used tea bags as food?

[Oregon Blues]

Nice antioxidants in tea. However, don't put any string or fibers into the chicken run. You don't want them swallowing string. And they might because it looks worm-like.

 

[Actionflack]

I think I read somewhere that if you empty the dried tea bag contents into a bowl and mix with sand/soil it's good for dust bathing in. Has anyone else seen or done this?

 

[bonsaiherb]

I think there might be some (actually, it is a small some) benefit to recycling the tea grounds - separated from the paper - if they are herbal ones. Chamomile as an example. I simply add the now degraded (dried) tea remnants to the feed. Ginger tea etc.
You could always save the dried ripped paper for nesting material.
Always a recycler. Rose hip tea, mint etc.

 

[lazy gardener]

I can see no benefit of giving tea leaves to chickens. The tannins in the tea are not digestible. There is no appreciable food value in tea. The paper could cause a crop impaction, the staples and string could cause other issues. I remove staples and put tea bags in my compost. I also collect coffee grounds to put in compost and around some of my plants.

 

[bonsaiherb]

I made mention of organic teas not green or black tea and I just empty the contents out. No staples, no strings just a paper packet in the ginger, chamomile, fruit or rose hip teas I give them. Hop, mint, bee balm - Monarda, comfrey etc. are simply taste treats for them and they seem to like the tasty addition to their daily feed.

Watch them outside as they happily go for the mints and other herbs when they have a chance. FRESH herbs is a useful ingredient and I add them as well. IMO they help build a stronger immune system and as I see it some of the weeds they eat are better than the empty Iceberg lettuce that we pay bucks for.

They certainly enjoy the basil, garlic, sage, mint and oregano that they get from me. Later I am sure they will feast happily on the nasturtium and other herbs that are coming into growth.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

My coffee grounds go in the chicken bowl, smells nice in the deep litter.

Gary

 

[HamsterStyle]

We just use plain black tea and I was wondering if it was safe to throw in the compost pile. Our compost pile is in the chickens run so they have full access to it. There are no strings tags or Staples on our tea bags. Just the bag and the tea leaves

 

[KCF21]

Absolutely. I drink organic herbal tea. The chickens love the herbs!! I save all tea bags, dry them out and then when I have quite a number so open them all up and put them into the scraps I offer my chickens. They all love this snack so much. I know the have good taste because they definitely don’t eat processed foods, bread and certain veggies they don’t care for. Chickens are smart and have an instinct to avoid things that are not real food or are unhealthy. Herbs in tea have so many health benefits. Happy chickens and happy eggs for me too.