Chia seeds ok?

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thanks everyone. My chicks are 4.5 and 6 weeks old. Can they have chia yet?

The seeds that I saw in Costco looked small enough for chickens that age. Make sure you provide grit or that they are free ranging for sharp grit in the soil to grind whole grains and seeds in the gizzard.

 

[Mekare]

Thanks!

 

[Nicole01]

I pay about $50-60 bucks for 6lbs of chia seeds. I don't share those with the chickens!

They will get left over quinoa, that's about it. Quinoa is a little spendy too, but not like chia. I eat chia seeds daily myself.

 

[crashfields]

I fed my chicks chia seeds one time and my mom stopped by and said that chia seeds swell like rice does. I don't feed it to them anymore for the same reason people don't throw rice at weddings, the birds eat it and can die from it. They can't burp. Just my uneducated guess. Lol

 

[SavageDestiny]

I fed my chicks chia seeds one time and my mom stopped by and said that chia seeds swell like rice does. I don't feed it to them anymore for the same reason people don't throw rice at weddings, the birds eat it and can die from it. They can't burp. Just my uneducated guess. Lol

Chia doesn't really swell, it just gets a goopy, gelatinous texture around the seed. Not harmful at all. My girls eat it as part of their regular feed mix.

 

[jay7deb]

Hi ya'll my girls are 4 wks and thought about using coffee grinder for chia seeds then add to chic starter. I already give them a pan of sand to play in & learn to do dust bathing. Thank you in advance

 

[outlander]

Hi ya'll my girls are 4 wks and thought about using coffee grinder for chia seeds then add to chic starter. I already give them a pan of sand to play in & learn to do dust bathing. Thank you in advance

Chia seeds are so small that you shouldn't need to grind them. The sand you're providing should be adequate for grit, too. My 5 day old chicks ate chia seeds with no problems

 

[lwiese58]

What I'm wondering about is sprouting the chia seeds, ya know, fodder. Remember the chia pets? They do make that grass which I would think would be great nutritionally.

 

[paneubert]

What I'm wondering about is sprouting the chia seeds, ya know, fodder. Remember the chia pets? They do make that grass which I would think would be great nutritionally.

I sprouted some for my quail. I did it on paper towels that were on a cookie sheet, so when I gave it to them it unfortunately dried out/wilted in the heat pretty fast due to not having soil. But they liked it. Nobody died

 

[duckitup]

From what I understand, chia seeds can hold 8 times theit weight in water. When people eat chia seeds it is advised to make sure you are well hydrated. I have ducks, not chickens. I think ducks drink more water than chickens but I would still feed only soaked seeds or as fodder as I would worry about them expanding in the crop. It takes a little while for them to expand so I would think feeding dry it would be possible for a chicken or duck to over eat which may cause problems. My novice 2 cents.