The poultry yard has many uses. As well as a provider of the ton or so of composted manure I need for the soil, the birds also consume a large proportion of the weeds I pull every day through the season. Most of the annual weeds that infest my beds are palatable to the birds:Sow thistle, Fat hen, dandelion, hairy bittercress, rough Hawk's beard. I should make a photographic record, but this site covers most of the edible weeds, albeit listed for tortoises rather than poultry.
Greens should be an important and regular part of laying birds' diet. They improve the yolk colour and improve levels of omega 3; research by Artemis Simopoulos published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that eggs from birds fed on a varied died rich in greens (purslane) have a much higher ratio of Omega 3 to 6 than ordinary supermarket eggs (1:3 as opposed to 19:4). They also get bolted lettuces and brassicas, beetroot leaves etc in season.
The run is also proving useful as a support for a 'Jack O Lantern' pumpkin variety, which has started setting and swelling fruit since clambering up the run apace.
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