other greens in the compost pile, where the chickens eat what they like and turn the rest over looking for bugs. The cow liver cancer story may not still be around as it probably wasn't proven to be the comfrey, it would have been too expensive for the farmer to get testing done, and plants like bracken fern are eaten by cattle and are highly carcinogenic.

[@rubygray7749]

Yes, comfrey makes great mulch, and I prefer my tea to come from Twinings. I think my goats would eat some comfrey leaves when it surfaces after winter, but I will be growing many other crops for them that have no toxic or carcinogenic potential. The cows that died from liver cancer did so on a massive scale in Russia, due to being fed comfrey conserved as dry fodder. It wasn't some "story," but a nationwide phenomenon recorded by vets & scientists. I think if those chooks were offered separate piles of various vegetation, including one of comfrey, one of chard, one of cut young grass, one of cabbage or kale leaves, etc, that they would leave that bristly comfrey till the very last, and only eat it if there was nothing else. They looked decidedly underwhelmed as they resignedly pecked it in this video, and as I say, my chooks have NEVER even touched it in my garden, though they help themselves to vast quantities of many other vegetables.

[@Bg-xk1uw]

Mine hate comfrey. Nothing I can do will get them to even taste it a second time. I can ruin a good bucket of greens for them just by getting a few leaves of comfrey mixed in. So, how are you getting yours to eat it?

[@edibleacres]

Not sure what to say there... Still valuable to add around the chicken yard as free choice and to simply melt into the soil to add nutrients and draw up worms and bugs for them to eat, so I'd keep trying... Maybe just not mix in with their other treats?

[@incorectulpolitic]

is ur comfrey wild, what is the colour of the flower, white, yellow or purple?

[@amy3458]

During the growing season, could one dehydrate comfrey to create a mineral-rich powder to add to winter fodder or sprouted grains?

[@edibleacres]

I would think its possible, although I find comfrey to be so filled with moisture when I harvest that I think you'd need to have a REALLY hot and dry weather time to have it work out and dry down... Worth trying if you have hot/dry weather in the later summer.

[@amy3458]

EdibleAcres Thanks! I’m going to try it and see what happens. I’ll take copious notes and let you know. Love you and your Sasha! You two are excellent teachers! We incorporate A LOT of your work into our homeschooling curriculum. THANK YOU!

[@nancyburks5996]

Can chickens get too much comfrey? Can it be toxic to birds if eaten to excess?

[@edibleacres]

Probably could be, BUT, if they have free choice to it and ample other food options it shouldn't be an issue.

[@VickyHafler]

My comfrey has pricklys on it, does yours? And my chickens will never eat it 🤷‍♀️

[@edibleacres]

Comfrey has hairs on it that can be scratchy. Our chickens will go crazy for it sometimes and other time less interested. The good news is that it will decompose in the compost system and feed other soil life that the chickens will definitely eat.

[@VickyHafler]

EdibleAcres I have mulched with it and cut and put in the compost bin. This year I think I’m going to make tea to put in my hanging planters with it.

[@24bidy]

Hi do you know if i can feed comfrey to my rabbits

[@edibleacres]

Not sure, haven't tried.

[@ballz6211]

Yes

[@leahclaire5470]

Daniel Salatin does.

[@erikjohnson9223]

Yes. You might need to let it wilt slightly so that the scratchy hairs on comfrey deflate. But I personally would avoid eating the liver of any animal fed comfrey or other plants with pyrolizidine alkaloids. Meat seems fine.

[@KristyLeeVlogs]

Why do you say those are all roosters? They look like hens to me.

[@edibleacres]

They turned out to be roosters! :) 23 roosters went in the freezer that year.

[@KristyLeeVlogs]

@@edibleacres Really?! I never would have guessed by their appearance and lack of spurs. Well, I hear roosters are pretty good for eating if they are younger. Thanks for the reply.

[@bazzaharrington3298]

Chooks don't like comfrey given the choice in A free range situation chickens totally ignore and if you notice your video supports this by the fact that of the food offered comfrey was not their first choice even though was placed on top of barrow remember folks use your power of observation and run a simple test place comfrey in a separate pile where plenty of other greens are on offer and observe

[@aliciaestrada4082]

Nivc