Can I feed my chickens wheat?

[efowl24]

I work in agriculture, and my customers are cutting their wheat right now. Basically every field has a spill of grain just sitting on the ground and is going to start rotting. Is this something I could give my chickens and save a bit on feed costs? It is straight out of the combine, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. They are 8 weeks old. I know it shouldn't replace their feed, but could I blend it with their feed, or blend feed myself? What would be a good thing to mix it with?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Wheat is around 13% protein. I might use it in a scratch grain mix. Never tried feeding it, so I'm not sure if chickens like it or not. Since your birds are young I personally wouldn't use it. They need the higher protein ration.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Wheat is around 13% protein. I might use it in a scratch grain mix. Never tried feeding it, so I'm not sure if chickens like it or not. Since your birds are young I personally wouldn't use it. They need the higher protein ration.

+1

The problem with adding wheat to your existing feed is that it lowers the overall protein percentage.

Maybe as mentioned above, just use it as an occasional treat, on its own or mixed with something. No more than 10% of the total amount they eat. Otherwise, the chickens will be full without having gotten their full amount of protein in.

It really is a shame about the wastage! Can’t it be captured (on a tarp or something) and used elsewhere?

 

[Perris]

Yes you can @efowl24 , and they will love it. Wheat is the basis of chicken feed on this side of the pond (nutritionally it is better than corn/maize). It is also the principal grain in my home made feed. Obviously it's not enough on its own, but you aren't suggesting that. If you want to see what I mix it with, there are 2 articles describing it, here https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/ and here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wholesome-homemade-feed-2.79307/

 

[Altairsky]

Yes you can give your chickens wheat. They will still eat their feed, and if you're concerned, you can always feed them meat, fish, eggs or yogurt 3 times a week for some extra protein.
It won't harm them to eat some wheat for a couple of months.

 

[Perris]

you might find this useful too, as a reliable source of info on wheat's highly variable nutritional values
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/fgis/standardization/wheat-protein

 

[efowl24]

+1

The problem with adding wheat to your existing feed is that it lowers the overall protein percentage.

Maybe as mentioned above, just use it as an occasional treat, on its own or mixed with something. No more than 10% of the total amount they eat. Otherwise, the chickens will be full without having gotten their full amount of protein in.

It really is a shame about the wastage! Can’t it be captured (on a tarp or something) and used elsewhere?

Unfortunately catching it with a tarp or something isn’t realistic for most guys. Typically spills are accidental, so hard to know where to put a tarp. Add that to the fact time is money and it’s more economical to have your butt in the seat of a combine cutting more wheat than it is to spend time shoveling it up. My initial idea was maybe gather some up and use it as scratch just so it’s not completely wasted