While we think of mint as refreshing in hot weather due to its flavor and mouth-feel, mint does not have magical cooling properties, nor a cooling effect on a chicken's body temperature. Chickens probably don't even perceive the minty “cool” flavor due to their extremely limited taste buds.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint is one of the most common essential oils used for humans and chickens. It is highly fragrant, so it's great to repel flies and other insects in your chicken coop.
As with deer, however, there are plenty of herbs that can be incorporated into the landscape that chickens will avoid. These include: borage, calendula (pot marigold), catnip, chives, feverfew, lavender, marjoram, Mexican sage, peppermint and spearmint, rosemary, sage, salvias, St. John's wort, tansy and yarrow.
Why it's good for chickens: Peppermint oil helps to repel flies. We add it to our homemade bug spray for humans, too! How to use it: Mix 30-40 drops Peppermint oil with 2.5 gallons water and spray it around the coop and chicken run. Reapply after every rain or heavy dew.
Keep bugs away from your kids, livestock, and chickens with the best homemade fly spray recipe made with Eucalyptus, Lemongrass, and Peppermint essential oils. Make it in your own home!
My most recommended oils to diffuse within the chicken coop include: Lavender – Calming, Respiratory relief. Peppermint – Repels flies, Respiratory relief. Rosemary – Repels insects, Respiratory relief.
Eucalyptus. While not toxic itself, Eucalyptus leaves can harbor Aspergillosis spores (a dangerous fungus that can cause death in various types of birds, including chickens and ducks). Also full-strength eucalyptus oil is toxic to both humans and animals.
Mint helps repel mice and bugs and also has a calming effect on laying hens. If your chickens eat it, that's perfectly fine, and in fact mint naturally lowers body temperatures, which can be helpful in keeping your flock cool in the summer.
Some smells birds hate include: Essential oils. These scents are overpowering to birds, especially peppermint oil. The strong smell of peppermint is enough to repel birds on its own.
Not only does peppermint oil repel ants, it also repels spiders. In fact, peppermint keeps most pests away, including aphids, beetles, caterpillars, fleas, flies, lice, mice and moths.
Some herbs that chickens may not like are lavender, chives, marigold, catnip, and spearmint. But even though there are claims that chickens do not like these smells, there are also stories of hens choosing to nest among these very herbs.
Hens dislike noise and prefer to be undisturbed and relaxed as they lay, so may appreciate an occasional touch of lavender in their nest boxes (although be aware - I've seen it occasionally send them to sleep in the middle of laying!).
What smells do chickens dislike? The answer to this question will come down to the individual personality of your chickens. In most cases, chickens tend to have a disinclination towards smells like citrus and herbs with strong odours, such as lavender, catnip, spearmint, marigold, or chives.
Castor, peppermint, and spearmint oils are odors that digging and burrowing animals dislike. (This can include groundhogs, mice, moles, rats, skunks, voles, and others.)
To understand what essential oils are the safest, and which should be avoided, use the following as a guideline: Avoid using these essential oils around your bird: Tea tree. Peppermint.
Does the smell of peppermint bother dogs? Yes. Peppermint oil has a strong scent for humans, and dogs have a stronger sense of smell than humans. So, the smell of peppermint can be very high for dogs and it might irritate them and bother them.
Peppermint oil smells great to humans and is a good alternative to commercial pesticide. It is a natural insecticide that repels mosquitoes, flies, ants, beetles, and more. In addition, it deters raccoons, woodpeckers, and mice. Birds don't have strong lungs and therefor don't like strong scents such as peppermint oil.
Many essential oils, such as eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, cinnamon, citrus, peppermint, pine, wintergreen, and ylang ylang are straight up toxic to pets. These are toxic whether they are applied to the skin, used in diffusers or licked up in the case of a spill.
Mint helps repels insects and rodents
Which is fantastic reason to plant mint around the chicken coop! In addition to mint growing near our coops, we trim the mint throughout the summer and toss it into the coop and run to help repel insects. We dry our excess mint leaves to use in the coop throughout the year.
Lavender has the marvellous ability to calm your chickens! It's a brilliant as a relaxant for your feathered friends - and for you as well! So if your hens are a bit highly strung, place some lavender up into their nesting boxes - it'll help calm their senses and give them a bit of DIY aromatherapy.
Good for your Hens
Rosemary is a welcome addition to your chicken coop not only because of it's fresh woody fragrance, but it is also responsible for assisting with pain relief and enhancing respiratory health in your girls.
Back to Top Best Oil Choice by Foods Below are the best oils to use when frying these popular foods to deep fry: Best Oil to Fry Chicken The best oils to fry chicken are vegetable oil, canola oil, and peanut oil. Their high smoke points and neutral tastes make these oils best for frying chicken.
Canola oil is an excellent source of the omega-6 fatty acids and a modest source of omega-3 fatty acids. Adding some canola oil is also helpful because it helps counter the tendency of the hen to reduce the level of omega-6 fatty acids in the egg when she is fed a high level of flaxseed.