Hempseed and Hempseed Oil Were Well-Tolerated in Laying Hen Diets | Research

The takeaway

Laying hens fed diets containing up to 30% hempseed or 9% hempseed oil showed no negative effects on performance, egg quality, or most blood markers.

Read this if you want to understand the safety of hemp products in animal feed.

No negative effects on egg quality or hen performance at any hemp inclusion level

What the researchers found

Forty-eight laying hens fed hemp-containing diets for 12 weeks showed no significant differences from control-fed hens in feed intake, rate of lay, egg weight, body weight gain, or egg quality. Blood metabolites including proteins, glucose, uric acid, cholesterol, and electrolytes were unaffected.

Liver enzyme levels (gamma-glutamyl transferase and aspartate aminotransferase) were actually lowest in hens fed moderate levels of hempseed (10% and 20%) and low hempseed oil (4.5%), suggesting a possible protective effect on liver health at moderate inclusion levels compared to higher levels or the control diet.

All diets were formulated to contain similar levels of crude fat (11%), energy (2,800 kcal/kg), and crude protein (17%), ensuring that differences were attributable to the hemp products rather than macronutrient imbalances.

Why it matters

Hemp products are a potential sustainable feed ingredient for poultry, offering omega fatty acids and protein. This study provides safety data supporting the use of hempseed and hempseed oil in laying hen diets without negative impacts on production or animal health.

The numbers in context

48 hens, 6 diet groups, 12-week study. Hempseed: 10%, 20%, 30%. Hempseed oil: 4.5%, 9.0%. No effects on performance or egg quality. Lower liver enzymes at 10-20% hempseed and 4.5% hempseed oil.

How the study worked

Forty-eight Lohmann LSL-Classic white-egg laying hens (19 weeks old) were individually caged and fed one of six diets for 12 weeks: hempseed at 10%, 20%, or 30%; hempseed oil at 4.5% or 9.0%; or a corn oil-based control. Performance, egg quality, and blood biochemistry were measured using repeated measures analysis.

What this study cannot tell us

The sample size was small (8 hens per diet group). The study lasted only 12 weeks, so longer-term effects were not assessed. The protective liver enzyme finding was observational and the mechanism was not investigated. Results from one breed of laying hen may not generalize to all poultry.

How to read the evidence

This is a randomized controlled feeding trial, but with a small sample size (48 hens across 6 groups).

When this study was published

Published in 2014. Hemp in animal feed has gained increasing regulatory attention since.

The bigger picture

As hemp cultivation expands following regulatory changes, the animal feed industry is exploring hemp products as sustainable protein and oil sources. This study adds to a body of evidence supporting the safety of hemp in poultry diets, which is relevant to both agricultural sustainability and the regulatory approval process.

Questions still open

What mechanism explains the apparent liver-protective effect of moderate hempseed inclusion? Do hemp-fed hen eggs have different fatty acid profiles that could benefit consumers? Would longer-term feeding studies reveal any cumulative effects?

Common questions

Does hempseed contain THC?

Hempseed itself contains negligible THC. Industrial hemp varieties are bred to contain less than 0.3% THC in the plant, and the seed has even lower levels. This study focused on nutritional hemp products, not cannabinoid-containing extracts.

Could hemp-fed eggs contain cannabinoids?

This study did not measure cannabinoid levels in eggs. Given the negligible THC content in hempseed, transfer to eggs would be expected to be minimal, but direct measurement would be needed to confirm this.

Read the original research

Performance, egg quality, and blood plasma chemistry of laying hens fed hempseed and hempseed oil.

Poultry science, 93(11), 2827-40

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Neijat, M; Gakhar, N; Neufeld, J; House, J D. (2014). Performance, egg quality, and blood plasma chemistry of laying hens fed hempseed and hempseed oil.. Poultry science, 93(11), 2827-40. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2014-03936