barley????

[1shotcleaner]

hi everyone haven't ben here in awhile but i will be here more often now. I'm wondering if any one has info on feeding barley? i have herd about sprouting it. or just feeding it naturally as a grain. I'm wondering if it needs to be ground or crushed to get more nutrients out of it , or is sprouting it the best way?

 

[Azriel]

I feed it as part of my scratch rolled, it looks like oatmeal, the chickens love it.

 

[1shotcleaner]

do you buy it rolled or do you do it yourself?

 

[Azriel]

We grow our own oats and barley, and have a roller, so we do it ourselfs but I think you could ask your mill to roll or crack it for you. We also roll the oats.

 

[Chemguy]

Some folk get barley from stores that sell grain fro homebrewing beer. There's an active thread on the topic here https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/620756/feeding-used-grains-from-beer-making

 

[Chris09]

Poultry, particularly growing chickens, are sensitive to the beta-glucans in barley. Beta-glucans form gels in the digestive tract of birds that are not broken down because of the lack of appropriate enzymes and the rapid rate of passage in poultry. Without addition of beta-glucanases to the feed, barley-based diets have been associated with reduced levels of available energy and with wet droppings, pasty vents, and wet litter.

If it was me I would keep the amount of Barley to a minimum if I would give it to them at all.

Chris

 

[1shotcleaner]

thankyou for the info and thred

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

See my BYC page if you wish- I do have barley in my mix. I have read about sticky droppings if you use too much, so I fed a little in my mix and it's fine.