8 Natural Supplements for Chickens

8 Natural Supplements for Chickens
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | August 15, 2023
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Natural supplements can boost flock health, improve production and help prevent against disease and parasites. However, have you ever heard the saying “too much of a good thing can kill you”? Well, it’s true. Maybe even more so for chickens since they have a smaller body mass. BUT… this post wasn’t meant to discourage you from giving your flock natural supplements. Instead, I would like to share with you 8 natural supplements for chickens that are both safe and healthy for your flock. I use these holistic supplements all the time with my flock and see amazing results!

How to Use Natural Supplements

Incorporating natural dietary supplements into your homestead flock’s diet is great way to raise your flock like a modern pioneer. Since our modern-day chickens have a different diet than the pioneers’ chickens would have had, supplements are helpful for balancing out the commercial diets we often have to feed our flocks.

When given correctly, supplements can help create a well rounded diet for your chickens. Supplements should be treated as supplements. They should not be the main diet and they should not make up more than 10% of a chicken’s daily ration.

A supplement’s main purpose is to provide extra nutrition and benefits that will help improve a chicken’s overall health. Much like we take pills and natural supplements to boost our health, treat supplements for your flock in the same way. The supplements discussed below can help boost your flock’s immunity to certain diseases, increase egg production, and improve feather health!

To learn more about how you can naturally and safely use supplements, check out Homemade Feed Supplements: how to use them.

#1. Herbs

Herbs make a great supplement for homestead chickens and you can easily grow them yourself!

There are many types of herbs that can be fed to chickens, but knowing which ones to use when can be tricky. I strongly advise that you read my post on How to Use Herbs for Chickens on the Homestead before you begin supplementing herbs into your flock’s diet.

Each herb has its own amazing health benefits that can be utilized to its fullest when used properly! Here are a few herbs categorized by their benefits:

• anti-inflammatory- calendula, comfrey, feverfew, violets, and yarrow
• antibiotics- nasturtium, oregano, and thyme
• anti-parasitic- oregano, peppermint, sage, and tarragon
• laying stimulant- fennel, garlic, marjoram, nasturtium, nettles, and parsley
• insecticides– basil, bay leaves, catnip, lavender, lemon balm, marigold, mint, nasturtium, rosemary, sage, and thyme
• overall health- nettles, parsley, sage, and spearmint

I feed my chickens both fresh and dried herbs. The best way to feed chickens herbs is to offer them free-choice. Let the chickens decide how much of an herb they need. Offering herbs free-choice can be as simple as throwing a handful into their enclosure or hanging them in bundles around the coop. You can even grow a little herb garden and allow the chickens periodic access to it to allow them to eat what they need of the certain herbs.

I also like to add chopped herbs to my flock’s water and their fermented feed. Find out my favorite herbs to grow for chickens by reading this post on 8 Beneficial Herbs to Grow for Chickens!

#2. Sprouted Grains & Seeds

Sprouted grains, seeds, and legumes have amazing benefits for your flock and are a money saver!

When grains are sprouted, the nutrients in them become more bio-available and they become easier to digest. Sprouts also make it easier for macro-nutrients, such as protein, and micro-nutrients, such as vitamins A, C, and B to be absorbed by the body.

Much like fermenting grains, sprouting increases the volume of the grain or seed. The increased volume means a chicken has to eat less of it to become full. Sprouted grains are essentially germinated grains, meaning they have high concentrations of nutrients as the small ‘plant’ grows.

When looking for grains to sprout, look for organic, non-GMO grains. Other grains may be treated with chemicals or coated with a chemical that keeps them from sprouting. I will not go into the details of sprouting grains in this post, but I will give you a few helpful tips:

• sprouts need to be rinsed and soaked several times a day
• depending on the grain you are sprouting, it can take 2-5 days for sprouts to grow
• sprouts are less than 4″ long and can look like a mat of roots
• keep an eye out for mold while your sprouts are growing and immediately throw out the entire batch if you see or smell mold

To learn more about sprouting grains, check out scratchandpeck.com. I like to sprout green lentils for my homestead flock.

#3. Seeds

Seeds are a wonderful source of nutrients, and chickens absolutely love them! The two seeds that I feed my chickens most are sunflower seeds and flax seeds. Remember, seeds should be considered treats for your flock, so they should not make up more than 10% of your flock’s diet!

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are great for improving cardiovascular health and they are anti-inflammatory. They also stimulate the natural production of oil for chickens to wipe on their feathers. I feed sunflower seeds to my show birds in preparation for a show to help make their feathers shine.

Sunflower seeds should be fed in moderation though. Both black oil sunflower seeds and the sunflower seeds with striped shells contain a lot of oil. Because of the oil, sunflower seeds are very high in fat. When sunflower seeds are fed on a regular basis, they cause health issues such as obesity and fatty liver syndrome, both which can be fatal.

Soaking sunflower seeds overnight or feeding shelled sunflower seeds are the most beneficial ways to supplement sunflower seeds into your chickens’ diet.

Flax Seeds

Flax seeds can provide an excellent source of omega-3’s. Some people say that hens that are fed flax seeds actually have higher omega-3 levels in their eggs. This can be true, but it depends on the breed, diet, and age of the chicken.

Flax seeds have an increased amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and a decreased amount of saturated fatty acids, resulting in a healthier fat composition. Feed whole flaxseeds rather than ground up flax meal to reduce the chance of feeding rancid flax to your chickens.

As with any supplement, flax seeds should be fed in moderation. The long term use of flax seeds can cause liver hemorrhages, which are fatal. Also, flaxseeds contain sticky compounds which inhibit the digestion of essential nutrients. A general dosage recommendation for flaxseeds is to mix 1 tablespoon of flaxseeds per chicken into your flock’s daily feed.

#4. Kelp

Kelp is packed with tons of beneficial vitamins and minerals for your chickens!

It contains calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, copper, iron, and selenium! It also contains many vitamins including, A, B1, B6, B12, D, E, and K along with 21 amino acids. To say that kelp is a nutrient powerhouse would be an understatement!

Kelp helps improve fertility in cocks, hatchability in fertile eggs, feather quality for show birds, and good bone development in chicks! I try to feed kelp to my chickens at least once a week and I also offer it to my pullets as they grow. I mostly add it to their feed but it can also be sprinkled onto treats.

Buy kelp that has been specifically packaged for feeding to chickens. I recommend Fresh Eggs Daily Coop Kelp as a healthy flock supplement. Follow the manufacturers instructions on how much kelp to supplement into your chickens’ diet.

Buy Fresh Eggs Daily Coop Kelp here!

#5. Garlic

Garlic has many great health benefits for your chickens! It is anti-parasitic, acts as a bug repellant, supports respiratory health, and aids the immune system. Garlic even helps hens have a better feed conversion, which is the measure of how much a hen eats and how she converts that into body mass or eggs.

Although garlic is part of the onion family, which contains small traces of the toxin thiosulfate (which destroys red blood cells), garlic contains a minuscule amount of the toxin. I feed my chickens garlic once a week and have never had any issues.

Some sources say that garlic can taint the flavor of a chicken’s egg but I have never tasted any difference in my eggs. I crush four medium cloves of garlic in one gallon of fresh drinking water and offer it to my flock once a week. You can also offer garlic as a free-choice supplement.

If your chickens are not used to the taste of garlic, you will want to start offering it in small quantities, then increase the amount as they get used to the flavor. To learn more about using garlic for your homestead flock, check out Garlic 101: Garlic for Homestead Chickens.

#6. Probiotics

Probiotics are a great supplement to offer to chickens. Both chicks and full grown birds can benefit from probiotics being added to their diet on occasion.

Probiotics help increase the population of beneficial microflora in a chicken’s gut. Beneficial microflora are essential to having a healthy digestive system and a healthy digestive system is essential to having healthy, productive chickens!

Also, by encouraging good microflora to grow you are inhibiting the chance that bad microflora will be present. This is called competitive exclusion, when you fend off harmful organisms by encouraging the growth of beneficial gut flora.

Here are some great benefits of supplementing probiotics:

Probiotic Benefits

• promote a healthy immune system to ward off illnesses
• helps chicks develop a healthy digestive system
• restores digestive balance after parasites or disease
• improves the absorption of nutrients
• helps during times of stress
• replaces naturally occurring enzymes that are lost during the processing of commercial chicken feed

Look for supplemental probiotics that have been formulated specifically for poultry. There are a variety of beneficial bacteria strains that perform different functions. Probiotics supplements that contain more than 3 strains of beneficial bacteria ensure that you get well rounded health benefits.

Contrary to what some may think, apple cider vinegar is not technically a probiotic, and, due to the way it is utilized, it is best offered under certain circumstances. Learn more about apple cider vinegar by downloading our FREE ebook on The Truth About Keeping Chickens Naturally!

I recommend Fresh Eggs Daily Poultry Probiotics as a healthy flock supplement. You can buy Fresh Eggs Daily Poultry Probiotics here! I give my chickens probiotics during cold spells, times of illness, or any other time when stress levels may be increased.

#7. Fermented Feed

While fermented feed may not seem like a supplement, it can become one quite easily! Fermented feed contains many beneficial elements and is simple to make. You can find out more about the nutritional increase of fermented feed and how to make it by reading my post on Making Homemade Fermented Chicken Feed.

I like to give my chickens fermented feed at least once a week. Often times I keep a batch going in my pantry and bring out in dishes as a morning or afternoon treat. My chickens love it and it is healthier for them than other treats!

You can add many of the supplements mentioned in this post to the fermented feed as well. I like to sprinkle dried herbs or some kelp into the fermented feed I give my chickens.

You don’t have to just ferment chicken feed either! Whole grains and seeds can be fermented and fed as a healthier treat to your flock too! Fermenting whole grains or seeds makes them easier to digest and increases their nutritional value. Even just soaking grains or seeds overnight can make them easier to digest and better for your flock!

#8. Black Soldier Fly Larvae

Black soldier fly larvae are similar to mealworms but they are actually more beneficial for your flock than mealworms. The larvae of black soldier flies look like small grubs and they feed on food waste and other bio-degradable matter.

Once the grubs have eaten the organic waste matter, they convert it into high quality animal protein. Black soldier fly larvae contain up to 50x more calcium than mealworms and contain 32% percent protein! They also contain beneficial amino acids and other minerals.

One word of caution though, both black soldier fly larvae and mealworms contain a considerable amount of fat so they should be fed in moderation. Black soldier fly larvae should be considered treats for your flock, so they should not make up more than 10% of your flock’s diet! However, since bugs are a natural part of a chicken’s diet, they can be offered as a healthy snack on a daily basis.

I prefer to feed my chickens more black soldier fly larvae than mealworms. The production of black soldier fly larvae is more environmentally friendly than that of mealworms. Look for black soldier fly larvae that have been grown in the USA and have been fed organic waste matter. The brand that I use is Grubblies, and my chickens love them!

You can buy Grubblies Black Soldier Fly Larvae here!

All the great benefits of these eight natural supplements are sure to keep your flock happy, healthy, and productive! Be sure you understand what each supplement does and how they work before you start offering them to your flock. Hopefully this post has helped you feel more confident about offering these 8 supplements to your flock.

I love feeding my chickens supplements and even add ‘meal planning’ for my chickens into my modern pioneer schedule! A few supplements offered periodically can make a difference. Here’s my natural supplement schedule for my homestead flock:

Homestead Flock Supplement Schedule

• Garlic– once a week, added to water
• Herbs– twice a week as fermented feed topper
• Sprouts– once a week
• Seeds– seasonally fed, mostly during the fall and winter as an extra energy treat
• Kelp– mixed into feed on a monthly basis
• Probiotics– added to water during times of stress (e.g. extreme heat or cold)
• Fermented Feed– twice a week
• Grubs– a handful once a day

Become a modern pioneer with us and learn more about living sustainably and raising chickens naturally!