If you haven’t given it a thought to include geese in your homestead, you should not think twice about having them. Adding some goslings to your farm is an excellent idea, given the many benefits geese will provide your homestead. However, if you already have a few goslings, you might ask whether you can feed them with sunflower seeds.
Of course, you can feed geese sunflower seeds, considering the many nutritional benefits associated with these seeds. Besides, geese would surely love to eat sunflower seeds, given their mild and nutty flavor and firm but tender texture.
What Nutrients Can Geese Get from Sunflower Seeds?
Proper and adequate nutrition is crucial to geese’s optimal growth and well-being. Hence, you must carefully select the food you feed geese to ensure their health and well-being. If you feed geese with sunflower seeds, they could receive the following nutrients and minerals from these seeds:
Iron
Iron is crucial to the well-being of geese. Iron, of course, is necessary to produce hemoglobin. Hemoglobin carries the needed oxygen to the different parts of the body of the geese. It is also necessary to produce energy for the optimum wellness of the geese.
Copper
Geese also need copper. Copper, of course, is a trace element in the body, meaning geese would only need a minimal amount of it. Copper is also helpful in bringing oxygen to the different brain parts, and copper deficiency will result in metabolic issues and poor growth.
Potassium
Potassium is a dietary mineral crucial to the wellbeing of geese. It helps regulate fluid balance, nerve signals, and muscle contraction. Besides, potassium can keep geese healthy and active. It can protect your geese from chronic inflammation likewise.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an essential vitamin for geese. It aids in keeping their eyesight healthy and their bones and muscles strong. It also contributes to the maintenance of the mucus membrane. Besides, it is crucial in enhancing the immune and respiratory systems.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E aids in inhibiting reactive oxygen reproduction in tissues and cells. Vitamin E also helps in egg production, hatchability of eggs, and egg fertility. Furthermore, it helps in conception rate and postnatal growth. Vitamin E is also an excellent antioxidant.
Magnesium
Magnesium helps in the wellness and growth of the geese, and lack of magnesium leads to magnesium deficiency. Magnesium deficiency leads to retarded growth, convulsive attacks, and incoordination. It can also be fatal.
Natural feed ingredients are replete with magnesium. Thus, magnesium deficiency is seldom a problem with geese. But any magnesium deficiency can lead to many health issues. Sunflower seeds will surely be a good source of magnesium.
Zinc
Zinc belongs to the trace elements, which means geese will only need them in trace or a minimal amount. If geese ingest too much zinc, it could kill them. Moreover, zinc plays a crucial role in several cellular functions. It can also help keep their eyesight and other functionalities keen.
What are the Health Benefits of the Sunflower Seeds?
Sunflower seeds carry healthy fats and other beneficial compounds. They are also rich in several minerals and vitamins. Below are the health benefits of sunflower seeds to geese:
Enhances the Immune System
Sunflower seeds can provide the body with a good amount of selenium and zinc. These two elements are crucial to the well-functioning and growth of the immune cells. They also help in reducing inflammation and fighting infections.
Geese, of course, exhibit high resistance to many ordinary avian diseases. But with an extra dose of the abovementioned elements from sunflowers, you can make geese less susceptible to illnesses and diseases.
Lessens the Risk of Heart Diseases
Sunflower seeds have unsaturated fatty acids. An example of these fatty acids is linoleic acid. Linoleic acids help the body of the geese to produce hormone-like compounds that ease or relax the blood vessels. Thus, eating sunflower seeds can help geese regulate their cholesterol and blood pressure.
Cholesterols, of course, are necessary for building cell walls, hormones, tissues, and vitamin D. Yet, if there are high cholesterol levels in the body, the body becomes more susceptible to heart diseases.
Sunflower Seeds Help Boost Energy Levels
Sunflower seeds have thiamin. Thiamin, of course, helps the body convert food into energy. With more energy, geese will get supercharged, enabling them to be more active. Besides, the selenium content of sunflower seeds helps increase blood flow, allowing more oxygen delivery to the different parts of the geese’s body. Lack of oxygen can lead to muscle and tissue malfunctioning.
How Should You Feed Geese with Sunflower Seeds?
The right amount of sunflower seeds will be safe for your geese. Yet, it will be best to be careful when feeding them sunflower seeds. As a caveat, you should offer grain feeds in moderation to your geese. Anything too much will be detrimental to their health and may lead to serious health issues like obesity.
You can mix the sunflower seeds with other grains. Nevertheless, it will help if you only feed them sunflower seeds once a week.
You can also mix these seeds with shells because shells are not harmful to any aquatic bird. Another thing is that you should refrain from feeding geese with processed and salty sunflower seeds because salty food and sugar-laden food might not be healthy for them.
Possible Downside of Feeding Geese Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds are high in calories. Thus, too much sunflower can make geese gain weight and become obese. Obesity, of course, can lead to other severe problems like heart diseases and immobility. So, it will be best to keep the number of sunflower seeds you feed them at the proper level.
Is It Okay to Feed the Shells of Sunflower Seeds to Geese?
Well, it is okay to feed geese with sunflower seed shells. Nevertheless, your geese might choke if the shells are hard. Besides, the sharp edges of the shells can hurt the throat of geese.
Similarly, the seed’s shell might get coated with salt. So, eating the shells might increase the salt intake leading to shell-less eggs or thin-shelled geese eggs.
Furthermore, too much salt can cause egg binding because the eggshell becomes too soft. Hence, it will be best to feed geese unsalted sunflower eggs.
Can You Feed Sunflower to Baby Geese?
You can feed sunflower to baby geese, provided the seeds are shell-less. However, it will be best not to feed them sunflower seeds until they are fully mature. Remember that sunflower seeds are rich in calories but don’t cover all the necessary nutrients for baby geese.
So, at such a crucial stage of growth, opting for other types of feeds will be best. Besides, it will help if you stick with starter feeds to provide your baby geese with complete dietary nutrients.
Conclusion
You may think that geese are hard to raise. Contrariwise, they are pretty easy to keep. Geese love grass. Thus, as a rule, you should provide your pair of geese with one-quarter of an acre of grassland to inhabit. Geese are also fond of swimming, foraging, and exploring. Hence, a suitable tract of grassland will be a perfect place for them to live.
After knowing the nutrients in the sunflower seeds, you will understand that sunflower seeds are not bad for your geese. They could supplement the other feeds you provide your geese. But make sure you feed them with these seeds once a week as a treat, for too many sunflower seeds can make your geese sick.
