I’ve been having fun lately making up herbal concoctions for our flock of ladies.
We currently have 33 chooks (four of those are roosters) and 15 chicks. Too many really but we are a family of five and we like our eggs!
They free-range around our property when they’re not locked up at night, so they’re pretty lucky and have access to green pastures, tasty weeds and if they’re really naughty fresh fruit and vegetables from the garden!
Right now though most of them are molting so just to give them an extra boost I’ve formulated a herbal crumble supplement..
When chickens are moulting they need vitamin A, folic acid and zinc for feather growth. As well as extra protein, warmth (circulation) and they’re a little down in the dumps and exposed, so some immunity support as well. They won’t be laying eggs as their energy is going into feather growth rather than egg production, so expect empty nests.
In my Moulting Blend (yep, it has a capitalised title because it’s going to be up for sale soon) I have…
- Flaxseeds… folic acid (B9), feather growth
- Garlic… warming, protection from infection, vit A
- Parsley… vit A, protein, feather growth
- Dill seed… high protein
- Mint… feather growth, digestive health
- Star anise… warming, anti-microbial
- Seaweed… all round health, zinc
Moulting is a natural thing to happen to your chooks, usually yearly and usually in autumn. You can’t stop it and you can’t speed up the re-growth but you can make sure they’re getting a bit of a boost in the vitamins and minerals they need to supplement their normal balanced feed.
I’m giving my girls about a teaspoon each, every 4 days.
Other things you can do to help them through this awkward phase is to feed them sprouted alfalfa and cat meat/kibble (as in cat food – not minced cat! 😮)
If this is a product you may be interested in for your own flock do let me know in the comments section or via the contact form. Would be handy to be able to gauge interest…
Other potions in the pipeline is a boosted vaseline lotion for scaley leg mite, a golden layer health blend, worming blend and a chick blend…
