Herbal tea for chickens is a good way to help your hens recover from the long, cold winter and rebound to lay an abundance of healthy eggs in the spring. These five herbal teas are the perfect spring tonics for boosting health and vitality for backyard flocks.
2 Reasons Why Herbal Tea for Chickens Can Be Better Than Fresh Plants
It may sound strange to brew a cup of tea for your chickens instead of throwing a handful of fresh or dried herbs in the coop or run, but brewing herbal tea for chickens is gaining popularity for two reasons.
#1 Some herbs do not grow in all planting zones and are not available in the winter or spring when you need them most. Many backyard flock owners have solved this problem by purchasing dried beneficial weeds and herbs from online sources to make into herbal tea for chickens.
#2 Another plus to serving tea versus the plants is that all flock members should receive at least some of the benefits, versus the top hens in the flock eating up all the fresh chickweed you threw into the run while lower ranking flock members get nothing.
How to Brew Herbal Tea for Chickens
Herbal tea for chickens is easy to make, doesn’t require a ton of time to prepare and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Start by boiling one and a half cups of water. Add one teaspoon dried herb or a handful of fresh herbs (unless directed otherwise). Steep for ten minutes. Strain the herbs from the water. Cool to room temperature before diluting into a gallon of water.
Replace tea water with clean drinking water after twelve hours.
Spring Tonic Tea
This spring tonic is one of my favorite go-to spring herbal teas. Unlike some of the other herbal teas for chickens featured in this article, this spring tonic is a tea blend that I put together for my flock and requires four ingredients.
This herbal tea blend also requires slightly different instructions than the previous ones for brewing tea. Here’s what you need.
1 teaspoon dried dandelion leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried dandelion root
1 teaspoon dried chickweed
1 teaspoon dried nettles
Boil two and a half cups of water before adding the herbal blend. Steep for fifteen minutes. Strain plants from water. Cool to room temperature and dilute in one gallon of water before serving.
What Does Herbal Tea for Chickens Do?
The spring tonic tea works as a cleanser to rid the chicken’s body of harmful toxins that may have built up over time. While at the same time replacing necessary vitamins and minerals the hen may have lost while being confined to the coop for most of the winter.
The herbs in this tea blend work as diuretics, optimizing kidney function and health by flushing toxins out of the body and increasing urine. Even though chickens do not produce urine, they do excrete a solid white substance called uric acid that mixes with their poop to flush the toxins out and keep their bodies healthy for the upcoming laying season.
The spring herbal tea for chickens is also high in vitamins A, B, C, and D and minerals, including zinc, iron and calcium. These beneficial plants are also great immune boosters.
Parsley Tea
Another beneficial herbal tea for chickens, parsley tea is one of the best springtime herbs to boost your flock’s health for the upcoming laying season.
Parsley is high in vitamin K and calcium that work together to keep bones strong. Since a hen’s body draws calcium from her bones to produce an egg shell, keeping her bones strength up is vital for her health and continued egg production.
Studies suggest that parsley contains anticancer properties and may inhibit the growth and spreading of cancer cells. This is especially critical for high-production breeds that are more prone to developing ovarian tumors and cancer.
Raspberry Leaf Tea
Raspberry leaf tea supports a healthy reproductive tract to keep a hen’s reproductive system healthy, and this tea has many other health benefits, too.
Raspberry leaves are a good source of calcium, magnesium, and potassium and are full of antioxidants. These antioxidants help to protect the hen’s body of free radical damage and help to guard against certain diseases, such as cancer.
Research suggests that these leaves also work to keep the immune system strong.
Raspberry Leaf Warning
Raspberry leaves can be challenging to dry and quickly become toxic if not dried properly. Always use fresh leaves from raspberry plants untreated with herbicides or pesticides.
Herbal Hint: While it is an extremely beneficial herbal tea for chickens, raspberry leaves are not my flock’s favorite tea. However, I have learned that my chickens will drink it when I brew a peppermint tea bag with the raspberry leaves.
Peppermint Tea
This herbal tea for chickens is usually thought of as a summer herb, but peppermint helps to increase egg production, create larger eggs with thicker shells, and help repel winter external pests such as lice and mites.
Peppermint aids in respiratory health, keeping your flock’s nasal passages and respiratory systems clean. Filled with antioxidants, this sweet-smelling herb also supports a healthy immune system and digestive tract.
Peppermint tea is a chicken favorite and pairs nicely with raspberry leaves to support a healthy reproductive system.
Herbal tea for chickens is beneficial for your flock’s overall health all year round. But it is especially critical in the spring when a chicken’s body is recovering from the winter and making the transition into the egg-laying season.
This article about herbal tea for chickens was written for Chickens and Hobby Farms magazines. Click here to subscribe.
