Sunflower contains many essential oils, vitamins, and minerals that are beneficial to chickens’ wellbeing, but should only be given occasionally as treats; otherwise it will add too much fat to their diets.
Sunflower plants contain no toxic materials that should be harmful to your flock’s health, making them safe to consume as part of a nutritious meal plan.
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Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds are an easy and tasty treat for backyard flocks to grow, offering protein, methionine, vitamin E and magnesium for their flocks to enjoy. Their magnesium content also aids in calcium metabolism while also maintaining smooth muscle tone in laying hens.
However, sunflower seeds contain high amounts of fat and should only be offered as treats or to help manage cold weather conditions in small doses. A diet consisting of too many sunflower seeds could even lead to fatty liver disease in chickens.
When feeding chickens sunflower seeds, make sure that they are solely intended for wild birds and avoid varieties with added salt, flavors and preservatives intended for human consumption. Furthermore, be sure that your flock has access to grit in order for them to digest them efficiently – sunflower seeds should only be given as supplements to a well-balanced layer pellet or crumble, comprising no more than 1/3 of their daily food intake.
Sunflower Stalks
By adding sunflower stalks to their diet, chickens will benefit from fiber and nutrients that promote digestion while protecting cells against cell damage and helping lower the risk of sudden death syndrome.
Sunflower heads make for an easy, nutritious snack or can even be used as the basis of homemade flock blocks, providing more variety in your chicken’s diet while saving costs at the feed store!
Chickens love seeds from seed heads, but to ensure the seeds are fresh and nutritious for them they must first be thoroughly dry before feeding them to them. To do so, cover each seed head with cheesecloth or fine mesh so wild birds don’t beat your chickens to it and rub the seeds to pop out any of those that remain before collecting in a bucket or large sheet.
Sunflowers may make for a tasty treat for your flock, but should only be fed in moderation as they lack all the nutrition they require to thrive. As such, sunflowers should only serve as supplements to quality commercial feed.
Sunflower Heads
Sunflower heads provide chickens with an abundant supply of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and essential oils; plus healthy fats which contribute to producing vibrant eggs that make up colorful eggs!
Sunflower seeds should only be consumed in moderation as too much of any one food can lead to nutritional imbalances and digestive issues.
When growing sunflowers for their seed, be sure to select varieties with high seed production. Many garden center varieties are designed to produce large blooms instead of edible seeds; so some experimentation will likely be required in order to find one with abundant edible seed production.
Sunflower seeds and heads can be harvested or purchased to supplement feeders in your flock’s diet, or you can harvest and purchase them for use as supplements. When used as a supplement, make sure only 10% of their weekly total is provided through this source to avoid obesity or other health concerns.
Sunflower Leaves
sunflower plants contain many essential vitamins and minerals for poultry. Not only are the seeds nutritious, but so are the petals and stems, which should all be completely dried before being fed to your flock – this will prevent contamination of other feeder foods as well as bird’s eating too soon!
If you don’t want to spend the time drying them out, another alternative would be chopping the seed heads and offering them to your flock in a large bowl. Just be careful that only small amounts are given; too much could lead to obesity which could pose health concerns in their flock.
Sunflowers are an excellent source of protein, vitamin E, vitamin A and calcium for your flock’s immune system as they fight diseases such as coccidiosis, cholera and bronchitis. Furthermore, sunflower seeds may increase egg size while also contributing to larger yolks in eggs laid.