Danger in Sunflower seeds!

[rstampa]

Sorry. I had to take drastic measures in the subject line. I got no responds to my original post subject. So here is my question.

My girls love when I go out and feed them a hand full of BOSS. I do this about once a day. They prefer eating it out of my hand (Crazy Dames).
My question is: BOSS is a great heat generator. The temp. here is still in the upper 89's to mid. 90's. Is it too warm for them to be eating a lot of the BOSS right now and/or should I wait until it starts to cool off a little? Maybe in Nov or Dec.
Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

I have 1EE, 2SLW, 2 RIR, 1Red Star and 1 Bantam Splash Silkies. They are all 11 weeks old. They also Free Range everyday, usually for about six hours.

 

[RendonRoo]

I mix a little boss in with their scratch. I fed small amounts all thru the summer in Texas heat and didn't have any problems. Good Luck and i hope this helps.

 

[rstampa]

Quote:
Yes thank you for your input. I think I'm alright then. I only give them a handful a day.

 

[banks]

What is BOSS?

 

[Buff Hooligans]

B.O.S.S. stands for Black Oiler Sunflower Seeds.

I sprinkle some in the run every morning. I think it would only be bad for them if that's ALL you fed them.

 

[RendonRoo]

Banks, we are almost neighbors. I live in Rendon (south ft. worth). Nice coop you have there.

 

[michickenwrangler]

I came across an article (I can't for the life of me recall where I read it) that did a study involving flaxseed oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil and cancer risks in people. Those who had sunflower oil tablets had a higher risk for cancer than the others. Anyone know more about this? Is it just the pure oil or are the seeds less likely to cause this?

Granted, I have a great-grandma that ate sausage and butter every day of her life and lived to be 100, but stil ...

 

[cgmccary]

The scratch I feed mine has BOSS mixed in it already. I feed some as a treat year round-- all seasons; they expect it. In the winter, I increase the amount on cold days.

 

[chookchick]

The whole thing about certain grains (primarily corn) being a generator of heat is a MYTH! It's not like your chickens are going to burst into flames from eating a carbohydrate any more than we would over heat from eating a slice of bread! I have a background in biochemistry so I can see this is a very bad misunderstanding about how food is processed in the body. Some foods (carbohydrates) are more easily and quickly converted to energy than others--this does not mean that they will automatically be used to generate heat! It is like the bicyclists in the Tour de France loading up on pasta (carbs) the night before a big race. No one worries about them getting overheated because of this--they are using it for muscle energy. The thinking, in the old days, was that if chickens loaded up on carbs before bedtime, that energy would be available, IF NEEDED, to generate heat. This somehow became twisted to the idea that chickens will automatically overheat when fed corn in hot weather (huh?). Please think about it before repeating this myth!

 

[journey11]

Quote:
This is what I do too.