Flax seeds??

[Hillschicks]

it wont hurt

 

[Silkie Chicken]

Ok lol just did not know lol. Thanks for the info. : D

 

[Organics North]

Yes, I feed a couple percent of flax, not so much for the omega 3's but for the diversity factor and the decent fat for the birds long term health.

IMO if you want Omega 3's feed greens greens and more greens.... Alfalfa hay, pellets, kale, lettuce, weeds... Matter of fact free range your birds...... You will see the omega 3's in you eggs... Good dark color.... (Don't need some fancy industrial ag scientist to tell us what makes a healthy egg!!!)

Every watch a chicken free range? They eat roots, bugs, worms shoots, blades of grass.... They do not walk down the row like a corn picker eating grains all day long...

Same goes for cows! They are meant to eat greens not grains!

Grains are good for dry or cold seasons when fresh greens are not around.

Grains are good for industrialists trying to maximize their profits.

Pasture those birds if you want Omega 3's!

 

[Jpriesjr0883]

Was the flaxseed whole or ground up? I have a 50# bag that I will be using over the next year.

Thx

Jeff

 

[sspell]

Flaxseed-fed chickens shed light on ovarian cancer
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100504124740.htm
Flax fed chickens have less ovary tumors so it is beneficial for that alone besides omega3 eggs.

 

[Sally PB]

An old thread, but it got my attention. Checking out the link...

 

[Neffy]

Omega 3s are great. Flax is good enough, I suppose. I was feeding flax seed to my chickens a few years ago. It went straight through my chickens whole even though they were eating their granite grit. (I noticed a few months later when cleaning the chicken house.) So I started grinding the flax in the coffee grinder and adding it to their morning treats, but then found out that the oils start to go rancid within just a few seconds or minutes. Of course, those sources were found a few years back, but you could probably still do an internet search on "rancid oil" or something like that. "grinding flax"

So at that point, I decided that we humans might as well eat the flax seeds (whole or ground) and get our Omega 3s that way. Why run the flax seeds through the chickens just we could eat their Omega 3 eggs?

Studies say, those that I read back then, that Omega 3s from fish are much better than plant Omega 3s.

If you want your layers to get Omega 3s, other sources might be less expensive and a more sure way to get them. You can grow purslane. Even just grass has Omega 3s, right?

NOTE: Maybe my chickens were just throwing the flaxseed out of their feed instead of eating it and it going right through them un-utilized. There's no way to know now.

Yeah people can’t digest it either unless the seed is crushed via chewing or otherwise

 

[Neffy]

Watching modern marvels on the history channel about eggs the other day... They claimed omega 3 heart healthy eggs are the result of feeding your chickens flax seed or fish oil... I figure it wouldnt hurt to mix flax seed in with my chicken food mix (cracked corn, layer food, oats) ... When i get around to it we will be adding sunflower seeds... We also free range daily tho with cold coming bugs are scarse... Would it be worth the time to bother with the flax seeds?? Im not aiming to sell "heart healthy" eggs... But i figure if there is an easier way to make my family egg intake more healthy i should... My question is is there a reason not too???

Flaxseed cannot be utilized in the body unless it is ground via chewing or some other method ducks don’t have teeth so if you’re going to give them flex you need to grind it first....Otherwise it will just go straight through them and it’s my useful

 

[Neffy]

Thanks for your follow up, Chris.

I'm wondering if you're giving results from a couple of different studies. I can find the long-term study, but am not finding the study where the hens were fed 0, 4, 8, and 10% flax seeds. No matter.

The "Long Term" (25 weeks) study was done in Ontario.
http://ps.fass.org/content/82/3/388.long or http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12705398
Additionally, it claimed that only yolk size was affected, but nothing else regarding egg size was affected. So, while the time factor and liver hemorrhages are the same as you indicate, the other stuff you mention isn't. Is there another study you are looking at? Must be.

Regardless, and I'm guessing you would think me foolhardy, but I am not afraid to feed my chickens flax seed at a rate of 1-2% and would do it if I felt like it. I tried it; didn't like it, and now I just don't feel like it. I'd rather keep the high Omega 3 foods for myself. I don't sell eggs, so I don't need it as a selling point (though it would be a good one). A chicken foraging with access to grass and forbs will have a good Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio anyway. As to the OP (original poster), I don't feel comfortable making any suggestions to you. And I guess I really haven't suggested much more than looking up inclusion rates and to see how quickly flax goes rancid once it's ground. I surely wouldn't want your chickens to be anything other than in fit as fiddles.

The first study #1 mentioned above was done in Ontario. Study #2 done about 3 years later also in Ontario (Canada not California for those living in LA (Los Angeles not Louisiana)), indicates that a lot of flocks in Ontario have a genetic predisposition (for lack of better term) to Hepatisis E which can be the cause of the liver hemorrhages. So maybe the reason why so many of the chickens in Study #1 that were *not* eating any flax seed were also experiencing liver hemorrhages is that lots of chickens in Ontario have "weak livers" (for lack of a better term). Granted, my logic leap, is just that a leap. However, it's a reasonable leap from my limited perspective.

Additionally, there are many studies that have not turned up any liver issues with regard to layers ingesting flax seed. So.

I guess it's another case of we can find a study to support whatever it is we want to believe or whatever management or feed practice we want to implement.

I’d assume the seeds were ground t have any effect and that’s kind of an important detail