Herbs were actually one of the first things I started growing over 10 years ago and they are a great addition to any garden. They are super easy to grow, require very little maintenance, and are so versatile! Plus, there are so many easy to grow herbs that will help boost your chickens immune systems, promote egg laying, and help you keep your chicken coop clean. I’ve compiled the best herbs for chickens below – and don’t worry, these are common herbs that you can use in your kitchen too!
The Best Herbs for Chickens:
- Parsley
- Oregano
- Mint
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Basil
- Sage
- Thyme
- Chamomile
- Marjoram
- Marigolds
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of our affiliate links we make a small commission from the sale at no extra cost to our readers.
Choosing the Best Herbs for Chickens
When you’re choosing which herbs to grow for you chickens I would highly recommend that you choose herbs you like to use as well.
This way, you’ll be able to propagate your own herbs for your flock, and save money!
Plus, if you’re cooking and you accidentally pick extra herbs you can just toss them into the coop!
But also remember to look at the benefits of each herb, as not all herbs have the same qualities!
Most of the herbs listed below have multiple benefits for your chickens, but some are better at pest control or improving your flock’s immune system. Or even promoting egg laying!
Take into account what your chickens need and what you have room to grow – and if you have room for all of these herbs then even better!
All of the herbs below are common herbs that you can find at your local garden store, and you probably already have some of these growing in your garden right now!
And while there are other herbs that can benefit chickens, I’ve found that these ones are the easiest to find no matter where you live, and thrive in most conditions.
Plus, using a mix of the ones listed below will likely cover all your chicken herb needs!
1) Parsley
I use parsley for everything – eggs, pasta, you name it.
And, I have several varieties of parsley growing in my garden. No matter how many times I rip it up or cut it back, it seems like it never dies.
So needless to say, I have way more parsley than I can ever use, and feeding it to my chickens is a no brainer.
Chickens love parsley, it has tons of vitamins, and it even stimulates laying!
You can plant parsley in or around the run, just make sure that if you plant it inside you provide a barrier between the chickens and the roots.
If you have chickens then you know they will destroy any plant root available to them. Which means no more parsley!
2) Oregano
Oregano is a great herb to feed to your chickens since it’s a natural antibiotic and can strengthen their immune system!
It can even help prevent many common chicken illnesses like coccidiosis.
And if your flock has even had any experience with illness, you know it can be a nightmare!
I have oregano growing in a container between my raised beds, but I use it mostly for making tomato sauce. So when I don’t need it I toss it right to the chicken coop and it’s gone within minutes!
3) Mint
Mint is notorious for growing fast and spreading everywhere. In fact, it’s pretty freaking hard to kill mint.
Chickens are notorious for destroying all plants in sight with little to no effort.
Obviously, this is a match made in heaven!
I grow spearmint in my garden (mojitos anyone?) and it thrives on neglect.
Milo has even made the mint plant a target for his *ahem* daily business, and it grows fine despite that.
Plus mint actually repels insects and rats which is perfect for a chicken coop. And it aids in parasite control!
Plant mint inside or outside the run – just make sure to protect the roots – just in case!
4) Lavender
Lavender is one of my absolute favorite scents.
I buy lavender candles, lavender essential oils, and lavender body products.
So imagine my disappointment when I found out that lavender doesn’t really grow well where I live!
Of course, that didn’t stop me from trying. But at the end of the day my poor lavender plants didn’t survive.
If you can grow lavender in your area then it’s a great addition to your chicken garden! (psst – more on that later)
Lavender aids in stress relieve – both in people and in chickens! So use this to help calm down your laying hens and give them a relaxing spa-like nesting box experience!
Seriously though – take some lavender clippings and add it to the nesting boxes to promote blood circulation (aka good egg-laying) and even control pests inside the coop!
Plus, it will make your coop smell lovely – you know, until the mini raptors eat it!
5) Rosemary
Rosemary is another herb that thrives on neglect.
I have multiple rosemary bushes in my garden and rarely have to water them! They’re pretty drought resistant.
And I love propagating rosemary clippings every spring to produce even more rosemary plants.
Rosemary is a pretty fragrant herb – whenever it’s a bit windy the whole garden smells like rosemary. Which makes it a perfect addition to your coop!
Plus, it’s a great insect repellant and once it’s established it’s pretty hard to kill.
This is probably one of the best herbs to plant inside the coop since it will grow into a bush and your chickens won’t be able to peck at the top leaves.
Just make sure that you protect the young leaves and roots to allow it to get established first!
6) Basil
I have a love hate relationship with basil.
On the one hand, I love pesto.
On the other hand, basil is probably one of the easiest herbs to kill. Or maybe that’s just me.
Either way, basil is a great herb for chickens since it has antibacterial properties and repels mosquitoes and flies pretty well.
Plus it’s somewhat fragrant and you can even save the seeds for the following seasons!
I would recommend planting basil away from your chickens and bringing the cuttings to them as treats.
7) Sage
I don’t often use sage in my cooking, but I will definitely be adding it to my shopping list for next time I’m at the garden center.
Chickens love sage and it helps to boost their overall health since it’s a natural antioxidant – and it reduces the risk of salmonella!
Yes, you ready that right!
Every chicken keeper’s nightmare just got a little less scary!
So if you grow sage then be sure to share the love with your hens. And if you don’t yet grow sage, be sure to pick some up next time you’re at the nursery!
8) Thyme
Thyme is an amazing culinary and medicinal herb – and one of the best herbs for chickens!
I actually grow several types of thyme in my garden and it’s really easy to propagate to get more thyme plants!
Plus thyme is great at repelling insects and even makes a great tea due to it’s antibacterial and antibiotic properties.
Which means that you can also use it for cleaning and disinfecting your chicken coop! Just seep a few thyme cuttings into a jar of vinegar and let it sit for a few weeks.
After that, it’s ready to use and you don’t even have to rinse it off!
Oh, and did I mention it’s also a laying stimulant?
9) Chamomile
I grow chamomile specifically for my sleepy time tea. It has a calming effect and has anti-inflammatory properties.
But you can also share it with your chickens to repel and kill lice and mites. And if you raise chickens then you know that’s a big deal!
Plus, it will also keep them happy and relaxed!
It’s best to grow chamomile outside of the coop, though, and bring it into your flock, since it can be quite delicate.
10) Marjoram
I have to be honest, marjoram isn’t one of my favorite herbs.
But it has really valuable properties for chickens – like it’s ability to aid in chicken respiratory issues!
So if you notice any signs of respiratory problems in your coop – or if any of you chickens are having trouble breathing, marjoram is a good choice!
And it’s a laying stimulant which is the icing on the cake – you can never have too many eggs!
11) Marigolds
So technically marigolds aren’t an herb. But I had to include it on this list!
Marigolds are an edible flower – yes, for people too!
They are packed with nutrients that will make your hens’ egg yolks a deep yellow-orange and they act as an insect repellant too!
This is also true for planting marigolds in the garden near tomatoes – they will keep pests away!
Plus, they’re just pretty in general and make a great addition to any garden! They come in all different colors – my favorite is white and orange!
But plant them away from your chickens – they’re a bit too delicate to grow inside the coop!
And when on the days you have dinner guests over, you can keep them for yourself and plate them up as an edible garnish! Your guests will be impressed for sure!
How to Use Herbs for chickens
You can feed any of these herbs listed above to your chickens as treats, or mix them into their food – no need to chop them up or anything.
You can also put cuttings around the run to act as natural pest repellants and natural air fresheners.
But if you want them to stay around for a bit, consider hanging them out of your chickens’ reach since they won’t hesitate to gobble them up!
And as mentioned above, you can also make disinfectant sprays with most of these herbs by soaking them in vinegar – the best one in my opinion is thyme, but mint works really well too!
If you don’t have vinegar on hand, you can even substitute for vodka since vodka has similar cleaning properties. (Although I prefer to leave the vodka for garden inspired cocktails!)
But if you do make the substitution, there’s no need to let the herbs soak for as long – a few days should do the trick!
How to grow herbs
The fastest way to “grow” herbs is by buying seedlings from the garden store and up-potting them.
Of course, if you want to start a chicken herb garden, buying individual herb plants at more than $4 a pop will start to add up fast!
So if you’re looking to have an herb garden quickly, be prepared for the investment! If you even up buying one of each of the herbs on this list, you can easily be looking at anywhere from $45 – $70, depending on the size of the seedling. Plus the cost of soil and containers to plant them!
A more economical option is to plant herbs from seeds.
And you can definitely grow herbs from seeds, but it will take longer than buying them. Some herbs though, like parsley and basil, grow quickly and are very easy to start from seed.
In fact, parsley grows all year round and won’t be killed off during a light frost! It’s cold tolerant to about 10 degrees F!
My preferred method, however, is to propagate my own herbs – but of course you have to have some plants to start with!
What I would recommend is buying the herbs you can propagate (thyme, oregano, rosemary, etc) and letting them grow enough so you can take cuttings to propagate your own plants.
Anything that grows relatively fast is just easier to start from seed – and makes more sense economically!
A good tip is to ask around to see if anyone you know has any herb cuttings they can share with you.
Or you could even split the cost with a friend and both take cuttings from the same plant once it gets big enough!
How to plant inside the run
Like I’ve already mentioned, planting herbs inside the run can be tricky – and I speak from experience!
Chickens have the tendency to eat anything they can find. That includes plan leaves, flowers, fruit, and even the roots!
Of course, we already know that if you kill off a plant’s roots it’s not likely to grow back.
But chickens don’t care about that, and when I planted out my thyme plants into their run, they destroyed every.last.part.of.it.
Now, I did add a covering to the base of the plants, but they simply jumped on top of the mesh – which promptly caved in – and they were able to peck at (and destroy) the roots.
My best suggestion is to make a very sturdy grazing box (with very little room for them to stand on) and plant the roots inside – that’s actually one of my best chicken coop design tips!
You could also use cinder blocks and plant the herbs inside – just make sure to plant them deep so that your chickies can’t peck all the way inside!
How often can chickens have herbs?
You can include herbs in your chickens’ daily feed, but I wouldn’t substitute a large portion of their food for herbs alone!
You know what they say, too much of anything is a bad thing!
I usually just give my chickens some herbs whenever I have extra in my garden, or whenever I remember.
My chickens have their coop and run, but roam free for a decent amount of time when I’m working around the coop or on the property.
During that time, they have unlimited access to any herbs and plants around – and they seem to flock to the herb plants rather quickly when I let them out!
And on the days when I don’t let them out of their run, I simply cut a few herbs to toss inside for them as treats.
They go crazy for them!
Planting a Chicken Garden
If you’ve never heard of a chicken garden, it’s basically a garden that you plant for your chickens.
It has chicken-friendly plants with things your chickens like to eat (which in my case is pretty much anything) and you would grow this aside from your regular garden.
Growing a chicken garden has many benefits.
For one, it can definitely help cut back on the cost of chicken feed! The more your chickens forage and eat from the land, the less feed they will consume in pellets (or crumble)!
And anything that saves me money is a good idea in my book! (Raising chickens gets expensive guys!)
And providing fresh, healthy food for your flock is never a bad idea – not only will your chickens love all the new options, but they will also be soaking up all of the amazing vitamins and nutrients!
You can even let them free range in their garden since it’s meant specifically for them. That way they’re less likely to get into (and destroy) your garden!
So here are a few things you could potentially plant in your chicken garden for them to enjoy!
- All the herbs listed above
- Pumpkins and others quashes – zucchini and yellow squash, butternut and acorn squash, etc
- Swiss chard
- Arugula
- Kale
- Brussel sprouts
- Watermelons
- Green beans
- Carrots and parsnips – they can eat the greens and the roots, but don’t expect the plants to develop roots if your chickens devour the greens every chance they get
Things not to plant in your chicken garden include vegetables from the nightshade family – tomatoes, peppers, eggplants – since the leaves can be toxic to chickens!
Overall, planting herbs for chickens – or sharing herb clippings from your existing plants – is a great way to keep your flock healthy and happy! And when your chickens are healthy, they lay more eggs and provide better quality meat!
Pin The Best Herbs for Chickens!
