Bamboo leaves as food....

[ErnieBerley]

I found this article on-line about a SE Asia Study that reported feeding chickens bamboo leaves will lead to increased growth and improved health. Supposedly, the bamboo nourishes their microbiome (a natural probiotic) and provides nutrients. I have a forest of bamboo and began cutting branches with young growth and feeding it to chickens. They LOVE it - they eat the leaves and then they also hide out in the limbs and climb around as the leaves die, so it's a natural "gym" in their coop run area.

Anyway I thought I'd share this and see if anyone else has experience feeding chickens bamboo.

peace and Happy Holidays !

 

[azygous]

I looked up the nutritional components of bamboo shoots, the new growth, not older leaves, and boy was I surprised! The stuff is remarkably nutritious.

"The main nutrients in bamboo shoots are protein, carbohydrates, amino acids, minerals, fat, sugar, fiber, and inorganic salts. The shoots have a good profile of minerals, consisting mainly of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), manganese, zinc, chromium, copper, iron (Fe), plus lower amounts of phosphorus (P), and selenium (Shi and Yang 1992; Nirmala and others 2007). Fresh shoots are a good source of thiamine, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin E (Visuphaka 1985; Xia 1989; Shi and Yang 1992). They are rich in protein, containing between 1.49 and 4.04 (average 2.65 g) per 100 g of fresh bamboo shoots. They contain 17 amino acids, 8 of which are essential for the human body (Qiu 1992; Ferreira and others 1995). Tyrosine amounts to 57% to 67% of the total amino acid content (Kozukue and others 1999). Fat content is comparatively low (0.26% to 0.94%) and the shoots contain important essential fatty acids. The total sugar content, 2.5% on average, is lower than that of other vegetables." https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2011.00147.x

 

[ErnieBerley]

I looked up the nutritional components of bamboo shoots, the new growth, not older leaves, and boy was I surprised! The stuff is remarkably nutritious.

"The main nutrients in bamboo shoots are protein, carbohydrates, amino acids, minerals, fat, sugar, fiber, and inorganic salts. The shoots have a good profile of minerals, consisting mainly of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), manganese, zinc, chromium, copper, iron (Fe), plus lower amounts of phosphorus (P), and selenium (Shi and Yang 1992; Nirmala and others 2007). Fresh shoots are a good source of thiamine, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin E (Visuphaka 1985; Xia 1989; Shi and Yang 1992). They are rich in protein, containing between 1.49 and 4.04 (average 2.65 g) per 100 g of fresh bamboo shoots. They contain 17 amino acids, 8 of which are essential for the human body (Qiu 1992; Ferreira and others 1995). Tyrosine amounts to 57% to 67% of the total amino acid content (Kozukue and others 1999). Fat content is comparatively low (0.26% to 0.94%) and the shoots contain important essential fatty acids. The total sugar content, 2.5% on average, is lower than that of other vegetables." https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2011.00147.x

I tell you I see a unique food additive here

 

[azygous]

I wish it would grow at 7500 feet and could survive long freezing winters.

 

[ErnieBerley]

I wish it would grow at 7500 feet and could survive long freezing winters.

wow yea i'm at 2500

 

[ErnieBerley]

FYI on this.... from the study

Feeding chickens on an organic diet containing fresh bamboo leaves results in them weighing up to 70 per cent more than those fed on standard organic diets, according to results from INBAR’s Action Research Site in Abra Province, The Philippines. The results suggest that the fibre in the bamboo leaves enlarges the digestive tract and enables the chickens to consume more and to grow faster.

At an organic chicken farm run by the project (the Bambu Organic Natural Farm), one-day-old organic chicks were sourced from a certified supplier and split into two test and two control batches that were treated as follows:

– The two control batches were fed a standard organic diet of fermented vegetables, corn, muscovado and fermented fish;

– The five test batches were fed a standard organic diet of fermented vegetables, corn, muscovado and fermented fish, with bamboo leaves added.

Young bamboo leaves were harvested by hand on a daily basis to ensure freshness, from a widely-grown Bambusa species known locally as “bayog”. If supplies of “bayog” were not readily available, another commonly-growing species, Bambusa blumeana (“kawayan tinik”), was substituted. The bamboos grow naturally within the chicken farm itself and are not cultivated, and hence organic.

The leaves were chopped very finely and mixed into the standard chicken feed from day one to day seven. For the older chickens (days eight and onwards), fresh bamboo leaves were made available for them to peck at; the leafy branches were pruned from the bamboos and placed on the ground throughout the ranging area.

Results

The graph of results shows a huge improvement in the weights of the chickens fed on bamboo, with them being 70 per cent heavier by the fifty-sixth day.

Further development

Work continues to investigate the effects of changing the ratio of bamboo leaves to other fodder, on the number of days bamboo leaves are included in the fodder, on other bamboo species and on different breeds of chicken. The work suggests the enormous potential for using bamboo leaves as chicken fodder, though more trials are needed.

 

[centrarchid]

Species might be important. When I have eaten the shoots of the bamboo I have, my lips and throat burn big time, then comes the powerful urge to use the bathroom.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I wish it would grow at 7500 feet and could survive long freezing winters.

What USDA zone are you in? There are several varieties of cold hardy Bamboo:

• https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/bamboo/cold-hardy-bamboo-plants.htm
  
• https://bambubatu.com/cold-hardy-bamboo/
  
• http://bamboogarden.com/cold hardy bamboo.html
  
• https://lewisbamboo.com/category/bamboo-plants/cold-hardy-bamboo/
  
• https://www.wilsonbrosgardens.com/cold-hardy-bamboo-USDA-Zone-5.html

Japanese soldiers in the past made bows and arrows out of bamboo and some areas of Japan are really lousy cold.

 

[azygous]

I'm in USDA zone 6a. As @centrarchid pointed out, not all bamboo species may be edible. How can we find the edible varieties that will survive down to zeroF?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I'm in USDA zone 6a. As @centrarchid pointed out, not all bamboo species may be edible. How can we find the edible varieties that will survive down to zeroF?

You try - and strap yourself down on the throne?