Is feeding your chickens only food that has Omega 3 in it a good or bad thing?

[Alderen]

My husband thinks that we should only feed our chickens food that has Omega 3 in it. I recently read an article that said: “When feeding the hens heart-healthy omega-3s to enrich their eggs, if the level of supplementation is too high, the birds’ egg production will be severely curtailed and some will stop laying eggs,” (from an article from Penn State).

Since he wants our chickens to have the added Omega 3, should I - 1)Mix it with feed that doesn't have the added Omega 3 or 2)Give our chickens the feed with Omega 3 just not every day?

I know Omega 3 is good for various reasons, however, I don't want to give the chickens too much and inadvertently cause them to stop producing eggs. Any and all comments and advice are welcome.

 

[Perris]

Moderation in all things is generally better than extreme anything. Variety and diversity of foodstuffs is most likely to ensure that your birds get all the nutrients they need, and if you let them choose from recognizable foods (not homogenized masses the contents of which are anyone's guess and can't be discerned without extensive lab tests) then they will select what they individually need to suit their own particular metabolism at that particular time.

 

[21hens-incharge]

My husband thinks that we should only feed our chickens food that has Omega 3 in it. I recently read an article that said: “When feeding the hens heart-healthy omega-3s to enrich their eggs, if the level of supplementation is too high, the birds’ egg production will be severely curtailed and some will stop laying eggs,” (from an article from Penn State).

Since he wants our chickens to have the added Omega 3, should I - 1)Mix it with feed that doesn't have the added Omega 3 or 2)Give our chickens the feed with Omega 3 just not every day?

I know Omega 3 is good for various reasons, however, I don't want to give the chickens too much and inadvertently cause them to stop producing eggs. Any and all comments and advice are welcome.

Are you referring to the bagged chicken pellets that list omega 3 on the front label?
If so there is not enough in it to cause harm. It's a selling tactic just as the words "oyster strong" and "vegetarian" are on the feeds.

 

[Alderen]

Are you referring to the bagged chicken pellets that list omega 3 on the front label?
If so there is not enough in it to cause harm. It's a selling tactic just as the words "oyster strong" and "vegetarian" are on the feeds.

Yes, that's exactly the one I was referring to. I've been wondering if it was just a selling tactic to make people think "Oh I'll feed my chickens this and I'll have eggs that are better for me because they have Omega 3 in them" or if our eggs are really better for us because of the Omega 3.

 

[saysfaa]

Yes, that's exactly the one I was referring to. I've been wondering if it was just a selling tactic to make people think "Oh I'll feed my chickens this and I'll have eggs that are better for me because they have Omega 3 in them" or if our eggs are really better for us because of the Omega 3.

Whether eggs with a higher percentage of Omega 3 are better for you depends on the rest of your diet.

Omega 6 and Omega 3 are both needed for our immune system to work well. Omega 6 enables inflammation. That gets a bad rap these days but it enables/supports healing of injuries in several ways. Omega 3 is then used in dissipating the inflammation.

A main reason inflammation is such problem for so many people and Omega 3 is seen as so important is because the typical American diet is very high in Omega 6 and very low in Omega 3. And we can't make it; it has to be in our diet for use to have it - like essential amino acids.

I agree with the others here that the amount in these types of feeds is not enough to stop hens from laying. Even if you feed it all the time.