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chickens

Sunflowers as chicken feed

Posts: 15

Location: Santa Anna, Texas

posted 6 months ago

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I've heard that sunflowers can make good chicken feed.

We get a lot of wild sunflowers. They're big, huge stalks and flowers. I think I tried tossing them in with the chickens last year. They weren't much impressed.

How do people feed sunflowers? Do you cut it up? Do you just feed the flower or the whole stalk? Does it have to be a special type of sunflower? Can you dry them and store them?

Any suggestions for making this a good cost-cutting endeavor?

Thanks!
Becky

Timothy Norton

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Location: Upstate NY, Zone 5, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall

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posted 6 months ago

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I grew a bunch of multi-headed sunflowers last year, not on purpose, that ended up going to seed. I had to fight my local wildlife birds to save a few heads but I waited to make sure the seeds were mostly formed in the head before removing them. Just tossing the head into the run, they didn't have much interest but if you break it up a bit so they can figure out there are seeds in it led them to tearing up the remaining sunflower heads.

Chickens are funny, they are nervous of new things until they realize they are delicious!

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Matt McSpadden

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Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)

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posted 6 months ago

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Hi Becky,
I second what Timothy said about chickens being nervous with new foods. If it's something they have never seen before they will hesitate or leave it alone. Once they figure out it has seeds in it... they will be all over it.

One thing I read somewhere is to not have sunflowers be the sole source of food. There needs to be other foods as well, in order for it to be healthy.

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Scott Leonard

Posts: 63

Location: W. Mass.

posted 6 months ago

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I combine sunflowers, flint corn, and buck wheat run through a hammer mill, to cut commercial feed by 1/2. The sunflower heads get tossed in along with the corn cob (stover) and all. Birds love it, make sure you offer oyster shell as grit so they can grind it

Anne Miller

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posted 6 months ago

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Sunflowers are an excellent food for wildlife so I bet it is good for chickens.

If I were in this situation I would give them the whole sunflower flower. They might be more accepting of a flower.

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