Selfsufficientish.com

Hi guys

Quick question
I inherited chickens and turkeys with my new house been here 6 weeks now so I'm still a beginner with them (deep end and all that)
I try to ensure they are getting greens of some kind at least 3-4 times a week. So far this has been via cabbages, spring greeens and bits of grass etc.

The garden is somewhat natural having been left to go a little wild for the last few years, I've got lots and lots of Wild Garlic (jack by the hedge) springing up. I chucked some in with the birds today and they wolfed it down.

To finally get to the question...will it flavour the eggs with garlic if i give them a constant supply or is it too mild a flavour, I don't fancy lemon drizzle cake with a garlic essence

Thanks in advance

I don't know the answer I'm afraid so please let us know if you find out. Your question did make me chuckle though as I was thinking at first of meat birds and I wondered why it would be a problem

Zoe

Then it would be a delicious problem!

I'm guessing here but Wild Garlic is ,in garlicky terms very mild,sure it smells when you've got a wood full,but an individual bird will eat precious little,and shouldn't really flavour meat or eggs.Mind you,I add garlic to EVERYTHING meat,eggs etc. so who cares!!

Inheriting Turkeys?? now there's a poisoned chalice!!! The best of luck!!

Thanks oldjerry

Yes the Turkeys are, well, amusing...

They were kept by the previous owner for Xmas 2011 but they became pets to his son, so they were still here when we moved in, they're only a year old this spring so its fun and games, the stag spends all day romancing the smallest chicken in the pen as his 3 ladies want nothing to do with his advances, he does a lovely *stomp, stompy stomp, rush forward UUUUUGGGGHHHH* dance, if I'm really quiet around him I'll get to see his *flap, flaaaappppy, flaaappppy, flap flap shimmy shummy shimmy ruffle ruffle* dance that he saves for special moments.

It's like having a teenage boy who's just hit puberty and doesn't know what to do with it!

They look well, appear healthy/ spend a lot of time chasing my 1 whiteish chicken and investigating 'stuff', 'stuff' is very interesting, especially if new, or if moved 1 ft to the right.

I think wild garlic probably will make the eggs slightly garlicky, we sometimes add garlic to drinking water as a natural antibacterial and that flavours the eggs slightly.

Jack by the Hedge isn't very garlicky so I wouldn't worry about it. I'm surprised you have it growing already though as mine hasn't even begun to think about appearing yet!

Our chickens favour the most strongly flavoured greens, especially the mustardy-type ones and their eggs don't, thankfully, taste of mustard.

Our chickens eat Jack by the hedge, true wild garlic and we feed them cultivated garlic as it is supposed to be really good for them and they love it. Neither the chickens nor their eggs taste of garlic but they are really healthy looking.