Problems found for milo grain as feed????

[unfrackable]

hey y'all I'm no expert! and admittedly not a Chicken peep, but I do follow threads dealing with habitat issues and thought I'd throw in my two cents here.
the Milo found in 99% of commercially available grain stock is universally bird resistant. have no cold hard facts but listening to farmers, and studying yield guides, the tannin tweaked varieties common today increase profits/acre so it's a no brainer. there is a circulating issue concerning livestock grazing on Milo stubble pasture may encounter a Prussic Acid increase if the stubble has been allowed to re-sprout. that being said, here's my personal field observation...
virtually no wild n/e PA birds will touch the stuff outright. it must 1st be cracked, lightly ground, or split... and even then it will sit (barring what might be picked at for curiosity) until a rain event, or several overnight dews either soften it or somehow perform a leaching reaction. even squirrels and chipmunks will not take to it in large quantities until soaked. mice, of course will run off with anything edible!
also, the tannic traits must be considered a GMO event! I planted a small pasture of Audubon recommended seed in my backyard for birds to snack and forage to their hearts content come fall... the Milo sadly remains on the stalk uneaten...everything else (no corn) was long ago eaten and the chaff is routinely plundered for nesting.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Howdy; Has anyone found problems with feeding milo grain in the feed??? and thanx At present I am mixing red wheat corn and milo. In an article about chick feed there was mention not to feed milo grain. WHY NOT????

http://www.feedipedia.org/node/224


Read the above and come to your own opinion - my take from the article is that high-tannin sorghum isn't particularly good for the birds, but low tannin sorghum is a great food.

 

[CrazyTalk]

also, the tannic traits must be considered a GMO event!

You were going great until this - which is just false.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Meal worms grow in manure?

I thought that meal worms need a grain based diet ????

Some species will grow in manure others prefer a largely grain based diet. The person that posted that conflated Lesser mealworms, which can be a pest with poultry operations, with Common mealworms, which people raise to feed their chickens. They are very different species and anyone with experience with either would not confuse the two.

 

[cutechick2010]

I know I am resurrecting a really old thread here, but I am researching milo/sorghum as a feed myself. I had a thought on the conversation here about the high tannins in some types of milo. I haven't researched it for the chickens yet, but in my feed research for my rabbits (I am working on getting all my different kinds of animals completely GMO free) I have found that oak leaves, which are also high in tannins, are a great way to prevent coccidiosis in rabbits. Now you limit the amount you give them of course, because you don't want to overdo. But I know things like putting ACV with the mother in their drinking water will help prevent coccidiosis in both chickens and rabbits, so it seems reasonable that some tannins in feed might be beneficial for the poultry as well. Does anyone else have any thoughts on that?

 

[james croskey]

i need 50lb. of milo maze. how much. is it,?

 

[pdirt]

i need  50lb. of milo  maze. how much. is it,?

You'll have to ask your local feed store or feed mill. Price is going to vary from one location to the next.

 

[Sonflowerjoela]

I give my chickens some "scratch" as a treat in the am and pm. But the food they have in the hen house is a laying pellet I get from the feed store. My chickens have a "yard" about 40' x 60'. It is a electric fenced in area.

I know people used to feed corn, wheat, milo to their chickens. I expect lots of eggs from mine, so I give them the pellets too. They also need oyster shell for calcium for the egg shells, and granite grit for their gizzards.

Hope this helps.

I will say this: My husband feeds his quail corn & milo, but then they don't live very long lives, so whatever is cheapest is fine for them,

DonnaBelle

How do you introduce oyster shells and granite grit to chickens? Mixed with food ?

 

[Sonflowerjoela]

The person you quoted hasn't logged on in over a year. If you don't mind someone else answering...

It is best to offer oyster shell and granite grit separate from their food. That makes it easier for them to take what they need and easier to see how much they are taking.

Most people offer them in containers of some kind, some scatter them across the floor. I prefer containers.

Mine are orange juice bottles with a 2" circle cut out of the side of each. I made a wooden frame out of small pieces of wood so I could screw them into the side of the coop.

Some people use cups designed for hanging on the sides of rabbit or hamster cages. Some have ceramic bowls (like for rabbits) on the floor or on a stand of some kind.

The chickens don't usually care how it is offered.

If it is where rain might fall in it, you probably want to drill some drain holes in the bottom.

Thank you for answering.