[Rosemary]

Just read in a book that clover is harmful to chickens - it's listed with rhododendron, ivy, hemlock, foxglove and a whole list of other plants.

Our pastures are clover rich. Is it true and if so, how does it affect chickens and why?

Worried of Carnoustie

[taz08]

mine  pasture too clover rich,, hens always pecking at it ,, still alive after 18 months 
gonna have to look this up  never heard of it

[Bodger]

It just goes to show that you shouldn't believe everything you read.

[taz08]

true ,, only thing i can come  up with is a mould that can grow on the clover ,, not good for animals

always believed that free range hens know what to eat and avoid  whats not good for them,,

[Big Light]

They actually feed on clover preferentially if you put grass clippings in a run

[lord flynn]

not sure about chickens, it is bad for horses and I hate the stuff. If you have too much, using a nitrogen fertiliser helps the grass outcompete the clover-alot of clover can indicate poor nitrogen levels.

[Bionic]

I read somewhere that clover was good for chickens but can't find out where I read that now 
As a result when I had mum and chicks in a small pen on their own I was purposely picking clover leaves to give them along with the chick crumb. They seemed to love it and certainly no ill effects.  They all free range over our fields with lots of clover and no issues at all.
God knows what I have been reading but I thought that clover was good for horses too, especially the pink clover.
I don't have horses but the people who lived here before us did. They had a piece of land flattened and seeded for them and thats the area with the most pink clover.

[Castle Farm]

I start feeding clover to my chicks at around 7 days old. I sow clover anywhere I have a clear patch of ground. Top feed in the way of greens for birds.

[SallyintNorth]

Will there be a difference between red and white clover?  There is in terms of feeding sheep and cattle.  Red is good, high protein, but too much can behave like oestrogen and affect females hormonally - one farm I worked on, the untupped gimmers all put on big full udders on red clover!  And we're told not to run cows on clover when we're wanting them bulled, as the oestrogen can behave like a contraceptive pill!

White clover, however, has little feed value, and its presence in the sward is indicative of low quality grass. 

Lord Flynn, in what way is clover bad for horses?  Except in that red clover indicates good quality feed, usually too high in protein for horses, especially natives.

I don't know whether there'd be a difference in flowering and non-flowering, whether the seeds may have different properties... hopefully someone who knows will be along shortly.

[Fleecewife]

not sure about chickens, it is bad for horses and I hate the stuff. If you have too much, using a nitrogen fertiliser helps the grass outcompete the clover-alot of clover can indicate poor nitrogen levels.

Which came first - the chicken or the egg?  Clover is much used in Organic systems to build up nitrogen levels in the soil and thus help to improve the grass.  Applying chemical fertilisers will cause the clover to die out - which is what you want, but certainly not what I want, as we don't keep horses.  We had a new small pasture we had bought enriched with clover, and the grass quality is improving year by year, as the nitrogen from the clover roots is made available to the grass.
 
For our primitive sheep, the mixed nature of forage containing 'weeds' helps maintain their fitness.  It also prevents grass staggers or whatever it's called which happens when new grass which has had artificial fertiliser spread in spring, is eaten.  I don't know much about it as we never have applied artificial fertilisers, and never will, so our stock have never had these problems.
 
Animals, and poultry, when given the opportunity, do tend to eat what's good for them, and will actively seek out vegetation they need, and avoid unpalatable plants.
 
 

[roddycm]

As far as i know it only Alsike clover that is bad for horses so maybe its the same for hens... I pasture my mares on rye/clover and never had a problem. My hens love the clover and equally never had a problem, neither did my parents before me so we're talking some 60 + years of clover eating with no problems haha if you are going to seed clover just make sure you get the right type. Stick to common white and you shouldnt have any problems... I think most ppl know that red clover isnt good for sheep as can affect fertility etc!

[Steph Hen]

I would be interested to hear more about this as white clover is a fav of my hens.

[lord flynn]

clover-well alsike is toxic for a start. normal white/red clover is often touted as being good for horses but its very high in protein (too high for the breeds I keep-namely Exmoors and Lusitanos). It's also high in phytoestrogens, cyanogens and carries the risk of fungi that causes slobbers. Cyanogens can cause photosensitivity ie liver damage. Most horses won't eat much of it so its not a huge problem. However, at one place I was at it had completely taken over, the grazing was about 90% clover and increasing-greedy natives will eat anything and even grazing close to it can cause photosensitivity when its flowering-as will buttercup. I don't keep ruminants.


I didn't want to fertilise-like I said, I keep Native ponies. But, topping etc didnt help so I took some advice and did it-and it definitely helped. I don't want lush grass either-my equines do best on scrubby hill grazing, I'm not keeping high maintenance types    wouldn't want much rye either. The hens were great at clearing up the buttercup this summer though.

[AndynJ]

I bought a specific clover grass seed mix for our meadow for the chickens, bought from a farm supplies listed as grass seed for poultry runs.