Sunflowers for Chickens!

photo: Murano Chicken Farm

True to form, as soon as I find out that there is a new grain available at the grain elevator where I buy grain, I am sure to be there (kind of like a kid in a candy store:) Yes, that might sound weird, but I guess if you love experimenting with animal nutrition, you would be in the same boat as me. 

Now, what exactly was it that got me over to Big D Feed this time? 

Black Oil Sunflower seeds! Similar to rice bran, sunflower seeds are high in protein and fat. The benefits of feeding small to moderate quantities of high protein, high fat grains is that the amount of energy per pound is extremely high. Unlike high energy grains like corn, sunflower seeds and rice bran take longer for chickens to digest, but the energy content is higher than corn in the long run because fats have more calories per gram than corn (carbohydrates in general). By feeding diets higher in fat, the amount of feed consumed per chicken per day should be slightly less, all while boosting egg production, or at least egg size! However, part of production is influenced by the seasons....

Since spring is about 22 days around the corner, that means that egg production will rise because of better weather, and more daylight. However, higher egg production requires the proper feed to maintain heightened production, no matter what time of year it is. Typically, a high protein, low-moderate energy feed is beneficial for spring and fall feeding. Since eggs generally decrease in size during the winter, the advent of spring makes eggs bigger (and more numerous), and in order for bigger eggs, a more "heavy-duty" feed is needed! 

If you're interested in what the experimental feed mix is with sunflowers (the total mix comes out to be about 18.6% protein), it goes like this....

Ground Corn 9% protein                                                                        1 part

10%

3 Way (molasses, corn, barley, oats) 9%                                                1 part 

Black Sunflower 17% protein                                                                5 parts

8%

Barley 13%                                                                                             9 parts

 Then, take the two mixes above and blend them at a ratio of 10lbs (or 100lbs) of the corn/3 way mix to 8lbs (or 80 lbs) of the sunflower/barley mix). 

I don't know how well this formula will work out, as I have just started feeding it this week, but it will be interesting to see what the results are!