Is Eating Thyme Safe For Chickens? (Full Feeding Guide)

What is thyme? Thyme is one of the herbs versatile in nature and is fed to chickens. This herb contains nutrients like Fibre, vitamin C, iron, copper, and manganese at high levels. But it can be given to chicken only as a treat and not simultaneously. Thyme is the better option for chickens. So the people doing poultry farming prefer thyme food for their chickens. We will get to know more about thyme in the points below:-

Why thyme is best for chickens?

It is the best treatment option for chickens. It contains nutrients that will help the chicken to get more nutrients. But feed the thyme in moderation only. Even it will help the chicken to develop their physical and immunological health. Thyme is best for the health of the chicken. It will treat the pests that are in the stomach of chicken. The chickens can eat thyme directly from the plant. Or they can eat it by mixing it with other feed. And they can also have it freshly cut from the plant. This is why thyme is a better option to feed the chickens.

Is it healthy to feed thyme to chickens?

As we saw thyme has health benefits that will provide nutrition to chickens. It is less popular than other foods for chickens. It benefits chicken because it has nutrients like vitamin C, iron, manganese, etc. And these nutrients are beneficial for health. So it is healthy to feed thyme to chickens.

What are the health benefits of thyme?

It has health benefits. Following are some health benefits of feeding thyme to your chickens;

Keeps immune system healthy

The first benefit of thyme is to boost the immune system of your chicken. 

Thyme contains vitamin C and Vitamin A, which will be beneficial for the immune system of your chicken. We can see a joint alignment in chickens. Thyme will help to reduce this alignment in chickens. It will also help the chicken to fight against colds and other respiratory issues. You can use thyme to give relief from the flu to your chickens. Thyme will maintain the body temperature and help to boost immunity.

Thyme helps to remove pests

Another health benefit is that it will help to get rid of pests. Just rub the thyme on the skin of your chickens, and all pests will stay away from them. Thyme contains essential oil that helps to keep bugs and pests away from your chickens. That oil is known as insecticidal oil to stop insecticidal activities. It stops the insects like mosquitoes, lice, bugs, and ticks from biting the chickens. So this is why thyme is beneficial for chickens. It is also beneficial externally as well as internally.

Thyme works as an antibiotic and antibacterial agent

Another benefit is that thyme is an antibiotic and antibacterial for your chickens. If your chickens face any health-related issues, thyme will work as an antibiotic and antibacterial agent. It will fight with bacterial infections that your chickens have. If there is any internal and serious disease, thyme will help to reduce it by its antibiotic properties. So add thyme to the diet of your chickens. That will be beneficial for the good health of your chickens.

Thyme helps in respiratory issues:

Here is another benefit of thyme. It will help your chickens to overcome if they have respiratory issues. Thyme works on respiratory infections and diseases and helps to cure them to some extent. So you can feed thyme to your chickens as a treat. Including thyme in the diet of chickens can provide lots of health benefits. So these are the health benefits of thyme if you feed it to your chickens as a treat.

Can I feed thyme sprigs to my chickens?

As there are no side effects or toxic ingredients in thyme sprigs, so do not cause any harm to chickens. But the thyme sprigs are very hard to chew for your chickens. And even they are hard to digest for your chickens. But you can feed thyme sprigs in various forms. Firstly you can chop thyme sprigs into very fine pieces. And secondly, you can make the thyme sprigs fine by grinding them. As the thyme sprigs grow, they become dry like wood. So it will be difficult to feed the chickens. Instead, feed the thyme sprigs when they are fresh and green. Di not feed the wood thyme sprigs to your chickens. As it converts into wood, it will be useless, and all nutrients are gone from it. So feed fresh thyme sprigs to your chickens.

How can I feed thyme to chickens?

Feeding thyme to chickens is not a difficult part but a very important part. Feeding chickens is easy because they are not very picky about their food. But to keep them healthy, you have to feed them good quality food only. You can wash the thyme to remove bacteria and pests from the thyme. And then only feed the thyme to them. This is how you can feed thyme to your chicken. Now following are three different ways using which you can feed thyme to your chickens;

Method 1: Mix thyme with other food

You can try this type of feeding of thyme for your chicken. Thyme cannot be loved by all the chickens in Raw or single form. So you can feed the thyme with other feeds to your chicken. Sometimes thyme may get more nutritious with other foods, so mixing it with other foods will increase the nutritional value of thyme. I can add fresh thyme to the food of the chicken. This is how you can feed thyme to your chickens.

Method 2: Feed fresh thyme to chickens without adding other foods

Another method you can use is feeding thyme without adding it to other feeds of chicken. Chickens may enjoy raw or fresh thyme. So you can freely feed them as it is. Check whether your chickens love it raw or with other foods. Feeding fresh thyme can increase the nutritional value of thyme. The leaf part of thyme is more lovable. So pick the leaves and feed them. This is the way you can feed thyme to your chickens.

Feeding fresh thyme near me in my garden

Another way to feed the chicken fresh thyme is in your garden. Leave the chickens in the thyme garden and let them feed on the thymus plant itself. If you are a poultry farmer, then you can grow thyme in your garden. This will help your chickens to get fresh thyme. But keep a fence to the plant thyme so that chickens will not be able to eat the whole thyme plant. As we all know, they may eat whole plants of thyme. The next caution is to grow the thyme plant away from other plants. This is because chickens can ignore the thyme plant considering it is another plant. So make a separate garden of thyme. And this is how you can feed thyme to chickens.

How to and how much of thyme can I feed to my chickens?

Thyme of the best nutrition feed for chickens. But it doesn’t mean it should be the main feed of chickens. Feeding only thyme can be harmful to chickens. So feed the thyme in moderation. It is said that thyme and other treats must be only 10% of the whole diet. Another percent of the diet should be their casual daily food. If you mix thyme plus commercial foods, then it may be more nutritious for chickens. Thyme should be like a treat and not like whole food. You have to take a handful of thyme and throw it in front of them while they are eating. They will pick up with other feed. This is what the proper diet for chickens thyme with other commercial food. It is good enough to feed thyme twice a week. Only a handful of thyme is enough for chickens. This is the proper way and quantity to feed thyme to your chickens.

How can I grow thyme near me?

Below are simple points you need to consider while growing thyme in your garden;

Good variety of thyme to select from

There are various varieties of thyme plants available on the market. You must be able to select the best variety of thyme to grow in your garden for your chickens. The variety named Thyme vulgaris is the best thyme variety that is good for chickens. It has a flavor that chickens like mostly. So bring this variety if you want to grow thyme in your garden.

How to plant thyme?

There is a proper method using which you can grow thyme in your garden. You can grow it using seeds and plants. If you select a plant, cut a four-inch plant branch and sow it. To sow the seeds, sow them seven weeks before frost day. Keep the soil moist with water. Cut the leaves 2 inches above the soil. This is how thyme planting is done.

How to water thyme plant?

Thyme requires soil with 6 to 8 pH. Then it needs full sunlight. Thyme also doesn’t require more watering to it. It would help if you watered it when it is dry to feel for your hands. These are the conditions for growing thyme.

When to harvest the thyme?

Thyme is harvested when the plant grows up to 6 inches tall. You can cut leaves to feed fresh or dried leaves to your chickens. Also, you can cut thyme branches if they are new and not dried. This is where you can grow thyme near you.

What precautions should I take while feeding thyme to chickens?

You need to consider the following points while feeding thyme to your chickens;

Feed thyme in moderation only, as we have seen in before points. If you feed excess thyme to your chickens, that can cause digestion-related problems. And if your chicken is new to thyme, then feed thyme in moderation only.

The next thing you should consider is that feed only fresh thyme to your chickens. Older thyme can cause infection and digestion issues.

Another problem is related to an allergy to thyme. Some chickens can be allergic to thyme. To check that, you have to observe yofur chickens while having thyme. Check whether they have any allergic reactions after feeding them.

Sometime you may spray pesticides on thyme. And that can be harmful to your chickens. Before feeding thyme to chickens, you can wash them thoroughly.

Next is about medications. If your chicken is under medication treatment, then you can avoid giving thyme to your chickens. Or you can ask your veterinarian about feeding thyme to your chickens.

List of herbs that you can feed to chickens:-

Below are the herbs that you can feed to your chickens as a good alternative to thyme;

• Parsley
• Mint
• Oregano
• Basil
• Sage
• Dill
• Lemon balm
• Rosemary

Oregano for chickens:

Another alternative for thyme is oregano. This plant also can be fed to your chickens. Oregano has antioxidants in it. It helps to prevent diseases and infections in your chicken’s body. It is full of Vitamin E, iron, dietary fiber, manganese, calcium, tryptophan, and Vitamin K. Using oregano as a feed can be helpful in killing bacterial infections in your chickens. But the oregano must be fresh.

Parsley

Another better option is parsley. This can also be the best feed for your chickens. Parsley is a healthy option for chickens. It has many benefits due to its nutrients. Parsley has Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, minerals, potassium, magnesium, and Vitamin K. If you feed parsley to your chickens, it can cause health benefits for your chickens.

More About Fresh Thyme For Chickens

Q. Which foods are not edible for chickens?

Ans: Chickens can’t eat plants like aloe vera, foxglove, horse nettle, comfrey, and henbane. Chickens only have specific foods that are commercial.

Q. Herbs that chickens like to eat:

Ans: Chickens love the variety of herbs. But mostly, they like thyme, oregano, parsley, lemon balm, etc.

Q. What is the fresh thyme market?

Ans: You have to search for a poultry market where you will find fresh thyme market. From there, you can get fresh thyme for your chickens.