WHOLE CORN/SUNFLOWER SEEDS ?

[oldbuzzard]

i feed ears of corn and gray stripe sunflower seeds to my hens to keep them busy. a friend insist that they get nothing from them because they swallow whole. is this true? i see nothing in there dropings. thank you

 

[Buff Hooligans]

I think the action in their gizzards grinds the shells off.

 

[antlers]

Buff is correct. Thats why they have a gizzard. If it was true there would be a lot of starving wild birds out there at home feeders because that is all you feed is whole grains.....

 

[oldbuzzard]

thank you. thats what i thought.

 

[aiwetir]

my girls eat sunflower shells shed off the feeder. go figure

 

[oldbuzzard]

ha ha! so do mine. gotta love em!

 

[greyfields]

Generally chickens are given cracked corn, since the gizzard can't fully break down whole kernels; the smaller pieces allows them to utilize it far better. The sunflower seeds should be fine, thoguh.