Sunflower seeds for 12wk old pullets?

[LaSombra]

Quote:
haha, I'll have to try the yogurt sometime

 

[mediazeal]

Wild birds 'shell' the sunflowers, cracking open the shell and dropping it to eat only the seed. Do chickens each them shell and all? That could be a problem.

 

[RendonRoo]

Yes wild birds crack them. Yes chickens eat them whole. No it won't hurt them. FYI.. Grit doesn't stay in the crop. It grinds the food up in the gizzard not the crop. The crop is like a holding area. I used to think the grinding went on in the crop but learned different. LOL. Not that it matters but is an interesting fact.

 

[gottaluvchickens]

Isnt there grit in chick start? Most of mine are eating chick start (should be starting to lay soon, I can't wait!). I havent brought grit because of that fact. Do I need to buy grit or can I just get sand? So many things to learn! LOL

 

[felidaet]

My chickens varying in age from 10 - 12 weeks old. I started giving them chick grit and 2 weeks old. When I ran out about a week ago I switched to #2 grit. I checked with 3 feed stores and they all said that the chickens were old enough to switch to this size. I wanted to switch them as soon as I could because it is MUCH cheaper to buy in a 50lb bag than the little bags the chick grit came in. They consumed a surprising amount the first couple of days that it was in their grit dispenser.

I am still feeding starter/grower feed but they are not eating much of it. They are eating a lot of grass, weeds, and bugs. I dump some grass clippings in their run each time I mow the lawn. I also am giving them some table scraps nearly every day. They have learned to watch for the White paper plate in my hand. They see me coming with it from about 100 feet away and get very excited. By far their favorite table scrap is white rice.

I do give mine a handful of black oil sunflower seeds occasionally. I will run out of them soon though. I bought a 5 lb bag to have some to plant. I used a couple of handfuls for planting and the rest are being feed to the chickens. Come fall I will have LOTs of the seeds for them. I planted (4) 30' rows. They are growing great and I have thinned them to one plant about every 8". When I harvest them I will hang them from the ceiling in my garage. Then I will give the chickens one head at a time occasionally, especially during the winter. I am thinking that I will hang the head in the run about 1' from the ground to give them a challenge of plucking the seeds from the head. I got this idea from another thread a few weeks ago.

 

[2DogsFarm]

Thanks all
I got my girls at 9wks and if I recall correctly they weren't being fed grit then (Treegirl, if I remember wrong - sorry!).
They don't freerange because I'm not home & live near an intersection. Right now they don't even leave the coop as my henyard fencing needs to be redone.
I've tried some supervised outside time, leaving the coop door open while I work in the yard nearby - no takers.
They'll gather at the door, discuss it and go back inside.

I got them some chick grit yesterday and am feeding it free choice from an aluminum chick feeder base.

Interesting whoever said "don't" on the unhulled sunflower seeds because of impaction.
I feed my horses BOSS & there are horsefolks who won't because they swear the unhulled seeds can impact a horse's gut & cause a colic.
After 4 years my horses are shiny and fat and noone has had a problem.
My manure pile looks like a Van Gogh painting from the volunteer sunflowers

If I'm quick I'll save the hens a sunflower head for Winter - gotta beat the wild birds to it!

 

[Monk]

I'm planning on supplementing my feed bill, planting sun flowers and corn next spring. I will be planting some cabbage to be ready this fall also. I'm also considering raising some mealworms for chicken treats and for ice fishing bait of course.
Any ideas are very welcome!

 

[LynneP]

I don't think their beaks are strong enough for sunflower seeds yet...I use them occasionally now that my birds are over a year old, as pasrt of a wild bird food treat...even so they seem to prefer the small seeds. If you grow sunflowers and give the seed heads to them before the hulls harden, they appreciate it...