Are Sun Flower Heads edible?

[Sunnysidedown]

Hi there,

We have a variety of sun flowers that are soon coming to seed and we're wondering if the heads can be used to feed the hens a snak? The heads are large and still greenish and have a very pungent aroma (like marigolds) but we were not sure if they need to be aged and deseeded first? or if just tossing in fresh heads for them to peck is ok? These are the larger sun flower seeds (finger nail size). Thanks for any advice!

 

[Den in Penn]

No problems with throwing the head in there for them to peck at. Adults will have no trouble swallowing them whole and the younger ones will peck til they open them. Fresh or you can hang them for later use.