Is it good to feed chickens sunflower seeds everyday?

[Patinas]

I give my chickens a little scratch on their treat tray almost every day and there are not a lot of sunflower seeds in the scratch and sometimes they don't even eat them. What they do love is when I spoil them rotten and give them already shelled raw sunflower seeds! They're expensive so I don't give them those except for once a week but the chicken chatter volume goes way up when the shell less seeds are on the tray!

 

[chickens really]

Well....I never feed sunflower seeds....You don't want fat birds....They don't require treats daily...That would be like us eating an entire bag of Oreos everyday...
Best of luck....

 

[barred2rock]

I was putting a lil BOSS in with the fermented feed once in awhile. But I discoved my most mature girl would pick most of the seeds out before the others even got a chance. So, now I just scatter a lil about once a week. I give them cracked oats once in awhile too. I haven't gotten them scatch yet, maybe in the winter.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Well....I never feed sunflower seeds....You don't want fat birds....They don't require treats daily...That would be like us eating an entire bag of Oreos everyday...
Best of luck....

I love Oreos,. Sometimes I scatter a mixed bird seed with sunflowers as the last ingredient, as a treat. GC

 

[kssilkiemama]

I tend to feed mine a little more BOSS in the winter as well but not so much in the summer. My birds are always in their house, they have a 12' x 24' concrete block house with brick floors and one corner is dirt for dusting. They have a covered outside run as well but since they have hatched out chicks, I haven't seen them outside for a while. I was thinking the other day I needed to get them a little scratch to get the younguns used to scratching. Right now, they are getting all of the okra I forget to pick and gets woody, tomatoes that split, and cucumbers/squash that get big before i pick them too. So they have been eating quite well for the last month.

 

[theoldchick]

I give mine a small amount of wild bird seed with sunflower seed as a daily treat. This is my way of getting away from feeding scratch feed. I just remind myself not to over feed it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

not sure where people get that it has a lot of protein- around 14%

I give a treat of bird seed and a small amount of sunflower hearts everyday. I do limit the amount they get to about 1tblsp per bird, they get fresh fruit/veggies later in the day. This is all in addition to a 20%Flock Raiser poultry feed available during waking hours.

@Egghead_Jr I get sunflower hearts at TSC - the analysis on the package says 16%protein if that helps. Most likely where people are getting the numbers you are asking about is they buy shelled seeds. I can only assume the shell dilutes the content(?) But I agree, sunflower seeds are fatty, so a little goes a long way.

 

[mockingbird]

Well....I never feed sunflower seeds....You don't want fat birds....They don't require treats daily...That would be like us eating an entire bag of Oreos everyday...
Best of luck....

Sunflower seeds are much more nutritious than Oreos. If you Google "benefits of sunflower seeds for chickens," you will find several positive articles. Birds getting fat has alot to do with how many seeds are being fed and what else is being fed. My chickens are not fat - most of their diet consists of forage in the spring and summer which is supplemented more heavily in the fall and winter. I feed BOSS for healthier chickens and healthier eggs but the percentage of their diet is rather small.

 

[chickens really]

Sunflower seeds are much more nutritious than Oreos. If you Google "benefits of sunflower seeds for chickens," you will find several positive articles. Birds getting fat has alot to do with how many seeds are being fed and what else is being fed. My chickens are not fat - most of their diet consists of forage in the spring and summer which is supplemented more heavily in the fall and winter. I feed BOSS for healthier chickens and healthier eggs but the percentage of their diet is rather small.

My Birds are beautiful, healthy also without the added fat..
Treats for chickens became a fad once Backyard Chickens were introduced into city settings....I only replied...
Best wishes....

 

[chickens really]

My Birds....