For fun, I’ve been feeding my chickens hickory nuts off my trees. I sit there and crach them and the chickens are on my shoulder, my legs, my arms and sometimes they hop on my hand.
So I decided to try acorns, which I get several thousand of every year. They like them too.
So I checked the internet. Turns out that once you boil them to get rid of the tannic acid, they are very mild and really high in protein. And they...heck with it, here is more info: http://www.wisegeek.com/can-people-eat-acorns.htm
anyway, I boiled up a batch tonight, and then fried them. Awesome food!
Who knew!
You’re eating acorns? I’ll have to click on that and read. Does your tummy take that okay? Can you describe the taste?
Who knew!
Good for you, for trying this! I'll have to try it soon (have my eye on a good tree up the street, lots of nuts). In school (as part of California history) we were taught about how the natives lived off of acorns and how they had to leach out the tannic acid to make them edible/palatable. I wish the teacher had gone a step further and actually done a food demonstration!
When I was in hs, I had two chickens that would ride on my shoulders as I walked around town. I have over a hundred that year. Some weren’t so nice and would dive bomb me when I went into their shed.
Be aware that if the chickens eat enough acorns, it can turn their yolks green. I’m told it doesn’t effect the flavor, but it can put you off if you’re not expecting it.
Some random trivia for the acorn discussion - in Spain, there are pigs that are fed acorns exclusively. The meat has a kind of woodsy, nutty flavor, and hams or sausages made from this meat are considered a delicacy (”de bellota”).
Years ago (10?) I was watching one of our goat eating acorns off the ground. I picked one up and split it open and ate it. Aside from the acidic taste I can see where they would be good to eat. Thanks for the tip on boiling. We have 11 acres of oaks and tons of acorns.