Brown rice? to cook or not to cook??

[Dave Z]

Quote:
Hemp seed??!! You must have the happiest chickens in town. Are you in California or something?

Mythbusters did a segment on the rice swelling up and killing birds. They could not reproduce it and pronounced the myth officially busted.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
Hemp seed??!! You must have the happiest chickens in town. Are you in California or something?

Mythbusters did a segment on the rice swelling up and killing birds. They could not reproduce it and pronounced the myth officially busted.

LOL,
No I live in Ohio..
Here are some links on Hemp seed
http://www.jedds.com/-strse-914/Leach-Grain-&-Milling/Detail.bok
http://www.ratical.org/renewables/hempseed1.html

Mythbusters did a segment on the rice swelling up and killing birds. They could not reproduce it and pronounced the myth officially busted.

The thing is if it was bad for bird then they wouldn't put in pigeon feed...
http://www.jedds.com/-strse-Diet->>-Seed-&-Grain-Mixtures-cln-Rice-Seeds/Categories.bok

Chris​

 

[nelgkel]

Quote:
Mmmm... That all sounds really good! Especially the sweet potato fries!

Did you cook the rice or not? Mine weren't harmed by the uncooked rice, but they don't really care for it. They gobble up cooked rice however.

Very nice coop you have!

thanks Dianne, I did not cook the rice..they really likel the steel cut oats!! tomorrow they are getting crickets...tonight they got rolly pollies...loved them!!
thanks for the compliment on the coop. we are getting there..still have lots to do to finish it..

 

[Salahoona]

I've been feeding uncooked brown rice for years and even buy it by the sackful. I did get concerned once and cooked it for them but they ran for the uncooked when I put it out. I also get tinned mackeral (in oil) by cheap bulk quantities. Sardines would probably be better but they prefer the mackeral and who am I to tell them which to choose Their staple diet is brown rice/scrambled cheap eggs and melon (not water melon). I recently found that they really like brown bread soaked in apple juice. Maybe I should open a chicken resturaunt. I have never seen a sick bird.

I live in a very remote cabin over-looking the sea in Ireland and planted 1000 shrubs (from seed) and over 100 trees (Osier willow and Eucaptylus viminalis - recommended) about twelve years ago for shelter and the place is like a jungle now. Am I writing too much? Anyway, after ten months of internet search and eggs flown in which were either infertile or scrambled. I have now a small flock of Sumatra, found only 60 miles away. Oh Joy! They are strange stand offish birds but are beginning to get the measure of me. They have to be smart to survive here.

 

[ChickenJerk]

Originally Posted by Neil Grassbaugh


Copy of a post of mine from October 2010

Of course it kills them! They bloat up like toads! Horrible death.

This is why there are no seed or grain eating wild birds in any areas of the world that produce rice. They would get out into the fields, eat the rice and kill them deddern a plastic Christmas Tree. Why do you think that there are no wild birds that would feed on rice living in the rice growing regions of the world. AK, TX, LA not a one! Nor are there any in those areas of Africa, South America, or, for heavens sake, of Asia where rice is raised extensively.

This was all proven years ago. Why do you suppose that for the longest time there were never any sparrows around churches in big cities where there was a wedding or two every week. Rice killed them off as fast as they could fly in from the 'burbs. That is why we now use bird seed. To save the sparrows!

Primitive man in South Eastern Asia had to guard the jungle fowl day and night to keep them from eating rice so that they could domesticate the buggers.
My gosh, why do you suppose all those ckickens are kept in buildings all over the rice growing areas of the world. It is to keep them from eating the dam rice!

I don't think that a lot of you realize what a serious uphill battle this has been for since the dawn of time.

I'm really glad that so much time has been spent reaffirming the "common sense" elements of this discussion.

And ya wanna know what is even more detrimental to chicken health- I think internet dunderheads.

 

[triplepurpose]

Korean natural farms don't use "chick starter." Instead they recommend starting chicks on a diet of raw, whole brown rice and bamboo leaves, to build a strong, healthy digestive system from the get-go.

 

[Salahoona]

Same here. I give my birds a choice and see what they choose; after a while they even insist on shortgrain uncooked rice. I wish some people whould spend some time looking into what goes into pellet feed. I had a dog with good taste and he would give a bad opinion (blowing the air out of is nose) about pork and factory chicken. I investigated and found that pig and chicken feed contained dead dogs and an awful lot worse. If you use pellets, have a look at the ingedients some time (they wont tell you...).

 

[jak2002003]

Uncooked white rice, when in the birds stomach, expands as it is re-hydrated, enlarging the birds stomachs drastically. This sometimes cases the birds to blow up mid-flight!

Uncooked white rice is fine for wild birds and chickens.

That is actually what many people believe. I have fed my chickens and pigeons uncooked rice for years and never see one explode!

Also I live in Thailand and see many birds eating the uncooked hard rice from the rice fields. If they all exploded we would not have any birds left!

 

[Stevedams]

A.T. Hagan :

I have fed raw rice to my birds many times over the years. They digest it just like any other grain.

.....Alan.

I can't imagine that rice could swell that much. I've soaked it before, and it doesn't swell until you boil it. The rice I threw out for my chickens yesterday got rained on, and it didn't swell either? They still have no interest in it anyway, so I guess it really isn't an issue. I just always thought that those stories of exploding birds were old wives tales.

Here's a link to a site that explains that birds eating uncooked rice is an urban myth. http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/myths/myths.aspx​

Rice swells whether you boil it or not. It just happens more quickly when cooked. Either way cold or hot eventually it expands to twice the volume.

 

[Lucia...]

Mine INHALE our leftover cooked brown rice!! Love it!!!

So do mine...I cook brown rice with lentils, peas etc. and they look forward to it everyday.
I also break up one of their own eggs into the mix,shell and all. Sometimes a bit of plain yoghurt. I adore watching them eat it as they just love it so much.