5 Herbal Medicines for Chicken Illnesses: Natural remedies for Poultry

This post was most recently updated on April 26th, 2020

Chickens are typically very hardy, and seldom get sick. There are, however, herbal medicine and natural remedies to help with some common chicken illnesses and parasites.

Please read: This information is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

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Here are five herbs that can help you keep your chickens happy and healthy. Most of these are very easy to grow yourself so you can use them when you need to.

5 Herbs to use with your Chickens

1) Thyme

Thyme can help chickens with a mite infestation, you can make up a spray and douse your chicken house thoroughly.

Thyme chicken mite spray recipe

2 Tablespoons Thyme essential oil

1 quart water

Mix well and spray on to all coop surfaces, soaking it thoroughly. A small garden sprayer used just for this purpose would be perfect. Repeat weekly for 3 weeks then once a month as a maintenance.

2) Oregano

Oregano is antibacterial, many commercial feeds now contain oregano oil to help prevent coccidiosis. You can feed your chickens fresh oregano with their grain a few days a week to help boost their health and prevent some illnesses.

3) Turmeric

Turmeric is a cousin of ginger. It is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and it can be used as a paste to treat wounds or bumble foot.

Mix 1/4 cup of turmeric powder with 1 cup of coconut oil and 1 tablespoon of black pepper and place in a dish for the chickens to help themselves to.

To treat bumble foot or a wound, mix turmeric powder with honey or petroleum jelly to form a paste and apply it twice a day.

4) Aloe Vera

The aloe vera plant is very rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes. It promotes good health, speeds wound healing and it is very soothing.

To feed to chickens, add 2 tablespoons of crushed leaves to 1 gallon of water. Offer to the chickens in place of their drinking water.

To help with healing wound or scaly leg, mix 2 tablespoons of crushed leaf with half a cup of coconut oil.

5) Garlic

Garlic is amazing. There is a lot of research showing what garlic can be used for. It improves growth rates, egg production and food efficiency.

Adding 1:25 garlic powder to dry feed reduces the stink of their manure. Fresh, crushed garlic is stronger and more effective as medicine.

Offer fresh or crushed garlic next to their feed, or add one crushed clove per quart of water.

Do you use any of these natural, herbal medicines for your chickens?

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