Rice hulls?

[ErinRN]

Are they good for nesting or what?

I got some at the feed store today and cleaned out my nesting boxes and used rice hulls. Nice and soft! Anyone ever used them? I did a search and couldn't find anything on them. Maybe I didn't look in the right place. Any suggestions?

ErinRN

 

[justusnak]

Hey Erin....I am in SE Indiana.....where abouts are you? I am near Seymour. Not sure on the rice hulls...never seen them talked about on here. What do you have in your flock?

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

Quote:
My wife has mention to me that in some countries they will use rice hulls as feed for chickens but it must be ground. Dehulled rice that retains the bran coating is sometimes used as feed. Usually ground and sold as "rice meal", it can be fed to all types of animals; it is superior to rough rice as it contains less fibre and silica, and it is richer in protein and vitamins than polished rice. It will resemble flour from what she tells me.

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

We feed our chickens mostly steamed rice along with vegetables, plus they free range on grass which looks great in comparison to the last couple of weeks, it just shows you what 80 degree temperatures can do, my wife will tell me grains and chicken scratch make chickens too fat.

 

[TheBrilliantHen]

I've seen rice hulls recommended on a few sites for bedding.

 

[erinm]

ErinRN,
I am also an erin and an RN! I assume that is what your RN stands for? Or is it something chicken related?

 

[ErinRN]

Morning all,

I found rice hull and cotton hulls at little grainery here. Yes RN stands for registered nurse. I am a labor and delivery nurse at a wonderful hospital. SW Indiana - I am about 30 miles north of Evansville. I had to work over the weekend and haven't checked on my hulls I put in the coop on Friday. I will check today and let you know how it is going.

ErinRN

 

[erinm]

I am a medical/tele nurse. I plan on transferring eventually to the maternity ward or ICU. Not sure yet .
Where do you get rice and corn hulls and are they inexpensive? Erin M

 

[addctd2plnts]

Are they good for nesting or what?

I got some at the feed store today and cleaned out my nesting boxes and used rice hulls. Nice and soft! Anyone ever used them? I did a search and couldn't find anything on them. Maybe I didn't look in the right place. Any suggestions?

ErinRN

I've asked about rice hulls for horse bedding before and everyone is quiet. From what I hear with horses, it's best to put a layer of pine shavings to catch the large amount of urine Then put down the rice hulls. The rice hulls are supposed to be light and fluffy.

I have ducks. Since ducks feel compelled to eat everything, I'm not sure I'd use rice hulls, but I might try it in Winter. We house ours in the barn, in a predator proofed stall. We have rubber mats, but a deep layer of rice hulls might add more insulation from ground cold. Our biggest problem is we can't get them unless we order a full tandem at a time LOL