Can chicken eat mint , if planted around a run??

[mmtillman]

I want to plant something around the run we just finished....I had petunias, last summer, but they loved them

!!! I hadnt planned on them eating them!!
They just reached thru the fence and pulled it in !!

So much for pretty flowers around the run!

So this year when I replant something around the run I want something they can eat that will grow really vigorously that we can just weedeat back if it gets out of control....Naturally MINT came to mind.....

But ...can chickens eat mint?? Will it hurt them ?? Would they even like it??

Any ideas of what to plant around the run would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!!

 

[Akane]

Mine ate mint and their droppings stank so badly....

I am never doing that again. The pens and the chickens themselves had a nice minty smell but I couldn't go near them for a whole day unless all the droppings were dry.

 

[Hrhchazman]

I have been thinking about planting mint around our coop/run to deter mice, ants, earwigs, etc. and did a search to see if it was safe for our girls. I came upon this thread, and found it very interesting. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. I have been using peppermint oil, and though it does work, it doesn't last for long, and it gets a little expensive after a while. Soooo......I'm not concerned about safety anymore, and no one has mentioned mint as being a pest deterrent, but I did learn one thing. If your chickens DO eat mint, you get some pretty nasty...........


wait for it.......




EXCRE-MINT !

 

[LynneP]

I have spearmint within reach and they don't touch it! Plus it acts as a natural deodorant for the droppings in hot weather. Another thing they leave alone is chicory fern and you get a nice scent of licorice in hot weather...

 

[Leah-yes I know I'm crazy]

What she said. They won't bother the mint at all. I have three varieties and they don't touch it. I find that generally they don't get into any of my herbs Chives, onions, garlic, thyme, sage no problem. I had to cage off my strawberries though...plant those a mile or so away!

 

[digitS']

I have several varieties of mint planted within a few feet of the coop and also in a few other places in the yard. It is never bothered by the chickens.

Probably anything that is within reach of a pen of chickens has a much greater chance of being pulled. Once my hens are out, there are apparently much better choices than the mint from which to chose.

There are a number of ornamentals within the mint family that may be reasonably chicken-proof.

Steve

 

[Judy]

Mine ate my garlic chives down into the dirt.

 

[rirluvr]

my soon to be 4 month old RI reds love to eat mint. It is like a treat to them. The previous comment on the smell of their waste after consuming mint is true. However, I figure the joy they get from eating it makes up for stinky poop. Poop is, as poop does.

 

[sommrluv]

I've actually tried feeding my chickens the last of my fall herbs and they wouldn't touch anything strong flavored, like sage, mint, thyme, but loved chives, and onion bunches.

 

[horsejody]

Hey, maybe you could get mint flavored eggs.