Aussie Finch Forum

I don't know was anyone watching the "Landline" show last week. The government is allowing farmers to grow Cannabis mainly for use in textile industry, they sell the seeds for about $6000 a ton, that works out about $6 a kilo. I wonder would it make any difference to the bird's diet. I still think Perilla seeds would be better option if I had to choose. Any thoughts about the nutritious value of the two seeds. By the way Perilla has been grown here in Australia for many years, I have no idea what they do with seeds. Europeans are importing both Cannabis and Perilla seeds from China and India.

If its imported what effect will irradiating have on nutrition ?
I think the seeds taste like crap so will birds eat them ?
At $6 a kilo so long as they aren't toxic then it wouldn't hurt to try them I guess .

This was taken from Talk Cockatiels ..
Technically those are hemp seeds. They are not the same as the marijuana plant that is high in THC. Merely in the same family as apples are in the same family as roses. It is a very healthy seed rich in nutrients and an excellent source of omega 3. It was commonly used in bird seed 'till somewhere in the 40's. Now it's not as easy to find but very beneficial.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp

Assuming cannibis and hemp are still the same thing .

Yes I watch Landline and saw that segment. I have in the past fed Hemp seed to my birds. Very expensive $9 for small bag, think it was 500g
Didnt notice enough change in the birds to justify the cost.

Hi all here is a link to the site I get my hemp from http://www.birdandpet.com.au/documents/products_8.html. It is priced at $33 for a 3 kg pack.My birds struggle to crack the seed but enjoy soaked.I learnt they have a calming effect for stressed birds.
As for the nutritional value irradiation only destroys the germination enzyme and aprox 30 percent of the vite B 12. Your omega's, fats, vitamins and base amino acids are only effected below 1 percent. In all reality it has such a small effect it is not worth mentioning. Many of the foods we consume have been irradiated which also destroys bacteria. It is a myth that irradiated foods are void of nutrients.This is another's opinion not my words!
Hemp is apparently fattening and should be around 3% of there seed mix.I use more and haven't seen problems.Talking irradiated I struggled to find niger seed last year and was given overseas sterilized crap my birds wont eat it unless its their last resort.Never again.

Reminds me of an incident many years ago here in town. Someone reports their neighbour for growing dope. The local cops duly turn up and inspect said dope patch, and ask the resident about it. Don;t know mate says he. There was an avairy there when I bought the place a year ago, but I didn't want it so I sold the avairy and this lot of weeds grew where it was. Yes his story was verified and the offending hemp was destroyed.
LML

My mammy had a lovely little shrub sprout from a load of top soil dumped in the front yard .
long story short the police took mammys plant from the front garden a few months later ...... no charges .

The old canary books speak highly of hempseed as an oilseed.
I have, on occasion, fed them locally-obtained seed (ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies).
The canaries, goldies and weavers love it, the Aussie and African finches mostly leave it alone.

jusdeb wrote:This was taken from Talk Cockatiels ..
Technically those are hemp seeds. They are not the same as the marijuana plant that is high in THC. Merely in the same family as apples are in the same family as roses ...... It was commonly used in bird seed 'till somewhere in the 40's. Now it's not as easy to find.

That is total piffle.
There are two species of hemp, Cannabis sativa and C. indica, which have contributed to the strains grown in Australia, legally and illegally. Most are hybrids, selected for various desirable qualities. All of them are called hemp, cannabis, dope and many other things besides.

The differences in THC are much greater between the different parts of the plant than between the different cultivars; the flowering parts have much higher THC than the leaves and other parts. If the plant is allowed to go to seed, the THC content is much lower.
Thus, the plant can be grown differently to suit different needs.

For fibre, the seeds should be planted densely to make tall, leggy plants with a long, strong stem and minimal leaf and other parts. This approach will yield some seed as a byproduct.
For seed, the plants should be more widely spaced and allowed to develop a shrubby habit.
For the flowering parts, people grow as for seed, but try to weed out the male plants to avoid the females setting seed. This results in plants with big flowering heads but no seeds, which is desirable to the recreational smokers.

When the recreational smokers of my acquaintance get a bag of "seedy heads" they pick out the seeds for my canaries, hence my occasional supply. I laughed at the comment quoted above that it is hard to find these days. It is very easy to find if you are prepared to pay too much for illegal product. It is even quite easy to find legal supplies at more reasonable prices, like Nirep.

I don't see any advantage in using them for my birds over niger, linseed and canary. I have not noticed a calming effect, but I'm not sure that I would notice it if the was.

bluebutterfly213 wrote:Yes I watch Landline and saw that segment. I have in the past fed Hemp seed to my birds. Very expensive $9 for small bag, think it was 500g
Didnt notice enough change in the birds to justify the cost.

I guess if the NSW farmers are selling Cannabis seed for $6 kg distributors would be asking at least twice that amount, after all they are in it to make money. Imported stuff may be cheaper but really is it worth buying it? According to friends in Europe Perilla is much more beneficial and it keeps birds healthy similar to the Foniopaddy seed - the so called miracle seed
http://www.lavoliere.com/elevage/alimen ... nglish.htm
Not that I believe this but if you can supply any fresh green seeding grasses or millet seed in generous amount to your birds I would say they are just as good as the "miracle seed", it guarantees it will keep your birds healthy!

nirep wrote:Hi all here is a link to the site I get my hemp from http://www.birdandpet.com.au/documents/products_8.html. It is priced at $33 for a 3 kg pack.My birds struggle to crack the seed but enjoy soaked.I learnt they have a calming effect for stressed birds.
As for the nutritional value irradiation only destroys the germination enzyme and aprox 30 percent of the vite B 12. Your omega's, fats, vitamins and base amino acids are only effected below 1 percent. In all reality it has such a small effect it is not worth mentioning. Many of the foods we consume have been irradiated which also destroys bacteria. It is a myth that irradiated foods are void of nutrients.This is another's opinion not my words!
Hemp is apparently fattening and should be around 3% of there seed mix.I use more and haven't seen problems.Talking irradiated I struggled to find niger seed last year and was given overseas sterilized crap my birds wont eat it unless its their last resort.Never again.

At $11 a kg it is the same price as the Niger seed, but does anyone feed Niger to all their birds? Probably not, Niger, Sunflower and I assume Cannabis seed is mainly bought for some of the Carduelan species like the Goldfinches, Siskins, Redpolls and Greenfinches. These birds consume lots of fatty seed, most other birds in my aviary will not even touch it. If it was available in Birdshops for $11 a kg I would buy them otherwise I'll just continue with the green seeding grasses and soaked seed.

If farmers are getting $6000/tonne you won't get it for $6/kg.

Tiaris wrote:If farmers are getting $6000/tonne you won't get it for $6/kg.

Unless you buy them directly of the farmers! But I'm sure there are breeders who can and then if they sell them to others for a dollar or two more it's still worth it. I'm not talking here about anything illegal!