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Spent $9 on a bag of black oil sunflower seeds and my egg count went from 3 a day to 5
I keep 6 hens in the backyard here in Reno and we were coasting along at about 3 eggs a day for most of the summer, which felt low for that many birds. Figured it was the heat, but a guy at the feed store said to try a scoop of black oil sunflower seeds as a treat since they pack in fat and protein for the molt. Picked up a 5 lb bag for $9 and started giving them maybe a cup before bed, sprinkled in with their layer crumbles. These were not fancy, just the plain bag off the shelf at the farm supply. Two weeks in and I'm getting 5 a day now, with only one older hen slacking. Seems like a small thing but it beats the $28 I spent last month on those dried mealworms they mostly ignored anyway. Was wondering if anyone adds these through winter or do you back off when it gets cold?
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skyler_kim10d ago
Man, the thing nobody talks about with sunflower seeds is the shells. Those black oil ones leave a mess of hulls under the feeder and they can pile up and get moldy if it rains, which is bad news for chickens scratching around in it. I started putting mine in a shallow tray instead of just tossing them on the ground and it made cleanup way easier. Also worth knowing they're pretty high in fat, so if your girls are already good layers you don't wanna overdo it and end up with fat hens that stop laying. A cup for six birds sounds about right though.
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