will they eat macadamia nuts?

[mendozer]

I burnt some today doing a recipe. will they eat nuts in moderation?

 

[SteveBaz]

Macadamia nuts are very good proteins for all mammals but they are to hard for chickens to chew. You must break them up in a food processor or I bought a coffee grinder a few years ago and grind nuts, sunflower seeds, flax seed and linseed up and scoop it and put it on top of things they like that are wet. melon rind, oatmeal and the rice we feed them for treats once in a while. Do not be surprised if they do not eat it the first time or 2 bc nuts are an acquired taste and there are some nuts like walnut and pecan that have a bitter bite to them. That's why I say sprinkle it on rice or mix with the chopped egg or ????? Good luck.

 

[mendozer]

its pulsed already into smaller bits almost the size of their feed. i'll give it a shot. just wanted to know if it was a dangerous food for them

 

[westes]

its pulsed already into smaller bits almost the size of their feed. i'll give it a shot. just wanted to know if it was a dangerous food for them

Mendozer, I am dying to know how did your chickens like the macadamia nuts?

Macadamia has one of the healthiest fat profiles of any nut. If I could find a cheap source for the nuts (a local farmer for example) it would be interesting to incorporate this into a feed.

 

[mendozer]

whoa. waaaay old thread. I'm on my 4th flock now and I can't even remember if I gave them nuts to begin with.

 

[westes]

whoa. waaaay old thread. I'm on my 4th flock now and I can't even remember if I gave them nuts to begin with.

If you get the chance to run that experiment with your fourth flock, please come back and let us know how they like macadamia. It would be great if that worked well for them, as it is such a healthy kind of fat in that nut.

 

[mendozer]

I don't think I've ever fed nuts to any of my chickens before. I suppose you could pulverize it into dust then mix it into feed.

 

[moawahine]

I threw some mac nut shells in my run, thinking it would add to bedding, but the chickens went crazy for them and started eating it. Then I panicked and am hoping it's ok for them to eat. Do you think it acts like grit?

 

[AmusedByChickens]

I live in Hawaii on a moringa farm that has 8 macadamia nut trees and mango. My chickens love them all. I dice up the macadamia nuts and add it to their food occasionally. All my hens and Mr. Marvel are very healthy and happy!

 

[AmusedByChickens]

I live in Hawaii on a moringa farm that has 8 macadamia nut trees and mango. My chickens love them all. I dice up the macadamia nuts and add it to their food occasionally. All my hens and Mr. Marvel are very healthy and happy!