There are lots of herbs that are safe for your chickens to eat - and there’s never a withdrawal time like there is with conventional pharmaceuticals. If you want to feed herbs to your chickens, but don’t know which are best, then this article is for you!
Herbs can also promote better laying, and if your hens leave their eggs in random spots, herbs can give them a nudge to lay in their nesting boxes.
A garden full of herbs near their coop promotes general health and wellness for your chickens. It can also reduce stress and possibly provide a parasite-free environment too!
Here’s 4 herbs you might already have on hand that are great for backyard chickens to eat!
Oregano
Oregano is a great general wellness herb, and it supports healthy immune system functions. You can provide your hens with fresh oregano or dried - chickens seem to love both!
The advantage to fresh oregano is you can hang it in bunches in the coop. By contrast, dried oregano is great to add to their feed or nesting boxes!
Fresh oregano also keeps your hens busy, and can prevent them from developing negative behaviors caused by stress.
We include oregano in many of our blends: Scent of Spring Nesting Herbs, Best Eggs Ever! Treat, BreatheRight coop herbs, and StrongHen Herbal Immune Support, to name just a few!
Lavender
The next one the list is lavender, which can help your hens relax.
You might find your hens won’t want to eat lavender, but adding it to their nesting boxes and sprinkling it around their coop is a good idea to create a calm, peaceful environment for your flock.
Laying eggs is one of the most vulnerable times for a hen because she needs to stay still for quite a long time.
When you offer an environment that lets her feel safe, it is a great way to get her in mood to lay.
They just love the scent, and I don’t know a single hen who doesn’t love to be spoiled!
Lavender is a main ingredient on our signature nesting box herb blend, Scent of Spring, which also includes calendula, alfalfa, basil, rosemary, chamomile, and more!
Hens love the scent of these herbs, and many customers have reported that their hens now lay in their nesting boxes, instead of on the ground or other oddball places.
Peppermint
Mint comes in different varieties and is extraordinarily useful for many things, especially respiratory support and pest control.
It’s great to mix in your flock’s nesting boxes to keep mites at bay (it’s also a main ingredient in MitesBGone, along with fennel, garlic, and a few other herbs traditionally used to drive pests away).
You can also mix it with your flock’s feed or spread it around your coop to promote healthy respiratory function. If you’ve ever whiffed fresh peppermint, I’m sure you know how great it is to inhale!
We use peppermint in our respiratory support blend, BreatheRight, along with spearmint, oregano, and other herbs traditionally used to promote healthy breathing.
Calendula
Calendula is the perfect herb to promote healthy laying AND get those lovely golden yolks. Calendula is packed with vitamin A and beta carotenes, and supports healthy skin.
You can offer the petals to your chickens in their feed or mix in their nesting boxes.
Calendula is a main ingredient in so many of our blends, especially Happy Tummy (along with peppermint, ginger, rose petals, and other herbs traditionally used to promote healthy digestion) and Best Eggs Ever! because it’s so healthy and has such a delicious scent.
If you’re ready to get started feeding herbs to your hens, then these are 4 great, safe choices that backyard chickens love. If you don’t want to grow these herbs yourself, or want them blended with other herbs your flock will adore, we’ll deliver them right to your doorstep!