Tuesday, May 7, 2013

pampered chickies





I love my chickens. Besides the fact that they provide our family with really healthy eggs, there are other reasons that I love my chickens. I love them because I have raised them since they were chicks. I love them because they eat our scraps. I love them because they keep our compost stirred up and decomposing quickly.

And I will admit that I enjoy pampering my chickens. A healthy, happy chicken produces a healthier, more nutritious egg. And that translates into better nutrition for my family.

A friend of mine recently directed me to an article about herb use in chicken care, and through that article I stumbled upon this article that discusses using herbs in the nesting boxes. I knew that this was definitely something I wanted to try as I have a prolific amount of herbs and anything I can do to contribute to the health and well-being of my chickens interests me.

I think about the benefits that herbs and essential oils have had on me and my family, so why would they not be beneficial to chickens as well? So this morning, I put a combination of lavender, spearmint, sage, and oregano in each of the six boxes.  The article I linked to above gave a list of common herbs and their benefits to chickens. I will alternate herbs as the growing season progresses and I have more herbs available.

And if nothing else our coop will smell pleasant!


5 comments:

Staci@LifeAtCobbleHillFarm said...

Absolutely it will help your coop smell nice. :) The chickens are beautiful. They are so much fun, aren't they? I never realized how much character they have until raising them in my adulthood. Those are some lucky chickens!

Our Neck of the Woods said...

They are some pampered chickies! I do the same thing for mine too :) All your chickens are lovely and the smaller ones are so cute! The rooster is a handsome boy!

Sandra said...

I really really really love your chickens, like really love them LOL

They are just beautiful.

How many acres do you have? That's one thing we're looking into when we buy our house, we want some good acreage for chickens and a garden etc.

I have never heard of using herbs with chickens, but I'm collecting as much information as I can about keeping chickens, so I'm going to save the links you gave.

Can't wait to hear if you notice a difference :)

Unknown said...

oh I bet your feathered friends love laying in those boxes now :) so sweet of you, your girls look sweet! How is your rooster??? friendly to you? I have been debating on getting a roo, not very sure about it all yet :)
we'll see!

good to meet you, how was your planting? your flowers look beautiful :)

webofbutterflies said...

those chickens are so adorable.......i grew two too.......but my neighbor's stupid dog dragged it to death.......so the other one was to be sold...i am so sorry for them both......