Sunflower seeds- shell or no shell?

[The Welch Chickens]

I have some black oil sunflower seeds (they're not very large seeds) that I feed the wild birds with. I heard that it's a good winter treat for chickens, but I was wondering: should you feed them with the shells or without? I have been researching the subject but the articles don't specify. Bing AI said to take the shells off because they're a choking hazard, but then gave me a photo of some chickens eating them shell on

Thoughts?

 

[Apis mellifera]

Feed with the shells. No problem.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Feed with the shells. No problem.

Thank you, I will

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Thoughts?

Shell on.. it where most of the fiber and a good portion of energy/nutrients are also in there.. the gizzard will grind it all.

AI will be giving lots of information based on knowledge but not wisdom.. which comes from experience. Almost surprising the articles don't specify.. but it's a good question!

Please note as a treat they're decent in protein (14-16% depending on lot/source) and fiber is a carbohydrate.. but very high in fat and therefor energy.. feed in SMALL amounts.

Example from the following link (is shell ON)..

https://hiprofeeds.com/products/black-oil-sunflower-seeds/

Crude Protein	15.0%
Crude Fat	25.0%
Crude Fiber	40.0%
Moisture	12.0%

ETA: they can even be sprouted or turned into fodder.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Shell on.. it where most of the fiber and a good portion of energy/nutrients are also in there.. the gizzard will grind it all.

AI will be giving lots of information based on knowledge but not wisdom.. which comes from experience. Almost surprising the articles don't specify.. but it's a good question!

Please note as a treat they're decent in protein (14-16% depending on lot/source) and fiber is a carbohydrate.. but very high in fat and therefor energy.. feed in SMALL amounts.

Example from the following link (is shell ON)..

https://hiprofeeds.com/products/black-oil-sunflower-seeds/

Crude Protein	15.0%
Crude Fat	25.0%
Crude Fiber	40.0%
Moisture	12.0%

ETA: they can even be sprouted or turned into fodder.

Thanks for your (extremely informative!) advice!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Shell on.. it where most of the fiber and a good portion of energy/nutrients are also in there.. the gizzard will grind it all.

AI will be giving lots of information based on knowledge but not wisdom.. which comes from experience. Almost surprising the articles don't specify.. but it's a good question!

Please note as a treat they're decent in protein (14-16% depending on lot/source) and fiber is a carbohydrate.. but very high in fat and therefor energy.. feed in SMALL amounts.

Example from the following link (is shell ON)..

https://hiprofeeds.com/products/black-oil-sunflower-seeds/

Crude Protein	15.0%
Crude Fat	25.0%
Crude Fiber	40.0%
Moisture	12.0%

ETA: they can even be sprouted or turned into fodder.

I throw out about half a cup every afternoon to my 18 hens and 1 rooster. Is this enough, too much or about right, do you think? I also give them about a cup and a half of scratch and a little over a quarter cip of dried mealworms (this starts out as half a cup but the dogs insist on getting a small handful each, lol).

Their regular diet consists of free-fed all-flock mixed with feather fixer right now as they are coming off molt, with grit and OS also available free feed. And they free range part of every day with their feed always available and they do avail themselves of it throughout the day.

 

[Ridgeback825]

We feed whole as a morning treat with their scratch and have no issues.

 

[Penpal]

The sunflower seeds are better than the scratch, IMO. I put it in with the grain, not as a treat. There are never any left over.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Shell on is fine. Make sure they have access to grit, whether naturally occurring in the environment or supplemented.

 

[K0k0shka]

The articles are probably not specifying it because they aren't expecting people to want to shell their chickens' sunflower seeds It's assumed that the seeds are fed whole. Birds that eat seeds either eat them whole, or if they need to shell them for some reason, they are capable of shelling them themselves. Sparrows and other small birds shell them themselves for example, otherwise the seed is too big for them, but chickens have big mouths, throats and gizzards and can handle whole sunflower seeds just fine. So the bottom line is just feed it whole to either chickens or wild birds. Even the wild birds that can't eat the shell, will still be fine because they can shell it themselves. After all, nobody shells it for them in nature!