ruthhope
Free Ranging
My back yard is shaded and had a lot of non-native sword ferns, Nephrolepis cordifolia, growing when I first started free ranging my ducks. I was pleased to see that the ducks are progressively helping me to rid the garden of the ferns [I had been trying with little success for quite a few years.] Then a few weeks ago, I found out that the ducks are not just eating the foliage but are eating the marble-sized little tubors attached to the roots. It's the tubors that have been hindering me ridding the garden of the ferns as pulling them up by the roots leaves the tubors behind to grow again. I checked out the ferns and tubors on line in case they are toxic -- although my ducks have shown no sign of ill health and all of them gobble down tubors when offered. I found that they are non-toxic, edible raw and roasted by people, and in Nepal where the ferns are native, they are a preferred treat of children who also eat them raw or roasted. If you have these ferns in your garden -- or even in a pot or hanging basket [they are often marketed as boston fern] -- you might care to offer the tubors to your ducks as a treat.
https://www.eattheweeds.com/nephrolepis-cordifolia-edible-watery-tubers-2/
https://www.eattheweeds.com/nephrolepis-cordifolia-edible-watery-tubers-2/
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