What happens when hens eat hemp instead of soy?
Effects of dietary local hemp seed meal as soybean meal alternative on productive performance, egg quality and yolk fatty acid composition of laying hens
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists wanted to see if feeding hens hemp seed meal instead of soybean meal changes their eggs or how well they lay. They gave different groups of hens food with 0%, 4%, 8%, or 12% hemp seed meal and watched what happened over 6 weeks.
Surprising Findings
4% hemp meal boosted egg production, but 12% reduced it—despite all diets having the same protein source replacement goal.
It was expected that higher protein-rich feed (like HSM) might maintain or improve output, but instead, there’s a clear negative threshold at 12%.
Practical Takeaways
Poultry farmers could consider adding 4% hemp seed meal to hen feed to maintain egg output while improving feed efficiency.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists wanted to see if feeding hens hemp seed meal instead of soybean meal changes their eggs or how well they lay. They gave different groups of hens food with 0%, 4%, 8%, or 12% hemp seed meal and watched what happened over 6 weeks.
Surprising Findings
4% hemp meal boosted egg production, but 12% reduced it—despite all diets having the same protein source replacement goal.
It was expected that higher protein-rich feed (like HSM) might maintain or improve output, but instead, there’s a clear negative threshold at 12%.
Practical Takeaways
Poultry farmers could consider adding 4% hemp seed meal to hen feed to maintain egg output while improving feed efficiency.
Publication
Journal
Archives of Animal Nutrition
Year
2024
Authors
E. Öztürk, A. Darmawan, Şevket Özlü, S. H. Abacı
Related Content
Claims (6)
Feeding chickens more hemp seed meal—specifically 8% or 12% of their diet—might make their eggshells heavier and yolks more colorful over six weeks, compared to less hemp or none at all.
Feeding hemp seed meal to brown laying hens doesn't change how much they eat, how big their eggs are, or the quality of the eggs — even when they eat it for six weeks.
Feeding 50-week-old brown laying hens a diet with 4% hemp seed meal might help them lay more eggs and use their feed more efficiently than giving them higher amounts like 8% or 12%.
Feeding too much hemp seed meal to certain chickens might make them lay fewer eggs.
Feeding Lohmann Brown hens more hemp seed meal might make their eggs healthier by boosting good fats and improving the fat balance in the yolks over six weeks.