Oregano in water

[mich9510]

Why not just grow your own oregano and chop it up in their feed. I have a good bit of dried oregano at my house so I just toss a handful in the FF and give it to my flock that way. I guess its not as concentrated that way but at least I know where it came from and the quality. It also helps to gives them some nice greens during the winter too.

 

[DrPatrickBiggs]

Essentials oils are not water soluble and need an emulsifier. In this case food grade. I would suggest honey and I've read it's good for chickens but I really don't know how much or how little is good for chickens. If anyone can tell me how much is safe to give chickens on a regular basis I can experiment and work out a formula.

Hi JuJubeann,

I would recommend using just enough honey to get the essential oil emulsified.

 

[warriorjcm]

If I just give them fresh Oregano greens, how much per chicken should I give them and how often?

 

[Purina]

If I just give them fresh Oregano greens, how much per chicken should I give them and how often?

Thank you for the question! There are a few ways to feed oregano to chickens.

1. If you are just giving them leaves, then you could just set the leaves around the coop and run and let the birds decide how much they want to eat.
2. You could also place a plant near their run or in their free-range area and allow them to eat what they want.
3. You could make some tea with the leaves and then provide that as their drinking water for a few hours a day. Just be sure that the water has cooled before providing it to the hens. Nobody likes burning their tongue on hot tea.

 

[mobius]

You could also make a tincture with oregano and ACV, and add that to their water. Not sure how much to add however...the tincture has to soak for about a month to extract, and should be shaken daily. I have made tinctures, and it just sits on the counter and the time passes pretty quickly. Put at least an ounce of oregano or simply stuff oregano into a pint mason jar, cover with the good ACV, and cap tightly. Put wax paper or plastic wrap between cover and jar as the ACV will rust the lid if it is metal. When finished, strain. I would do 5-10 drops per gallon...not lots.

The tea idea is a good one as well, and that can be added to their water.

Another thread I read said 1 drop of oregano EO per gallon of water, just as a health booster. I do think 2-4 tsp might be a bit much per gallon, that oregano EO is pretty concentrated stuff. Just saying. That amount might be correct if you infused oregano in olive oil, say, which is not the same as the EO.

I put my dried crushed garden oregano in their nest boxes, along with other herbs, dry, and in their dustbox as well. They loved it in the dustbox for sure. They also ate it fresh from the garden last summer (!).

Rosemary is another herb I am looking at for its benefits.

 

[sherahart]

I read study after study trying to find the correct dosage of Oregano oil to treat coccidiosis. Amprolium is almost useless on strains in the Florida panhandle. I know because I placed an ad on CL with a warning about coccidiosis and since then I've gotten calls from people who lost well over half their flocks in 2017 in spite of using medicated feed. One study I read compared OE to Diclurazil. It said OE at 300-500ppm in diet reduced lesions scores in upper and middle intestines 22 days after infection to similar numbers of lesions found in unchallenged birds. I can't figure out how many drops that would be per gallon, but I think it's .03% to .05%. Using 1g as the weight of 1ml water, I did some math that l can't repeat and increased my initial dosage from 12 drops/gallon to about 34, the number of drops my dropper will hold, for adult chickens. I haven't use more than 12 drops/gallon for chicks for fear it would burn their tender digestive systems. If anybody else has figured out the effective dosage range, I would appreciate learning. I did check on ROPADIAR and learned the amount of OE it contains is a lot lower than in pure OE, so maybe that's where 2 teaspoons came from. I never give my chickens any essential oil without testing the mixture on my own tongue, and I could never tolerate that much. I have to note here that I use therapeutic grade 4 ounce bottles because it's still pure distilled OE in spite of FDA regulations prohibiting labeling as food grade.

I have been using 1/4 piperine tablet or 1/8 tsp fine ground black pepper to help OE absorb into the gut plus 1/2 teaspoon sunflower lecithin powder per gallon of water to emsulsify the OE. Any guidance on these amounts is also welcome. I have noticed a milky white residue build up on my nipple waterers, so maybe my mix isn't quite right. Then again, Big Ol' Bird (B.O. B.) leaves a much darker residue I suppose is the fuller's clay they use as an emulsifier.

One final note: I added OE to one cup of milk with kefir starter and could not tell the difference the next day between the thickness or consistency of the cup without OE, so that satisfied me that OE won't kill off good gut bacteria in the short term. I do not use it long term. Usually 3-4 days at a time, and maybe that's not long enough.

 

[lady of the north]

You could also make a tincture with oregano and ACV, and add that to their water. Not sure how much to add however...the tincture has to soak for about a month to extract, and should be shaken daily. I have made tinctures, and it just sits on the counter and the time passes pretty quickly. Put at least an ounce of oregano or simply stuff oregano into a pint mason jar, cover with the good ACV, and cap tightly. Put wax paper or plastic wrap between cover and jar as the ACV will rust the lid if it is metal. When finished, strain. I would do 5-10 drops per gallon...not lots.

The tea idea is a good one as well, and that can be added to their water.

Another thread I read said 1 drop of oregano EO per gallon of water, just as a health booster. I do think 2-4 tsp might be a bit much per gallon, that oregano EO is pretty concentrated stuff. Just saying. That amount might be correct if you infused oregano in olive oil, say, which is not the same as the EO.

I put my dried crushed garden oregano in their nest boxes, along with other herbs, dry, and in their dustbox as well. They loved it in the dustbox for sure. They also ate it fresh from the garden last summer (!).

Rosemary is another herb I am looking at for its benefits.

 

[lady of the north]

I personally haven't used Oregano with chickens, but have assisted a friend who has.
I have used Oregano myself and with my dogs. When I have suspected that they are ill or coming down with something I have used Oregano 1 drop per 1 tsp vege or olive oil, and put maybe a 1/4 tsp onto their food. Make sure you know that it is pure oregano, and the only way is to totally know where it is from and that it is tested to be free of any additives.FDA requires only a small percentage of Oregano EO to be called pure on the bottle, and the rest can be anything! I would say the most common problems with animals becoming ill or dying from oils would be from the additives. Can even be toxic additives. While I am on the roll, the other thing, the EO must be tested for toxins. A little pesticide sprayed on a field= highly concentrated pesticide in the essential oil, due to the concentrated nature.
My friend put Oregano one drop per one gallon of water. No ill effects, probably not dispersed well, but that is the concentration I had read previously. I will look more into the dispersing issue. I have usually put it into olive oil for the dogs, but that too would float to the top of water. In some situations, a little salt has been known to help with helping it stay in solution, but I don't know about salt and chickens.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I started using the Ropa poultry oregano oil for my chicks last year instead of using medicated feed. One bottle lasts a long time. I give it to my hens every few weeks & they have never refused to drink it although I think it smells really strong. I use the plain oregano stuff not the stuff with added ingredients Ropa Complete I believe is the other stuff.

 

[Namrag]

I started using the Ropa poultry oregano oil for my chicks last year instead of using medicated feed. One bottle lasts a long time. I give it to my hens every few weeks & they have never refused to drink it although I think it smells really strong. I use the plain oregano stuff not the stuff with added ingredients Ropa Complete I believe is the other stuff.

In the past year have no noticed an improvement? Please share your experience as I'm considering this product myself. TIA