Here in the UK, generations of
canary fanciers have used wild
plants as bird-food for centuries. Classic wild foods for canaries
include:
Dandelion, Chickweed, Greater Plantain, Ribwort Plantain, Persicaria,
Teazle,
Meadow-sweet, Knapweed (Hard Heads) - and many more. During The Great
War
and WWII it was very difficult to obtain canary seed due to wartime
attacks
on shipping, so fanciers could only turn to wild seeds in order to keep
their birds alive.
1.
DANDELION - Taraxacum
Vulgaris
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Dandelion:Taraxacum
Vulgaris
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Seed-head,
puff-ball
or 'clock'
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Dandelion Leaf: note tooth-like edge
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Dandelion
is an extremely common wildflower in Europe and has
many local names. The name 'dandelion' is a corruption of the
French
- 'dent de lion' meaning 'Lion's Tooth' - owing to the
jagged,
tooth-like leaves. In the UK, children commonly call the plant: 'piss
in
bed'; in France it is called 'Pis en lit' - exactly the
same.
This hints at the plant's traditional herbal use as a diuretic. The
young
leaves are eaten in salads and are quite palatable.
Canaries, finches and budgerigars eat the green leaves with
relish,
as well as the flowers, flower buds, flower stems and even the fibrous
root. The entire plant is superb for bringing birds into breeding
condition
and it is one of the first plants to appear after the frosts of winter,
often in early March. I provide it to pairs which are raising chicks
almost
ad-lib - at least several times a day - but wilted and soiled leaves
should
be removed at once.
In early May the roadsides and hedge bottoms explode with vast
numbers
of dandelions, coinciding almost exactly with the first hatch of canary
chicks - assuming breeders pair their birds around April
7th-14th.
The seed heads can be harvested before they fully open into the
familiar
puffball or 'dandelion-clock'. Simply grasp the unopened seed head and
tear off the top portion between finger and thumb. This leaves you with
the seeds lying in the basal cup. It is worth choosing some seeds from
the largest plants you find and sowing them in rows in part of your
garden.
Nutritionally, dandelion - like most green plants- is high in folic
acid,
which is important for egg and embryo development. It also contains
good
amounts of calcium in a readily available form, which is valuable for
shell-formation
when hens are laying eggs.
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