4 April 17 by Claire in Latest News

Grassroots PR BHWT Blog

As a poultry fanatic and hen owner myself, it has long been an ambition of mine to work with a seed company to produce a range of herbs that owners can sow to grow as beneficial greens for their family flock.

We all know that chickens enjoy green food, they love grass and many of the leaves and wild flowers growing in that grass. So, most will happily munch on herbs and those herbs will in turn help to keep the chickens healthy in the most natural of ways.

I am delighted to sat that Dobies Seeds have finally realise the potential and are working with The BHWT having created a special seed range of herbs specially selected to delight our feathered friends. In addition, they are offering special discounts to BHWT supporters, on products in their catalogue or online and donating a percentage of proceeds back to them.

If you are a gardener, you may well have heard of Dobies seeds. They have been supplying flower and vegetable seeds direct to gardeners since 1880. Their main annual catalogue features an extensive range of products including seeds, young annual plants available by post, plus bulbs, fruit and garden equipment.

You may not know that they are also experts in the needs of backyard hen keeping too. Many of their customers have either a large garden, or an allotment and therefore, also enjoy the wonderful world of hen keeping. Indeed several of their employees are fervent back yard hen keepers themselves and this is a side of their business that they want to grow, with their down to earth approach on pricing.

Dobies recently acquired Ascott Small Holdings Ltd to add to their range, with an initial focus on poultry supplies, but ultimately ranges that are perfect for consideration by serious gardeners/growers, allotmenteers or small holders! Their Good Life Chicken Keeping collection was launched this April 2017.

Each collection contains packets of herb seed that focusses on a particular health benefit.

For every collection sold Dobies will donate £1.00 to the charity.

Herby Hen Seed Collections

The herbs chosen each have multiple benefits and can be used as follows:

• Scattered in the run and nesting box to repel insects, parasites and rodents
• Fed fresh by being hung up to also create healthy interest
• Dried, crushed and added to feed or water

The following four herb collections are easy to grow, will help to keep your hens happy and healthy and will raise funds for British Hen Welfare Trust. What more could a chicken lover possibly want? Oh yes, and the humans can eat the herbs too!

Egg Production Collection

Fennel – an excellent laying stimulant with the bonus of being an effective insect repellent (435081 £1.79)

Marigold – will result in vibrant orange egg yolks and is also both an insect repellent and antioxidant (421699 £2.19)

Marjoram – a laying stimulant, decongestant and anti-inflammatory (436168 £1.79)

Individual RRP = £5.77. Collection price = £4 with £1 donation to BHWT

Insecticide Collection

Lavender – what hen wouldn’t be happy in a nest box scattered with sweetly scented lavender?

Lavender will relax your hens by acting as a natural and aromatic stress reliever and is also a useful insecticide. (426504 £2.79)

Catnip – not just for cats! Catnip will relax your hens whilst also repelling insects (414917 £1.79)

Mint – scatter in the henhouse as both an insecticide and rodent repellent. Mint also reduces body temperature so is useful for when your hens go broody (435960 £1.29)

Individual RRP = £5.87. Collection price = £4 with £1 donation to BHWT

Health Collection

Nasturtium – Your chickens will enjoy both the flowers and the leaves and these will act as a natural wormer. Nasturtium also has antiseptic properties and is believed to stimulate egg production. (416847 £1.99)

Dill – Good for improving respiratory health plus has antioxidant properties and is a natural sedative/relaxant. Dill will also stimulate the appetite of convalescing chickens. (436109 £1.29)

Rosemary – Good for pain relief and respiratory health (436184 £1.49)

Individual RRP = £4.77 Collection price = £3.50 with £1 donation to BHWT

General Maintenance Collection

Parsley – Packed with vitamins and minerals your chickens will enjoy both the stems and the leaves of parsley. If yours are the few that don’t then add dried, crushed parsley to their feed. Parsley aids blood vessel development and stimulates egg laying. (438088 £1.79)

Sage – Rich in vitamins and antioxidants feed sage fresh, scattered or hanging in the coop or feed it dry, added to feed. (436192 £1.29)

Oregano – Research has shown oregano to be one of the most powerful natural antibiotics. It will strengthen the immune system and help keep infections at bay. (435952 £1.29)

Thyme – a good all-rounder thyme promotes respiratory health, is an antioxidant, has antibacterial properties and helps control parasites (436222 £1.29)
Individual RRP = £5.66. Collection = £4 with £1 donation to BHWT

A £1.99 carriage charge per order will also apply, irrespective of the number of collections ordered.

I’d love to hear how you girls enjoy these new herbs, so do send me some pictures at claire@grassrootspr.co.uk. I’m certainly going to give them a try and promise not to steal too many for my kitchen use!

Dobies order line number is 0844 967 0303 and the website www.dobies.co.uk

To request a catalogue go to http://www.dobies.co.uk/CatalogueRequest.aspx

Please quote offer code BHWT17, when you order (post, phone or online. The 10% discount will automatically be deducted from any seed you have ordered.

NOTE this discount does not apply to the 4 seed collections above.

So, by ordering other different seeds and quoting the offer code you are not only saving money but also helping to raise funds.