Foraged Food

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jeffnsweep

jeffnsweep

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Just been for a lovely walk with the kids and managed to forage some food for the piggies, I got some nice young dandelion leaves, nettles, blackberry leaves, cleavers and also came across an apple tree so got some branches for them to say they are happy is an understatement! They're popcorning and wheeking away! I used to pick my tortoises fresh food and used to sell seeds to grow for them so I'm a great believer in foraging! But I would say if anybody else wanted to do this I to only pick from where you know they haven't been sprayed with any nasties and if you are unsure of what a weed or flower is to not pick just in case but it seems that there are lots of nice fresh things growing at the moment as we haven't had any frosts so the perfect time to get picking!
 
That sounds so good. I wouldn't have a clue what different weeds and flowers where so i wouldn't be able to do this but I sooo wish I could. My boys would be made up :drool:
 
If you would like to forage please feel free to post pics myself and hopefully others may be able to help id things for you xx the apple branches were a huge hit! They were munching them for ages
 
I have a dandelion and milk thistle patch in my garden which I pick along with cutting grass a few times a week, Spike and Peanut can smell it when I walk in the back door and wheek like mad while I'm washing my weeds. I also forage in the countryside when I can get away from the City. Don't forget to wash forage though as dog urine is poisonous to guineas
 
:D I always look out for free greens when walking down to the shops - or anywhere! But there's not much growing around here now, the grass is past its best and all the weeds have died off. I would just say that if you think some plants might have been wee-d on, leave them. Don't pick them at all.
 
A friend of my mums often gives her apples off her apple tree and I asked her earlier if it would be possible to get some branches from the apple tree for my pigs. Am I literally looking for twigs to give them or is it something more specific?
 
I've been feeding the softer growth at the tip of the branches which seems a bit greener and a bit less woody than the rest but it was only because i could easily get to these ones and break them off! I'm sore the woodier pieces would be just as good though if not better for keeping their teeth trim xx
 
Love this thread! My garden is left pretty natural so I have plenty of dandy lion leaves (even at this time of year!) and the piggies love them more than anything from Tesco. No nettles I don't think but I hope they do grow in my garden for piggies and nettle tea and soup.

I'm hoping to make a piggy patch of garden, mainly things I can't buy from the shops and I was hoping to try the more natural things. What are cleavers and milk thistles exactly? I have a blackberry plant and strawberry plants and I'll be growing them nasturtiums (and for me, yum!) soon and maybe some lettuce. Hoping to get some dwarf apple trees too. I just love to forage for food for myself and piggies with my trug!
 
Cleavers are also known as sticky bud its the weed that grows really sticky and spreads and spreads and has little pea like balls growing on it, milk thistle is a great liver cleanser and I've only fed young leaves I've grown myself when I kept tortoises they can get a bit prickly as they get older but if you rub it through a tea towel it softens the prickly bits. If you google them they should bring up some pics xx
 
This is going to sound really really stupid and it shows how little I know about plants and weeds.. Do nettles not sting the guinea pigs?
 
Oh yes I know the ones! I'm always worried about foraging outside my house in case I pick something bad. I'm a worry wart :) I hear dock leaves are good for piggies too, is that right?
 
Nettle leaves if you are worried about stinging again like milk thistle rub it between a tea towel first it destroys the sting, I'm not sure about dock leaves, I would probably say no as I've never heard of any animal foraging them, but I may be wrong, again I would say just to google profusely first x
 
Okay apparently dock leaves are okay as long as they are very young leaves, as the older ones are toxic so I'm not gunna take the chance. And yes you can rub nettle leaves between your fingers to deactivate the sting so to speak.
 
I've always fed my guineas anything I would give to the horses - seems to have worked so far - as for branches, they totally eat the little ones eg fresh beech or hazel twigs, but will gnaw all the bark off bigger branches.
 
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