Sunflower Seeds... what gives??

[valmom]

My girls love their sunflower seeds. Unfortunately, it encourages the squirrels and chipmunks to come into the coop area, and when they get in the coop itself it is messy- they leave sunflower shells in all the high corners of the beams that shower down on you in a breeze. Clever little beasts to get in through the electric wires without hitting two of them.

 

[daisychick]

When I go in to feed all my girls stand by the white bucket that they know has the sunflower seeds in it. They know that after I give them the layer pellets that I will throw a handful of the seeds on the ground for them. They think they are candy.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
HAHAHA my squirrels must be dumb. I've fried 2 on an electric (horse-strength) fence. They tried to climb through the chainlink fence instead of going over it, and grabbed the e-wire with their hands while their feet were still on the chainlink and then they couldn't let go!

 

[fargosmom]

Mine didn't like them the first time, either, but I think I did a variation on the "nummy nummy" thing and they caught on pretty quick. Now it's their afternoon treat - a handful scattered around when I come home for lunch. Is this too many for 4 hens? They really really like them!

 

[silkiechicken]

They'll figure it out...

Actually, mine have got it down good enough that they will pick up the seed and drop it a few times, and only swallow ones with a good mass of seed inside. I've checked their left overs and all I find are underdeveloped seeds and empty shells that weren't mature enough to be worth them to swallow!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Mine love them too but I don't feed it to them any more. There is a post on here somewhere about Omega 3's and Omega 6's. Sunflower seeds are high in Omega 6 which isn't neccesarily good for you.

Here's the link to that post https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=122408

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I free range and that balances the omegas. You can google for lots of good information on the benefits of pasture raised animals and chicken eggs, especially regarding the omegas in the meat and eggs.

Sunflower seeds are one of the better vegetable sources of methionine, which is extremely important for feather growth. That's primarily why I feed it. My birds just don't feather out as well on the vegetarian feeds available these days, so I supplement with a variety of foods. I feed more sunflower when they're molting and use it as a treat, the rest of the time.

 

[fargosmom]

I've been giving them as a treat the last month or so, and while I have no experience (these are my first chickens and they're only 4 months old) their feathers are gorgeous. They seem to have just grown in an "adult" set and the color and shine are amazing. They do get a variety of foods along with their feed, but from what you're saying I can only imagine that the sunflower seeds contributed. Yay for happy hens!