Hemp/Cannabis products safe for chickens?

[Animalfisherwoman]

It is legal to do this where I am.

Can waste products (straw, leaves) be used as chicken bedding?

Will chickens suffer ill effects from ingestion of any portion of the plant in its natural state?

TIA

 

[Kiki]

Would they benefit from eating any of the plant too, my question for future posters.

 

[Killer Tomato]

They're fine. Completely totally fine. Make sure you're not giving them any of the bud part of the plant which has the psychoactive materials (seriously, why waste good bud on a chicken?), but just doing harmless, dried, sugar leaves and stems.

When my chickens *have* gotten in with budding plants, they actually don't like the buds, and will eat the plain leaves, skipping the flowers. (thankfully!!!) It doesn't seem to be a favorite plant for them, kind of like how they leave tomato leaves alone -- they much prefer broccoli leaves (chicken crack!!!).

I'm in Oregon, so totally legal here too. I'm breaking more laws with how many chickens I have, than what plants I'm growing!

 

[Cheyenne97]

Interesting.....

 

[Killer Tomato]

Would they benefit from eating any of the plant too, my question for future posters.

Maybe reducing inflammation for a sick bird? I truly don't know. If you're thinking anything other than leaves, the correct dosing would be a nightmare to figure out, and could be a really bad trip for your chicken. I *personally* wouldn't attempt it.

I let my geriatric rabbit eat the sugar leaves (no psychoactive ingredients on this portion of the plant), daily for years. It helped with his tooth malocclusions, allowing him to chew, and might have helped with pain. We also had him on his regular vet prescribed pain meds. He lived to be 9, 5 years longer than the vet thought he would!

 

[Kiki]

Maybe reducing inflammation for a sick bird? I truly don't know. If you're thinking anything other than leaves, the correct dosing would be a nightmare to figure out, and could be a really bad trip for your chicken. I *personally* wouldn't attempt it.

I let my geriatric rabbit eat the sugar leaves (no psychoactive ingredients on this portion of the plant), daily for years. It helped with his tooth malocclusions, allowing him to chew, and might have helped with pain. We also had him on his regular vet prescribed pain meds. He lived to be 9, 5 years longer than the vet thought he would!

I don't even know what the difference is between hemp and cannabis.

Is it the same thing?

I've only recently heard of CBD oil and thought it was made from hemp and I though that hemp has no "psyco" stuff in it.

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

Hemp and cannabis both come from the same plant. Hemp has become more used for the parts of the plant that won't create psychoactive effects when heat-treated;-)

CBD (with its low psychoactivity) could well be in hemp or even industrial hemp.

 

[Trux]

Hemp bedding has been around for awhile now. Used quite often when deep littering a coop, and it is good at keeping the coop pretty much odor free from what I have been told. It is more expensive than your regular run of the mill bedding though

 

[PirateGirl]

I suspect you should be fine. This is an interesting idea for bedding and now I'm wondering if I can get free bedding from the greenhouse down the road... hmm... so to add to this, if the material is dry it would likely work better as bedding (not rot or mold) and they'd be less likely to eat much if any of it. I'd caution against it if you do not know how it was grown, as in, if you don't know if it's been exposed/treated with any chemicals/fertilizers, but if there are no chemicals than I doubt there would be problems.

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

if you don't know if it's been exposed/treated with any chemicals/fertilizers, but if there are no chemicals than I doubt there would be problems.

No no, these plants would be pesticide-free, and said bedding would be composted also for the next year. Thinking of calling it "chickens--t bud."