tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post7730586796151990541..comments2024-03-23T05:42:07.516-04:00Comments on The Deliberate Agrarian: Turkeys in Tractors & Comfrey For FeedHerrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-11323922246414748572012-06-23T17:59:41.817-04:002012-06-23T17:59:41.817-04:00Comfrey has been fed to various farm animals for a...Comfrey has been fed to various farm animals for a very long time. I'm not qualified to say if it is safe or not. I've read both sides of the issue. Mother Earth news is, I'm sure, being careful because they don't want to be guilty of giving information that could be harmful. Neither do I. But I can say that I have no reservations personally about feeding the leaves to my poultry. I think the plant is very good for them, and they thrive by eating it. That's my opinion, for what it's worth.<br /><br />Thanks for asking.Herrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-31326155513768120662012-06-23T16:38:54.970-04:002012-06-23T16:38:54.970-04:00The article you linked to in Mother Earth News say...The article you linked to in Mother Earth News says comfrey is toxic for both humans and animals. So then... is it safe to feed to animals or not? I'm confused ;)Ciarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-82125685504488007042011-11-16T16:16:45.205-05:002011-11-16T16:16:45.205-05:00i found this interesting that you use comfrey for ...i found this interesting that you use comfrey for feed. a few years ago i had a self- sufficient farm on 40 ac. i was learning all about all things farm and feed yourself- wonderful! well, i had free range chickens. next to my house, i had an herb garden that had comfrey in it. i noticed that the chickens didn't care for any herbs, but after flowering- or right at flowering- trying SO hard to remember what i thought at the time was a trival matter- now wishing i'd taken note... they would eat it down to the ground. it always grew back, and the cycle would continue. i didn't bother to keep them out of it because i assumed that if it healed or "made good strong bones" that i would want them to eat it, thinking it would perhaps increase the nutritional value of my stock after boiling their bones. now, i am VERY interested in planting this again... i have had to move to the city and have a chicken pen and garden just now up and going... this would be a good supplement for caged birds. thanks.<br />also, re: turkeys, i had a one yr experience with heritage turkeys right before i had to move, and i had them keeling over suddenly too... i read it can be heart issues. i started giving them olive oil daily in their water. biy, they loved to sip it out! and it took care of it. but i was frustrated because that makes for an expensive turkey! garlic would have been better perhaps? <br />thanks! keep posting! <br />and i thank God too, for your sons and their raising, this life needs more children RAISED. May God bless you and your family and keep you. <br />TexasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-39550772618093721722009-05-02T16:02:00.000-04:002009-05-02T16:02:00.000-04:00Comfrey Experiences.
I used to keep a little one ...Comfrey Experiences.<br /><br />I used to keep a little one acre homestead in Santa Barbara, California. Among the things I grew and used there was comfrey. It used to be called "bone break" because historically it was used to treat bruising and bone breaks, applied as a compress. It contains alantoin, which is a cellular proliferant, and casein, which helps to complete and balance protein rationing. I fed it to rabbits before and afer bearing, to increase milk flow, to my goats for the same reason, and because they really loved it, and for a while, before I read that the alantoin can accelerate cancers, drank it as a tea myself. Applied topically, it dramatically speeds closure of cuts. I had a Morgan Arab mare, then, named Teika. One day she got an overstep cut on a front fetlock, and I cleaned her up, put in some bacitracin to prevent infection, and bound on a gloopy compress of comfrey, with a gause pad next the wound, because comfrey, even crushed up, is hairy and irritating on skin. The next morning Teika had proud flesh projecting and bulging at least two inches beyond the wound lips. Horses grow fill-in tissue faster than skin tissue,, but this was rediculous. I had to pay a vet to come and sugically trim the proud flesh back and put in a couple of stitches. Comfrey is great stuff. Just don't use it on open wounds in horses!<br />To get new plants, take any root, slice it into dime-thick pieces, and each piece will grow in wet soil or a peat pot to give you a new plant. After some months in the ground, they are ready to start harvesting. Just pull the big outer leaves, strings wiil pull out of their bases. The roots can be dried and ground and used as a coffee substitute. That last big of lore I have from books, not personal experience.<br /><br />Another plant I grew in the "healing grove", the shady, moist glade where I grew comfrey, was Angelica. Angelica Arcangelica is hard to find and get started,because the seeds lose 80% of their viability in just one year. However, Angelica will immediately and totally relieve acid stomach, soothe nausea, and diminishes or cures diarrhea. It even tastes good. We used to eat the celery-like stalks filled with peanut butter or my goat-milk cream sheese. I have used the juice of Angelica to treat topical pain of cuts, abrasions, and bee stings, with very good success in adults and children. <br /><br />David Lloyd SuttonUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17738503709492725375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-47179778123917310532008-01-13T21:01:00.000-05:002008-01-13T21:01:00.000-05:00Comfrey is almost impossible to kill and you can g...Comfrey is almost impossible to kill and you can get more plants by cutting up the roots and replanting them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-35033587614375673622007-08-06T23:36:00.000-04:002007-08-06T23:36:00.000-04:00Hi Herrick, Friends of ours tilled around their co...Hi Herrick, <BR/>Friends of ours tilled around their comfrey plants (tilling up some smaller plants) and ended up with a whole garden of comfrey! Guess that is a good way to get it to grow. I've been harvesting ours for medicinal use, but guess we need to try it out on our turkeys. Thanks for the tip!Lynn Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17435825858991342289noreply@blogger.com