Nesting Herbs for Chickens

[Copper9Miko1]

So in my family im known as the crazy chicken lady and recently this has led people just giving me stuff which over hasn't been bad however on of my aunt's dropped of an assortment of things from a client that had recently got rid of her Geese.

Most of the stuff I knew and recognized like feed, shavings, grit etc but one I didnt know anything about was Nesting Herbs, ive heard of them but never used them and when looking up the herds on it most were safe but online it also said Rose petals, Chrysanthemum, Wormwood and Tangerine peels could possibly be harmful or toxic! I wouldn't worry if I didnt know my chickens would definitely try to eat it.... Ive put a photo of the bag below can anyone them me if its safe for Chickens or Ducks?

 

[FrostRanger]

They probably won't eat it but it's also not doing anything besides making the nest smell nice either

 

[TioBollio]

Personally , I would stick to pine shavings.
Like me they are boring, old school and tried & true.
And unlike me, they smell great.

 

[Copper9Miko1]

They probably won't eat it but it's also not doing anything besides making the nest smell nice either

Ok so it wont harm them? And like I said I wouldn't typically get this at all i got it for free so I was checking over the stuff since it was an elderly lady who I assumed probably didnt know a ton so I jsut wanted to be safe then sorry

 

[Copper9Miko1]

Personally , I would stick to pine shavings.
Like me they are boring, old school and tried & true.
And unlike me, they smell great.

Yeah I typically sticking to pine shavings; straw and occasionally leaves in the winter

 

[FrostRanger]

Ok so it wont harm them? And like I said I wouldn't typically get this at all i got it for free so I was checking over the stuff since it was an elderly lady who I assumed probably didnt know a ton so I jsut wanted to be safe then sorry

Chickens are usually pretty good about not eating anything toxic. They might try a bit, realize it isn't very good and leave it alone. It just sitting in the nest box won't hurt them. If you are worried you can just mix it with the pine shavings

Also, the dangers of citrus are overstated. Too much citrus can affect calcium absorption but you would have to feed quite a bit for that to be a danger and given most chickens don't like it anyways it's not something I'd worry about

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I use hemp (see link below) as the nest box bedding, but I have FINALLY found a use for expired jars of herbs and spices!

So there’s currently old dried oregano and basil in there, but hands down, the best smelling concoction I’ve sprinkled in their nest boxes is garam masala. (And I don’t even like Indian cuisine much, mainly because I don’t do well with cilantro.) But wow, garam masala is da bomb, and I don’t tell them that it makes them sort of smell like chicken tikka masala. - which I DO eat.

And I don’t believe in any way, shape, or form that herbs and spices work any magic other than scent (apologies to those who do), but why not, they don’t seem repelled, and it uses up past-their-best-by culinary spices. There should be room for a little silliness in our lives, no?

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...naturally-grown-premium-hemp-pet-bedding-8-lb