Post by eppingstrider on Jul 4, 2008 9:00:06 GMT
I'm sure you all know not to feed grass gathered from beside roads, or where dogs might have done their business, or where it might have been sprayed with chemicals, but as I collected some of the grass flowers from a wildlife reserve last night that I didnt have in my garden I thought I'd comment on F&G's preferences.
First - most grass is preferred to most veg! That makes for some cheaper feeding if you have access to clean grass.
Second, flowering/seeding stalks are preferred to just leaves. Which means that I can go round the bits that are too close to the edge to get mowed instead of getting the strimmer out (which is good as I dont have one, but saves on shears as well!).
They usually eat these long stalks from the bottom up, which is fun watching, because it's like spaghetti and can be just as long! I havent got a really good grass-identifying book, but the favourite seems to be:
perennial rye grass - which is very common in ordinary lawn seed - has a flower stalk which has seeds close to the stem, one on one side, then one on the other, zigzagging up the stem for up to 6 inches or so.
timothy - which I dont get in my garden, which is why I treated them to some from the nature reserve - this is one with the nice foxtail that you can run your fingers along or 'zip' the seeds off in a very satisfying feeling! Obviously the main component of timothy hay if you feed it, but I was surprised to see the boys choose rye first, then timothy and actually eat the leaves of the timothy grass first. In the picture the Timothy is on the left. (this was the only one in my garden, and it was blowing about a bit, so sorry for the blur)
meadow foxtail - looks very similar to timothy - my book says these heads are very soft to touch whereas timothy is quite rough, so I may have given them both yesterday and I'm not sure which they expressed a preference for! Timothy stands straighter and is quite stiff wheras meadow foxtail is a bit softer with a slight bend as it stands upright.
Yorkshire fog - furry greyish green leaf which the spike comes out of in a close head then ripens out to a pretty feathery spire. They're very partial to this when still part enclosed by the leaf, not so much when it opens right out. Common in my garden -grows out of pots as well!.
There are lots of others, like the one below I havent named yet, but these are the four my boys seem to prefer above the others (but I havent actually tried a taste test!).
One thing I wondered as I wrote this. I commented in Bathing/Piggie washing that F&G had really got very clean this week and I wonder whether the extra oils in the seed heads has given them extra nutrition?
Reason for Editing: Added photos
First - most grass is preferred to most veg! That makes for some cheaper feeding if you have access to clean grass.
Second, flowering/seeding stalks are preferred to just leaves. Which means that I can go round the bits that are too close to the edge to get mowed instead of getting the strimmer out (which is good as I dont have one, but saves on shears as well!).
They usually eat these long stalks from the bottom up, which is fun watching, because it's like spaghetti and can be just as long! I havent got a really good grass-identifying book, but the favourite seems to be:
perennial rye grass - which is very common in ordinary lawn seed - has a flower stalk which has seeds close to the stem, one on one side, then one on the other, zigzagging up the stem for up to 6 inches or so.
timothy - which I dont get in my garden, which is why I treated them to some from the nature reserve - this is one with the nice foxtail that you can run your fingers along or 'zip' the seeds off in a very satisfying feeling! Obviously the main component of timothy hay if you feed it, but I was surprised to see the boys choose rye first, then timothy and actually eat the leaves of the timothy grass first. In the picture the Timothy is on the left. (this was the only one in my garden, and it was blowing about a bit, so sorry for the blur)
meadow foxtail - looks very similar to timothy - my book says these heads are very soft to touch whereas timothy is quite rough, so I may have given them both yesterday and I'm not sure which they expressed a preference for! Timothy stands straighter and is quite stiff wheras meadow foxtail is a bit softer with a slight bend as it stands upright.
Yorkshire fog - furry greyish green leaf which the spike comes out of in a close head then ripens out to a pretty feathery spire. They're very partial to this when still part enclosed by the leaf, not so much when it opens right out. Common in my garden -grows out of pots as well!.
There are lots of others, like the one below I havent named yet, but these are the four my boys seem to prefer above the others (but I havent actually tried a taste test!).
One thing I wondered as I wrote this. I commented in Bathing/Piggie washing that F&G had really got very clean this week and I wonder whether the extra oils in the seed heads has given them extra nutrition?
Reason for Editing: Added photos