dried oregano & thyme in feed or water?

[monkton flock]

Hi folks,

My flock is small and half adult birds, half juveniles. I have one rooster, one adult hen, 2 adult guinea hens, and four juveniles. I've heard about potential antimicrobial properties of oregano for chickens, but I'm wondering how to people give their birds oregano effectively? Is putting the dried herb into their feed enough? Or is that a waste of time/money? How will I know if it's effective?

Thanks!

 

[RodNTN]

Hi and

Glad you joined us! I don't much about herbs and oregano for chickens, but maybe someone on here does.
Don't hesitate to hop over to the Learning Center for info:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Have a great time on here and best wishes!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, monkton flock, and

! Pleased you joined us! I've see a few posts lately about feeding oregano or putting oregano oil in the chicken's water. Here's a link with some threads that discuss it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=oregano It seems like I've read something on BYC about thyme being used for mites??? I cannot state if it works or not.
Make sure you stop by the VT thread in the link below and chat with local chicken keepers https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you
Best wishes and thanks for joining BYC!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[CuzChickens]

Hello, and welcome to Backyard chickens! I personally prefer to use Essential oils instead of dried herbs. I put Oregano in my chickens water at a ratio of two drops to a gallon. Oregano I s considered a ''hot'' oil meaning it can burn the mouth and throat if used improperly. So where I could probably put in four or five crops per gallon, I tend to ere on the side of caution. Thyme is also one of those hot oils, so I would use the same ratio. You ca. Use fresh herbs,but those are only availiable a few months out out of the year. Of all the methods of administering herbs to chickens, I have four
And dried to be the least practical and essential oils to be the most practical. When buying essential oils, be careful of the brand you use. Brands like Now, or Aura Cacia will be much less effective than a good brand such as doTERRA, the brand I use and recomend. It is a bit more expensive, but much higher quality that I know I can trust for my animals and myself. OK, I will stop preaching now. Lol. Hope this is helpful, and sorry for all the typos.

 

[QueenMisha]

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.

 

[monkton flock]

Thanks for all the welcoming posts, everyone! I'm glad I signed up and I hope I can provide helpful info to others as much as I've learned form this site. Talk to you soon!