Emergence of hemp as feed for poultry

SUMMARY Hemp is an annual herbaceous flowering plant belonging to Cannabaceae family, traditionally cultivated for seed and fibre production. Hempseed is rich in nutrient composition; it contains 25% crude protein (with high-quality digestible amino acids), functional oils (rich in valuable polyunsaturated fatty acid), a high amount of minerals, vitamins (tocopherols) and beneficial phenolic compounds. Up to recent years, hemp cultivation has been prohibited due to its high cannabinoid compounds, of which delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the psychoactive agent. The cultivation of newly developed low ‘industrial hemp’ (that contains less than 0.3% delta 9-THC) is also restricted. Hempseed products (hempseed, hempseed meal and hempseed oil) are not registered (approved) as ‘safe’ feed ingredients for poultry due to their possible adverse effects on animal health and efficiency. On the other hand, with the possible move to legalise industrial hemp cultivation in recent years, several experiments were conducted to assess the ‘safety and efficiency’ of hemp seed on poultry performances. The published results indicate that diet containing up to 12% hempseed, 10% hempseed meal and 5% hempseed oil improve the overall performance of broiler chicken. With respect to layer chicken, the inclusion of up to 25% hempseed, 15% hempseed meal and 7% hempseed oil had no adverse effect on egg production and its quality. HSP proved to enrich meat and egg with polyunsaturated fatty acids. There are now enough evidence to declare hemp usage ‘safe’ and with no adverse effect on poultry product quality (taste and smell). Despite these findings, research on hemp is still in its infancy stage and has a long way to go to clarify many aspects of its effectiveness as poultry feed.