Chia seeds ok?

[Ugadano]

When I eat chia, I soak it in coconut milk and add nuts and unsweetened coconut shreds, vanilla and stevia. The reason I don't feed it dry to chicks is because it will clump into a gelatinous mass if not stirred almost continuously for the first 10+ minutes. I grind milo coarsely for chicks free ranging with mama hen for a couple of months and provide grit at least the first couple of weeks. They also have access to mom's soaked feed which is whole milo, whole oats, and black oil sunflower seeds with hull on. Trying to stay away from corn, so no chick starter.

I would feel comfortable feeding chia mixed in with the other seeds that I soak, just haven't. I have fed quinoa to chicks in a pinch as they don't clump like chia does, as I hadn't been out to the shop to grind any yet that day, usually only grind a couple days worth at a time to avoid nutrient loss unless leaving it for hubs to feed while I was away for the week.
Try it yourself, see how a teaspoon does stirred into a clear cup of water and left to sit 10 minutes. Gummy wad! But very nutritious if fed carefully.

 

[mosse71]

i fed dry chia from day 1 to my 35 bird flock. the chicks , ducks and geese loved it. i only fed it as a supplement until they hit 2 months. they grew noticeably bigger than birds in the past , i didn't give some to. i also harvest dandelion greens for my birds all summer . they love it and they have real shiny feathers and look super healthy. dandelions are more nutritions than kale. my 93 yr. old grandmother harvested and ate dandelions in early spring before they flowered. probably why she's still around.