Mary Allen
Every small animal breeder knows the dandelion and knows where it grows. What not everyone knows: The leaves are not only popular with rabbits, pigeons are also very greedy for the “weeds”.
Anyone who is currently going for a walk and looking around will almost certainly see dandelions somewhere. In spring, many meadows are characterized by their yellow flowers. You can even see it in cities, where it uses the smallest cracks in the asphalt and between flagstones to put down roots. The seeds are scattered like little parachutes and children enjoy playing with the dandelions. Dandelions are so common that we don’t really notice them.
But that’s exactly what we should be doing, and not just as rabbit breeders who particularly enjoy feeding the leaves. Pigeon breeders should also look forward to an extensive supply of dandelions. The leaves are also very popular with pigeons.
If you want, you can cut them up and offer them directly to the pigeons. A small pinch of salt on the leaves helps to get the birds used to the new food. But pigeons soon also like to peck at the leaves directly. With this variant, in particular, the impression is created that the pigeons like fiddling with the long leaves. They are busy, and that in turn precludes just sitting around.
Some breeders even go a step further. They dig up whole dandelion sticks and place them in the aviary. Earth always sticks to the long root, which the pigeons also like to eat. The problem with all of these methods is that certainly, not all pigeons get something out of it. If you want to avoid this, you can mix the entire plant with some oil and then pour it over the grain feed. If you bind that with feed lime or brewer’s yeast, each pigeon gets its ration.
Stable Bones Thanks to Vitamin K1
Growers even use dandelions as tea. Both the leaves and the roots are used. As long as fresh leaves are available, you can use them. For the winter it makes sense to create a depot. The hot summer weather is ideal for drying.
This raises the question of what is achieved with this additional effort. The answer: quite a lot. The many bitter substances in the dandelion ensure that the formation of secretions in the digestive process of the pigeon is stimulated. Knowing how important digestion is to animal welfare, it seems logical to take advantage of it. Added to this is the high content of vitamin K1, which is particularly important for blood formation and bone stability. This alone can prevent a possible deficiency in the organism of the pigeon.
A hitherto almost unknown factor in pigeon keeping is the plant sap that dandelions have in the thick leaf veins and in the flower stalks. Since this juice is white, it is also called “milk”. Anyone who presses on the leaves – especially in spring – sees how full this milk appears at the point where it breaks off. If a pigeon has a so-called “wet eye”, a drop will help. After two days the eye is dry again. So a simple and above all-natural method to get rid of this evil.
As common as dandelion is, it is valuable in all parts of the plant. And since it can be found everywhere, the pigeon fancier does not even have to make a big effort to obtain it.