Herbs: Good for you, good for your chickens!

Leslie Carl
Leslie Carl Posts: 255 ✭✭✭✭

Herbs are great for repelling insects in the chicken coop, boosting immunity, increasing resistance to pathogens, and improving their overall health and appearance (the chickens' not the insects' 🙂). Adding them to the nesting boxes can also be relaxing and protective for your layers, besides being a nice deodorizer in the hen house.

I planted a number of herbs so I could use them to help keep our chickens healthy and pests out of the nesting area. Here are the ones that actually germinated and grew for me and how they benefit the chickens.

Sage: Boosts immunity and is proven to lower pathogen load, and repels internal parasites, Good for the general health of your birds. I put this in the nesting boxes.

Yarrow: Repel parasites, guard against bacteria and improve digestive health. Chickens have delicate respiratory systems and yarrow is drying and aids in respiratory health. Mixed with goldenseal, fresh or dried yarrow flowers can be brewed into a tea to help clear up eye and nasal secretions and respiratory infections. You can also hang yarrow stalks in the hen house for them to peck at.

Oregano: Strengthens the immune system, combats various diseases like e-coli, salmonella, and coccidian. Good to add in nesting boxes.

Calendula, Lavender and Chamomile: high in antioxidants, soothing and relaxing, keeps coop smelling nice. Add to nesting boxes.

Thyme: Boosts respiratory health, acts as an antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-parasitic herb. Add to food.

Parsley: High in vitamins and minerals, great stimulant for laying birds. Add to food.

Mint: Repels rodents and insects, aids in regulating body temperature and the digestive system. Good to add in nesting box area.

Marigolds: Acts as a natural stimulant for laying hens, aids in the circulation of blood. Chickens that feed on marigolds are said to lay better quality eggs with brighter yolks. Just dry the flowers and scatter them all over the nest boxes.

Lemongrass: Fly repellent. I like to add it to the bedding material (straw, in our case).

Dill: Avoid respiratory illnesses, helps hens to have ease when laying eggs. Just hang dry dill leaves inside or near the nesting boxes. the younger leaves are said to have the best flavor.

Basil: Promotes respiratory system health, boosts immune system, pest repellant, antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Good to add in nesting boxes, hang bunches around the hen house and add to chicken feed (mix it with dill, thyme, clover and cinnamon for a superfood boost!).

Comments

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @Leslie Carl I will have to compare with my notes to see if I need to add any property that may have been missed in my compilation. I am pretty sure that as far as herbs go, lemongrass hadn't hit my list yet, so it's a good addition.

    Natural care for animals is the best way to go.

  • sallyhoward
    sallyhoward Posts: 106 ✭✭✭

    What a useful list! Thank you @Leslie Carl

  • dottile46
    dottile46 Posts: 437 ✭✭✭

    @Leslie Carl thank you so much! I'll have to study this.

  • Megan Venturella
    Megan Venturella Posts: 678 ✭✭✭✭

    Why didn't I think of this myself??? Thanks!!!

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Friends had a terrible mouse problem in their coops. They used peppermint essential oil (in winter, no fresh plants available) and watched it drive the mice out - right to an adjoining pen and coop. I wonder if growing it around the pens would help avoid the problem in the future?

  • Leslie Carl
    Leslie Carl Posts: 255 ✭✭✭✭

    @Mary Linda Bittle I haven't tried planting Mint around the pen, but we haven't had any trouble with rodents yet. BTW, sage is another rodent repellent. My friend had a bunch of mice move into her home recently, and I gave her some sprigs from my sage bushes to spread around, and the mice disappeared. They don't like the strong smell.

    We did have trouble with ants in our coop for a bit, but we started dusting the floor and nesting boxes with a mixture of flour and baking soda when we cleaned the coop, and then put the straw on top of that, and we haven't had any more ants in the coop. Yay! 👍️

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin


    @Mary Linda Bittle, I've heard of people effectively using peppermint essential oil to keep mice out of RV's that are being stored over the winter. Haven't tried it myself, but the anecdotes seem to indicate that it does work as a rodent repellent....

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @Mary Linda Bittle I have heard of people planting peppermint around the perimeter of a coop for just this purpose. You would have such healthy mint...just like my nettles which are in the same family.

    Mice, ants, rats...such good information for control here.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    I would be cautious using peppermint EO if you have any cats. I'm not an aromatherapist but I do know there are some EOs that are poisonous to cats. So I would go for the growing mint all around the coop suggestion. As @Laurie has said that will give you a really good crop of mint (to make all those yummy mint things; sauce, jelly, candies, teas, etc.). This is a link to the pet poison help line and their take on EOs. https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/blog/essential-oils-cats/ There is a downloadable handout on EOs and cats.

  • Hassena
    Hassena Posts: 345 ✭✭✭

    Mint is amazing! Helps make the hen house smell better too.

    We plant the herb bed around the coop, then cover the ground with chicken wire. The hens may pick, eat leaves and scratch a little. However they won't be able to scratch and dig up the plants. :)


    Great list @Leslie Carl 

  • soeasytocraft
    soeasytocraft Posts: 237 ✭✭✭

    Thanks for the helpful list! I make a weekly herbal mash for my chickens with slightly cooked steel cut oats with herbs, molasses, and a bit of chia seeds and flax. They go nuts over it! I'll save this list of herbs for reference.

  • soeasytocraft
    soeasytocraft Posts: 237 ✭✭✭

    My chickens have not liked fresh marigolds. Drying the flowers might be the ticket! Good idea!

  • sallyhoward
    sallyhoward Posts: 106 ✭✭✭

    I gave my chickens a few sprigs of wormwood yesterday. I'll give them some mint tomorrow. I have plenty growing near the kitchen but the chickens can't help themselves. Good reminder. Thank you.