Can I feed hens Italian spices.

[IncognitoMode4723]

Can i feed this to my australorp hens?

 

[3KillerBs]

Why?

It's probably not harmful in reasonable amounts, but I doubt they'd like it. I've noticed that when I toss trimmings from the herb garden into the run they taste the leaves and ignore them -- strongly preferring other types of greens, especially leafy weeds.

IMO, best to save the seasonings for cooking chicken rather than feeding to live ones.

 

[IncognitoMode4723]

I would like to feed it to them if it would have health benefits for them.

 

[nuthatched]

There's no health benefits in that spice mix.

 

[IncognitoMode4723]

That is unfortunate. Thank you for you quick responses.

 

[Kanekoded]

Can i feed this to my australorp hens?View attachment 3321665View attachment 3321664View attachment 3321664

I add dried organic oregano, thyme, minced garlic and flax seed every time I replenish the feeder and they love it. I have tried rosemary and basil but for some reason mine don't seem to like it (weird, huh?). While, I haven't tried marjoram or sage, they are also perfectly safe for chickens.

Some people claim there are no benefits - and others, such as myself, believe differently. I'll leave you with just one link that points to the benefits of feeding oregano. From there you can look up the rest.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/supplement/oregano

 

[Kanekoded]

For the non-believers:

Here is the Poultry Herbs A-Z link, all of the studies associated with each herb are listed at the bottom of the page for each specific herb.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/herbs.php

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You can't possibly know the dosage using those ingredients. That makes it slightly more reliable, and slightly more dangerous, than prayer or magic. Nor do the studies (and I've read LOTS of them) look at the effects of regular feeding of the supposedly "good" stuff. It is entirely possible, likely even, that routine dosing simply selects for bacteria, parasites, etc more able to tolerate low amounts of the bioactive ingredients in the mint family, the same way routine addition of ACV to acidify your water selects for bacteria that do better in more acidic environments, and routine dosing of low dose antibiotics selects for germs in hospitals able to disregard it - things we now give lovely names like MRSA.

So, yes you can. Why would you? If you are doing it for antibacterial/antiparasitic properties, its because your Faith trumps your Science.

 

[3KillerBs]

If there were any real, rigorous, repeatable, double-blind studies with statistically significant results proving a benefit to feeding chickens cooking herbs you can be certain that commercial chicken farmers would be all over the idea.

Contrary to some popular beliefs, commercial farmers WANT their chickens to be healthy and productive. Even if they hated chickens and were only in it for the money they'd want that because healthy, productive chickens are more profitable.

*Some* ideas about medicinal herbs *have* passed that test throughout history -- and the scientifically-tested active ingredients are now available in a pure, standardized form with a proven dosing schedule.

If herbal medication advocates reject the idea of rigorous testing and standardization then you can be fairly sure that they're either trying to sell you a bottle of snake oil or a cult religion.

 

[NatJ]

Can i feed this to my australorp hens?

I would like to feed it to them if it would have health benefits for them.

It should be safe enough to offer it to them-- just pour a bit on the floor or in a bowl, and let them decide whether to eat it.

I would expect them to eat very little of it, have no obvious health benefits, and have no obvious problems. (Of course my expectations could be wrong.)

Personally, I wouldn't bother buying it specifically for them, but I might offer it if I were trying to clean out the cupboard and it was sitting there unused. Or I might offer a bit out of sheer curiosity, just to see whether they like it.