A team of researchers in Poland has found a number of benefits to farm raised poultry from the consumption of hemp based additives in their feed.  Recently published in Animals, their paper is an analysis of several other studies and it is from this data that the authors were able to draw some interesting conclusions.  

The introduction of hemp oil and/or hemp seed, from which the oil is derived, to egg laying hen diets corresponded to an increase in polyunsaturated fatty acid content in yolks as well as a decrease in monounsaturated fatty acid.  In the experiments they studied, the feed was introduced as either whole hemp seed, extracted hemp oil or hemp seed cake.  Of note, none of the experiments on egg laying hens showed any detectable residual cannabinoids in the eggs or tissues of the hens but there were some odd findings.  One experiment, for example, found a significant decrease in egg shell thickness when hens were fed 9% hemp seed with a corresponding increase in calcium concentration in hen tibia bones. 

Broilers, or chickens raised for meat production, saw a similar benefit to bone strength and break resistance when fed hemp seed.  Another experiment found positive effects for poultry infected with the pathogen, Clostridium perfringens when administered a hemp extract containing 12% CBD.

Other animals saw benefits as well.  An experiment involving dairy cows fed hemp seed cake showed at 14.3% the hemp seed cake led to an increased milk yield.  Male Holstein cattle fed industrial hemp over 14 days showed significantly increased lying behavior and significantly decreased biomarkers of stress and inflammation like cortisol.  Goats fed hemp oil showed increased polyunsaturated fatty acids in their milk.

The authors conclude that given the many benefits so far revealed it makes sense to investigate further especially with regard to poultry.

You can read the original paper here

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1- Fallahi, S.; Bobak, Ł.; Opaliński, S. Hemp in Animal Diets—Cannabidiol. Animals2022, 12, 2541. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192541