Know this is for BYC...No one responding on that site..

[DianeB]

I posted a question about adding hemp and chia seeds to my chickens diet. They are not too big on flax seeds. I want to make sure that they are getting an extra does of protein and essential fatty acids.

Does anyone have experience or information on hemp and chia seeds? I am planning on buying some today from my local health food store.

P.S. Tried feeding them fish yesterday. They had a lukewarm response. Most of it was eaten by my fat terries/poodle mix.

 

[big brown horse]

(We all ask our chicken questions here. )

Ok. So give them more time to get used to the fish idea. Put it somewhere where they can get to it at their leisure w/o the pups eating it first. Same with any new food.

Mine hated BOSS at first, but now they eat it like it is Captin Crunch.

(I don't have experience with hemp or chia seeds though.)

 

[keljonma]

We used to mix seeds (chia, flax, etc) into pumpkin puree, scrambled eggs, yogurt or cottage cheese the first time we introduced them to the flock. They were so determined to eat the favored food before a flock mate beat them to it, that I am not sure they realized I snuck something new into their diet.

ETA: Chickens are pretty suspicious animals, so don't give up after only a try or two.

 

[reinbeau]

Safflower has a higher protein content than BOSS, so I mix both into their scratch. I also add white millet. Spoiled little dinosaurs!

 

[Wifezilla]

Chia is a great seed...but it is a bit spendy. If you can get it for a good price, I would add that for sure. Hemp seed also has a good fatty acid profile. Is the price on the hemp seed better?

 

[DianeB]

Chia is a great seed...but it is a bit spendy. If you can get it for a good price, I would add that for sure. Hemp seed also has a good fatty acid profile. Is the price on the hemp seed better?

Hemp seed is less expensive than chia.

 

[elevan]

I know that this is an older post...

I get my seeds from Nuts Online (just google it since I can't post a link yet)

Hemp is definitely more economical than chia. All my critters love both - I have goats, horses, pigs, and chickens.

 

[freemotion]

Go for it, both seeds should be good. Animal fat is what they really crave, though, so look for sources of that....dairy, suet, household scraps, etc. Fat juicy grubs in the spring....yum!

 

[MsPony]

I have BBH the link so she might have it saved, but you can buy chia in bulk for horses, would be more economical for chickies. It was like horsechia.com or something.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Go for it, both seeds should be good. Animal fat is what they really crave, though, so look for sources of that....dairy, suet, household scraps, etc. Fat juicy grubs in the spring....yum!

I didn't realize they were craving animal fat. I do give all my fat trimmings to the chickens though. Mine eat EVERYTHING I give them except bones. (They only dislike onions and orange peels, so I give orange peels to the goats and compost onion bits.)

Tossed them a little leftover shrimp shells and bits from a friend and they went crazy for them. My chickens are not very cautious.

I have a lot of fat drained from ground beef and some extra chicken fat. I've been using bacon fat and goose fat mostly, so I really have fat left over. I also have a little buggy cornmeal. I need to figure out how to turn those into chicken food.