Stone the Crows?25 Jun 2022 14:44
'Researchers are feeding chickens cannabis instead of antibiotics'
https://interestingengineering.com/researchers-are-feeding-chickens-cannabis
'In January 2021, researchers at the Department of Aquatic and Animal Sciences at Chiang Mai University began a unique experiment of using cannabis instead of antibiotics in the feed used on a farm. Crushed cannabis is added to the feed and water that the birds consume, while antibiotics and medicines used in conventional poultry rearing have been withdrawn.
However, the researchers do not know exactly why the mortality rates in cannabis-fed birds are similar to those in antibiotic-fed birds during a regular season. Fewer than 10 percent of the 1,000 birds have died due to a disease, which is comparable to antibiotic-fed poultry.
Chompunut Lumsangkul, an assistant professor at the Department, told Insider that it is likely that cannabis contains bioactive compounds, i.e., substances that promote better metabolic activity in the birds, boosting their immune systems. However, the researchers haven't tested the survival of the birds against a disease like bird flu or other severe diseases that the birds fall prey to. '