Stay Healthy: Herbs for Raising Chickens

04-24-chickensIn these uncertain times, it is best to plan ahead and prepare for any eventuality, whether it is by investing in rental properties for passive income opportunities or by raising chickens for their eggs and meat. Your future is in your hands. When you need advice about property investing, ask Jason Hartman. The chickens, though, require much less guidance.

Just as herbs are good for your own well-being, they can help with the general health of your chickens as well as treat infestations of lice, mites, and worms.

General Health

For the health of your chickens, be sure that they have access to the following plants, vegetables, and herbs, which can improve the health of your brood as well as stimulate egg laying:

· Garlic

· Onion

· Chick weed dandelion

· Fennel

· Marigold

· Mint

· Thyme

· Marjoram

· Sage

· Nasturtium

· Parsley

· Wormwood

· Rue & goat’s rue

· Mugwort

· Gotu kola

· Cress

· Cleavers

· Vervain

· Comfrey

· Mullein roots

Lice and Mites

If you discover that your chickens have lice or mites, both common problems with poultry, you should add garlic to their diets to ward off the parasites. The best method is by adding it to their water by allowing crushed garlic to steep in cold water overnight. Strain the garlic pieces out and add the infused mixture to the drinking water for a week.
You can also ward off lice and mites by planting herbs with insect-repelling properties in their coop or scattering cut stalks in the area. The chickens will feed on the herbs, only eating the quantities needed for their well-being. Recommended herbs include:

· Southernwood, wormwood, mugwort, or similar plants of the Artemisia genus

· Tansy or fennel, which are good at repelling external parasites

Additionally, you can try other plants which are known for the insecticidal properties, such as:

· Catnip

· Feverfew

· Lavender

· Pennyroyal

· Rosemary

Worms

For prevention, nettles can be added to the chicken’s diet by boiling it, letting it cool, and adding the liquid to mash. If you suspect your brood already has worms, again, garlic is the go-to organic treatment. Follow the same method as above to add the extract to the drinking water, or you can individually treat specific chickens by using an eyedropper to “feed” the treatment.

Additionally, you can try a once a month mixture of herbs to head off any worm infestations. Mix leaves of horseradish, garlic, elder, tansy, rue hyssop, wormwood, or goat’s rue with onions, grated carrots, mustard seeds, and pumpkin seeds and add to regular feed at one part mix to every four parts feed.

So follow these instructions to keep your chickens healthy and contact Jason Hartman to ensure that your financial investing options are healthy. (Top image: Flickr | SMcGarnigle)

The Holistic Survival Team

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