In part one of this article we looked at the rich heritage of tree fodder and how it had been used as a form of arboricultural farming for many thousands of years. In this article I want to look at the practice in detail with reference to the choice of individual species, their nutritional value and their suitability as fodder and medicinals for both poultry and other livestock. If you haven't read part One you can find it here.
Below, one of my quail snacking on the first flush of hornbeam. I noticed that the quail preferred to eat the flower buds of the tree first. When I consulted the detailed nutritional breakdown of hornbeam from the European Data Base, this gave me some insights into why that might be but more of this below.
The 17th century English Agricultural author, John Worlidge encouraged the planting of trees to be pollarded in hedgerows:
‘For Ash, Elm, Poplar, Willow, and fuch Trees that are quick of growth, it is a very great profit that is made of them where Fewel is fcarce, by planting them in Hedge-rows, and other fpare places, and fhrouding them at five, fix, eight or ten years growth; they constantly bear a good head, and every time whilft the tree is in proof, the fhrouds increafe. They are out of the danger of the bite of Cattle, and require no fence’ (1669: 126).'
In France, many rural hedges still contain both ancient and newly planted pollards, now mostly for fuel rather than fodder, although this practice of using leaf fodder is now coming back with the growth of smallscale organic farming and permaculture. Pictured below in the background is a chateau driveway of ancient pollarded poplar, with a hedge of relatively new mixed deciduous pollards in the foreground field. Note the large tell-tale callouses or 'boilings' on the ancient poplars.
Tree Species Suitable for Pollarding or Pruning for Fresh Fodder or Tree Hay
I
have avoided my natural aversion to pollarding by simply just pruning my trees for
immediate consumption. That way I don't
have to be haunted by gnarled fingers but can still supply my poultry
with nutritious and readily-available forage. In a forest garden this
is an absolute boon as I have no grass available for immediate
consumption or of course, for hay. Any grass I have has to be brought in
from neighbours' meadows and with the present increase in homesteading
and food production, these 'set asides' are getting less and less
common. It is worth remembering, in their wild forms, poultry rarely
forage in open grass lands, they live in jungles and other wooded
areas. It is also worth noting that many present day grass-fed livestock
such as cattle, for example, started life as swamp and woodland
dwellers, which is probably why the Neolithic farmers carried on the
practice of silviculture and air meadows.
Throughout the centuries trees used and seen as excellent fodder crops in Europe were:
alder, Alnus glutinosa
ash,Fraxinus excelsior
aspen Populus tremula
beech, Fagus sylvatica
elm, Ulmus minor
hazel, Corylus avellana
hornbeam, Carpinus betulus (pictured below pruned by the poultry!)
poplar, Populus
white hawthorn, Crataegus punctata (below left)
willow, Salix
with
sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa and oak, Quercus robur mixed in with other leaves
That said specific countries, such as Norway, for example include other favourites, which they still use to this day such as:
goat willow, Salix caprea
pine Pinus
rowan, Sorbus aucuparia
Depending
on your climate and native (or well-established) species of trees there are so many options to choose
from when planning to grow these valuable forage crops. Researching
of your local farming history should lead you to the best varieties to
choose. I include below just a few examples from outside European and
similar climate zones (such as parts of the USA and Canada), however, it
would be really useful if you could share any experience or knowledge of
good choices for trees for poultry, in the comment section, as those species included below are
general livestock forages.
African
small livestock farmers for example, have for centuries fed forage on a
'wild browse' basis rather than specifically cultivated leaves for
such. The continent has nearly 10.000 species of trees of which 75% are
suitable for livestock feeding. Just a few examples of trees popular in
arboriculture for use in this respect being:
gum arabic (Acacia senegal)
whistling thorn (Acacia seyal)
yeheb nut (Cordeauxia edulis)
A few examples popular in Central America
hairy stamen leadtree (Leucaena trichandra)
red calliandra (Calliandra calothyrsu)
wild tamarind (Leucaena diversifolia)
The above are just a straw poll garnered from the net but I've included some links below to useful sites.
Poultry Specific Air Meadows?
My answer to this is; observation. With a forest garden we already have a good mix of trees both native and exotic to provide a smörgåsbord of leaves, flowers and fruit as potential fodder. We also have some prolific climbers, (more of the latter in a future post) and which are certainly part of the canopy and thus the air meadow. My philosophy has always been that poultry know more about what they should be eating than humans ever will. So I let them get on with it. By noting what is readily consumed at browse height, such as rose bush leaves, beech and hornbeam, I know their preferences. Just by watching what is and conversely what isn't, consumed when pruning, also informs me on my birds' choices in leaf fodder. For example wild clematis (above top) is prolific in leaf production and I was very gratified to find my hens eating them with gusto from the prunings.
Below: photograph of a quick walk around the garden looking for 'Nibble Test at Browse Height' evidence of what is and what isn't to the taste of our poultry.
Tree Fodder Zero Waste
After the birds have eaten the leaves, buds and any other bits they fancy the twigs are then left to dry and later used in our rocket stove from which we get hot coffee and food and on a cold day (or even a hot one) under which the chickens like to 'sunbathe'.
Nutritional Value
In
my previous article on the subject of leaf fodder, I actually went into
quite some detail as to the nutritional value of leaves such as
hornbeam and beech and you can find this linked in the related articles
below. Listed at the end of this article you can also find an
incredibly useful resource: European Data Base which you can use for the
trees existing on your
land or to give you an idea of those that would be useful fodder. Below
is a screen shot of just a small part of the data sampling at various
times of year for the first tree in my list - alder (Alnus glutinosa). This, to give you an idea of how useful this rich resource can be when planning your air meadow. You can also set certain parameters within the search to look at specific food values, which can inform your choice of tree or shrub.
There is also a link below to a Tropical Tree Forages List and the Forage Trees of Nepal which includes nutritional breakdowns and traditional uses. It is interesting to note also that in some countries there are still communal forests where livestock can be fed tree fodder and where branches can be cut for tree hay.
Tree Fodder as a Medicinal
Researching this subject you quickly realise that trees have a long and worldwide history of uses in medicine from heart treatments (hawthorn) and anti-inflammatory properties (Ash and Alder) to anti-bacterial (Beech) and painkilling properties (Willow). I've
already mentioned sheep self-medicating for parasites, and seemingly it
is the high tannin oak leaves that they choose. If you look at the uses of tree leaves in tisanes or herbal teas, again you will find a wide range of properties from poultices to the
treatment of respiratory conditions. As always I observe my poultry to see what they are consuming at any given time of year because often tree leaves provide vitamins and minerals that may be lacking or scarce in other forages. For example pine needles contain a high amount of vitamin C, which is one of the first vitamins to be lost when the body is under stress (such as is caused by extremes of temperature), I have seen my poultry pecking at the needles in Winter and at the new growth pine buds in early Spring.
Small Scale Air Meadows - Maximising your vertical growing space
The
other consideration in growing trees for your poultry is to remember
that many of them produce not just leaves which are edible but also
blossoms and fruit. However, the leaves of certain fruit trees, in particular stone fruit are
viewed with caution, as in some of the literature, I have read they are considered toxic. I've found varying
and contradictory reports on this however. I've even seen peach leaves mentioned as toxic and here in North Western France we make peach leaf wine. Conversely I've seen elderberry and mulberry mentioned as suitable forages but my birds will touch neither. So before you plant consider both searching for hands-on testimony and the 'Nibble test' and seek out some sample foliage.
One
example of an incredibly valuable 'multi-forage' tree in our garden is
Amelanchier or Serviceberry also known Saskatoon, an anglicisation of
the Cree; misâskwatômina, meaning 'the fruit of the tree of many
branches'. Mixed with tallow the dried berries, makes an incredible
Winter survival food and as such was highly prized by the First Nations.
It also has the advantage of being a very pretty tree both in blossom and in leaf, although you do not get the full idea from my image captured yesterday of the last few remaining petals.
My
birds, love its petals, they eat every single one that drops to the
earth and if it wasn't for the thorny Kiftsgate rose growing through it,
I'm sure they would be up the tree snacking on them up there. The
blackbirds however often beat both the chickens and ourselves to a major share of the berries. It's always a good gauge of the value of a plant when such fierce competition occurs.
The foliage is a fodder crop both for wild deer, rabbits and livestock.
Amelanchier
has not only nutritional benefits but it has been used in traditional
medicine for thousands of years. It is particularly prized for its
antioxidants, specifically phenolics, flavonols and anthocyanins, with
the latter at a higher level than most other berry fruits. This however is just one example, use the links provided to check for more possibilities!
Here's the film:
As already expressed my intention is to continue this theme with a look at harvesting tree hay for poultry (this will be in June), before then however, another article in this series will look at climbing plants for air meadows.
Thanks
for dropping by and do feel free to share experiences or ask for
further information in the comment section. If you have enjoyed this
piece and found it
useful think about sharing it with your family and friends, on social
media and also maybe about joining this blog
and/or subscribing to my Youtube channel or even supporting us on
Patreon or
Food For Free Fabulous Forage Part 8 Air Meadows for Poultry & Livestock
'Air meadows' is the beautiful description for a multi millennial old
tradition of feeding European livestock. The standard way of growing trees for...read more
Food for Free. Fabulous Forage Part 1 Grass
For
centuries farmers and homesteaders raised poultry on a forage-based
diet supplemented only by a handful of grain and the occasional..read more
Food for Free. Fabulous Forage Part 2 Chickweed
Stellaria media an incredible food and medicinal for poultry, an in-depth look at this ubiquitous weed..read more
Food for Free. Fabulous Forage Part 3 Tree Fodder & Tree Hay
The idea of tree fodder is inextricably linked with the changing
landscape, the full domestication of animals, the concept of farming and
the clearance of the forests... read more
Food for Free. Fabulous Forage Part 4 Roses for Food & Forest
For me the rose is the quintessential forest garden plant, from canopy to ground cover there are so many to choose from ... read more
Food for Free. Fabulous Forage Part 5 Rose Petals
One of the main roses I use for both cooking, medicinals and which my
hens very much enjoy is, not surprisingly, rosa gallica Officinalis, or
The Apothecary Rose... read more
Food for Free Fabulous Forage Part 6 Rose Leaves and Hips
For thousands of years the rose, hips,
leaves and blossoms have been used as medicinals for both physical and
nervous system ailments. .....read more
Providing Forage for Organic Poultry Part 1
Going backwards to go forward - If you are setting up a forest garden to run your poultry
through it, you are probably going to be short of certain wild pasture elements...read more
Providing Forage for Organic Poultry Part 2
Continuing an in-depth look into forage and discussing the what, when, where from and why...read more
The idea of tree fodder is inextricably linked with the changing landscape, the full domestication of animals, the concept of farming and the clearance of the forests. It should therefore come as no surprise that this practice of feeding livestock, which started with the prehistoric herders and mostly finished in Europe around WWII is, through forest gardening, permaculture and modern silviculture, undergoing a revival. Although ostensibly seen as a way of feeding ruminants and of particular and prescient value in drought-ridden and soil-eroded areas, there is no reason why it can't be used in our own gardens as a great way to feed poultry. The mother hen below is jumping up to pull down the hornbeam leaves for her chicks. This is just one method...
I stumbled across this practice quite by accident, as I have a real 'thing' about people snipping bits off our hedges. Nobody wants bad blood with neighbours, so I was quietly investigating who was making the tell-tale clipping noises when I discovered it was the chicks! As I have so often written in this blog, I believe poultry know more about their own dietary requirements than we ever will.
Early Forest Farming, Tree Fodder and Tree Hay - Lost Knowledge & Social History
From Double D Delights Pinterest
If we take the UK for example, it has oft been quoted that prior to the clearance of the woodlands and formation of the royal hunting parks under King Cnut (Canute) at the beginning of the 11th century, a squirrel could travel across Britain by jumping from tree to tree without ever touching the ground. The earliest of the Anglo Saxon experiments in 'taming' wild animals were part-domesticated pigs or hogs, which were bred on a homestead and then turned out to feed in the forests with a herdsman or swineherd. Although the Stone Age farmed pigs were thought to have arrived from
Asia, it was this secondary domestication of the wild European boar,
which is perhaps the most interesting. However, over the Winter period the pigs became too difficult to feed and to all intent and purposes were returned to the 'wild'. Alone they could forage much further in the vast public forests to find the necessary beech masts and acorns and other choice arboreal items, with which to sustain themselves. These hogs were then re-captured in Spring and returned to foraging alongside their herders.
Furthermore, even as early as the 9th century, royal charters were drawn up to limit the foraging of hogs between certain periods of the year, which of course were the crucial Winter times, when the owner couldn't afford to feed his pig. Seizure of property was permitted in the case of 'trespassing' swine, or perhaps more fairly under King Alfred, the introduction of pascua porcōrrum, or denbǽra, feeding rights, which became payable at the end of the fattening season, in pigs. So much was this 'rental' a part of rural life that the practice became synonymous with the month of November, as seen here above in the calendar page for that month in the Queen Mary Psalter c 1310 (British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts). Thus from a semi-wild food the pig became a currency, not only for such worldly usage as the payment of dowries and rents but also accepted by the clergy to say masses for the dead. It is a great pity that according to the accounts of this period I have read, themselves based on copious contemporary legal documentation, that pig keepers seemed to have lost the ancient art of Summer coppicing and tree-hay making known to their Neolithic ancestors. My thinking is, that as the former were living in a feudal system, relying on hierarchies inculcated by laws, they had abandoned the self-reliant savoir faire of the autonomous prehistoric herders. In fact the continuance of leaf and twig fodder gathering in Scandinavia, long after it had been abandoned in Britain, has been linked to the home-grown food production in the harsh Northern climes, whereas to quote Napoléon Bonaparte, England is/was a nation of shopkeepers, relying on trade and as such has always imported a great percentage of its food.
The figure left, taken from a manuscript, shows a swineherd in the act of feeding his pigs by knocking down the mast. The title of the image is 'pannage', which is the Norman version of the Saxon denbǽra, unfortunately the original article, which I would have loved to read, has gone from trinitycollegelibrarycambridge.wordpress but the image remains on their Pinterest site
Furthermore, DNA studies into the bone composition of early cattle has revealed that prior to early man's forest clearings for grass pasture and cultivation of crops, Aurochs and their kind lived on and in the swamps and woodland fringes of forests. This is witnessed by the tell-tale leaf derived nutrients in their skeletal remains. It seems therefore logical that poultry such as chickens, which were originally 'jungle fowl' would also thrive better on a paleo diet.
Tree Fodder a Wonderful Unlooked for Result of our Garden Plan
When we came here to this abandoned field and ruined house, our first thought was to plant wind breaks or shelter belts to cut down the drying and chilling effect of the westerlies from the bay. We travelled by motorbike in those days but it's surprising how much bare root hedging beech and hornbeam you can get on the back of an old-fashioned tourer.
When the poultry came along, I did like the idea that they could and would use the hedges as a secondary and additional layer in which to roost and socialise but I little thought then about it providing nutrient other than aphids and maybe the occasional unlucky caterpillar. (Photo below: looking back from the top left hand corner of this one, 15 years apart!).
Over the years we have also shaped the hedges so that we have a lower layer of hedging and then an upper crown of leaves. This allows more light into the garden and most importantly into the greenhouses. The shelter given by these hedges is incredible, I'm reckoning we have on average a 2°C difference in our garden to our neighbours and we can sit and work here on days when the wind is howling around the neighbourhood. We have also welcomed creatures I haven't seen in other locations here, such as bush crickets and tree frogs and of course we have a large population of wild birds.
How the Birds Forage Tree Fodder, When and Why?
You will see several ways our poultry forage in the video, from the incredibly energetic to the leisurely grazers and the lazy 'we'll wait for you to do it' bunch. However, these latter, seen below eating beech, are perhaps the most sensible, as they are getting maximum food value whilst letting me do all the work.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE There is not a huge amount of detailed research available on the actual nutritional value of specific leaves but I have pieced together what I could find. This ranges from studies into pollution, using tree leaf nutrients as a marker to actual charts of leaf fodder breakdown, which includes basics such as crude protein and fibre as well as more detailed mineral analysis. I do feel though that there is a great deal more to come and with the renewed interest and need for fodder, this is sure to happen. Overall and just from observation our chickens are consuming leaves from June through to September. I compared this to the charts on-line for leaf fodder nutrition and find these as the high protein and high fibre months.
In action: Our hens (right) 'grazing' on beech leaves. Trees growing on rich soil will produce nutrient rich leaves with differences in mineral content also occurring in limestone areas, where, for example, Sodium, Magnesium and Potassium content are higher. There are also some nutritional differences between the lower level leaves and those in the crown. This is interesting as one of the forms of taking tree fodder or making tree hay was to pollard the tree by removing the crown.
The following are the mineral contents of the beech, Fagus sylvatica, which, along with hornbeam, Carpinus betulus, my birds are seen eating in the film:
The main minerals
(above 20g per kilogram): Calcium and Potassium
followed by: Iron, Phosphorus, Sodium and Sulphur
and in trace amounts: Cobalt, Copper, Manganese, Molybdenum, Selenium and Zinc
Molybdenum is involved in enzyme activity and also in the assimilation of sulphur to allow for effective liver cell detoxification, antioxidant protection and brain and nervous system function.
The crude protein content of the leaves is around 20% (dry matter) falling off to around 14% in September. Fibre, hovers around 25% throughout the season but peaks in July to 27%. Fibre as we have discussed before is of great importance to poultry, in that not only does it aid the digestion of the bird but non-digestible fibre actually fosters the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. Beech leaves are also used in tisanes or herbal teas because they contain anti-oxidants and Vitamin C.
Hornbeam (above), Carpinus betulus, which is another of our hedging trees the birds consume, contains similar amounts of protein to beech but less crude fibre it also contains measurable amounts of boron, which works in synergy with other nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D, (which it converts to D3), to maintain mineralisation of the bones. Boron is also linked to cognitive brain function.
MEDICINAL VALUE
Research on sheep and their consumption of tree fodder has brought to light the role that tannins and phenolic compounds, which the plant produces to prevent leaf damage, may play in the prevention of parasites in and on the animal. Sheep, self-medicate for internal parasites by eating leaves, such as oak that are rich in tannins and phenolic compounds. I have also read of mares about to foal eating leaves such as willow and poplar, the former for its pain killing abilities and the latter for its anti-inflammatory compounds. Traditionally beech leaves have been used for poultices and the tea as both an anti-inflammatory and for the treatment of respiratory conditions.
Another thing I have noticed with my poultry is that they readily eat up any Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) flowers which fall to earth. However, I intend to devote a whole article to hens and blossoms, so more of this later.
Conclusions
Having experienced my hens eating beech and hornbeam last year and having already observed them eating lucerne/alfalfa hay out of their nest boxes, I am now decided on making leaf hay this year as an experiment. However I can already confirm that my quail certainly prefer Sweet Chestnut leaf bedding to hay or rather straw in the Winter!
Hedges of edible leaves can be planted in any garden to form not only a secondary living space for poultry but also as an additional repository of valuable food and potential medicine. They also provide additional areas for wild life and invertebrates and thus another potential food item. (See left, Stanislas awaits the descending caterpillars). Although leaves may in the long run only form an additional supplement to your birds diet, they are no less a valuable one and in line with our ancestors, help to put us one step nearer to autonomous poultry husbandry and self-reliant living.
.. and now if you'd like to sit back and watch both my own film and a very interesting one on leaf hay...
If you have enjoyed this blog and found it interesting then
please think about subscribing, sharing it and/or commenting. Please
also feel free to ask questions.
All the very best,
Sue
RELATED POSTS
Providing Forage for Organic Poultry Part 1
Learning from the past. If you are setting up a forest garden to run your poultry
through it, you are probably going to be short of certain wild pasture elements...read more
Providing Forage for Organic Poultry Part 2
Continuing an in-depth look into forage and discussing the what, when, where from and why...read more
Food for Free. Fabulous Forage Part 1 Grass
For centuries farmers and homesteaders raised poultry on a forage-based
diet supplemented only by a handful of grain and the occasional table
scraps..read more
Food for Free. Fabulous Forage Part 2 Chickweed
Stellaria media an incredible food and medicinal for poultry, an in-depth look at this ubiquitous weed..read more
Buy me a Ko-fi
Food For Free Fabulous Forage Part 8 Air Meadows for Poultry & Livestock
