Is mint ok?

[allison1027]

I have some mint going bonkers in my backyard...I thought about moving to the chicken run to give my girls something to pick at. Will it make their eggs taste funny? My neighbor had a dairy cow that got into the onion patch and it made the cow's milk taste off for a while. Could the mint do the same thing to my chickens?

Thanks!

 

[feathers4fun]

I think a little would be fine, but probably wouldn't let them mow it all down on the same day!

 

[GardeNerd]

My chickens don't eat mint or any of the plants in my yard related to mint. I have many salvias and sages, but anything in the Lamiaceae family the chickens seem to leave alone. However, if it is the only green thing around to eat they might eat some of it. I don't know if it will make the eggs taste minty or not.

 

[digitS']

I also have many varieties of mint in my backyard. None of the ornamentals of this family - they are all the edible types.

The chickens won't eat them. They scratch around in them some, that's it. Maybe if the pen was right over the top of the mint . . .

I've wondered about the ornamental species of mints that GardeNerd mentions. I think she has done something of a study on this. It is nice to know that some things are fairly safe from a foraging chicken

but this information may not help you, Allison, with your mint patch.

Steve