feeding bread to chickens

[seedcorn]

Quote:
Would you please post a link to this study? We eat whole wheat bread because we want the fiber. White bread is wheat bread w/out the husk.

Craig, a guess would be that your hens finally got to the age where they could lay. The bread had nothing to do w/it.

 

[Jena]

I only use wholegrain bread,

and then limited, so I am glad that I have been cautious.

Jena.

 

[curliet]

My girls love bread too, and when I go out to tend to them they gather around me to look for treats. Sometimes when I try to give them other things before the bread, they turn it down, and after I tear up a few slices of bread and make them share it, they will return to the other stuff. That said, as much as I like making them happy, I would rather know that they are healthy. So, balance is the key. A few pieces of 'candy' (the bread) is a nice change but isn't what makes a meal. Scraps from the house like trimmings from veggies, scrapings from the plate with meat bits and veggies, and fruits, mixed with their regular feed and scratch is much better for them. Remember what you've learned about eating too many carbs in your own diet, it applies to the chickies as well. Real grain is what's important for them, not processed white flour.

 

[Wifezilla]

Q: Do you know why they "fortify" bread?

A: Because there are not enough nutrients for it to be considered 'food'.

As for people saying their chickens love bread. Well duh. It's like CRACK!
"Science is verifying what many overeaters have suspected for a long time: sugar can be addictive.

In fact, the sweetener seems to prompt the same chemical changes in the brain seen in people who abuse drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
Related News

The findings were to be presented Wednesday at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology's annual meeting, in Nashville.

"Our evidence from an animal model suggests that bingeing on sugar can act in the brain in ways very similar to drugs of abuse," lead researcher Bart Hoebel, a professor of psychology at Princeton University, said during a Dec. 4 teleconference."
http://health.usnews.com/articles/h...10/study-suggests-sugar-may-be-addictive.html​

 

[AngieChick]

Quote:
While it's true that the only difference between white and whole wheat is the husk removal, it's important to note that when the husk is removed it also removes the vast majority of the nutrients.

So, not all bread is created equally. I too bake most of our bread from freshly ground wheat. I do give the ends to my chickens, sometimes smeared in peanut butter (spoiled girls!). I just can't bear to waste the bread I have worked so hard to make. The chickens love it, and I have no decrease in egg production. I also give them left-over greens, a bit of scratch a day, sunflower seed mix, and free choice layer crumbles. I feel like this is a pretty balanced winter time diet.

So, I think moderation and variety is the key. A diet of strictly bread would be bad, but worked in with other foods as a treat is just fine.

 

[Wifezilla]

Freshly ground wheat has not been subjected to the intense heat and pressure of commercial processing. Plus it isn't sitting on a shelf for goodness knows how freaking long. That would actually be a healthy bread.

If you bought it from a store, it is nothing but sugar and rancid oils with a few vitamins added.

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Quote:
A few synthetic vitamins that do a person no good, you mean!

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Quote:
Would you please post a link to this study? We eat whole wheat bread because we want the fiber. White bread is wheat bread w/out the husk.

Craig, a guess would be that your hens finally got to the age where they could lay. The bread had nothing to do w/it.

I'm sorry, but I read out of so many health magazines, books, and articles online, including actual scientific articles from scientific magazines on this type of thing, it would be majorally difficult to find, but if I run across it again, (and I know I've read probably at least 3 articles about that very thing,) this last one was a couple of months ago, so I will post it if I find it again.

Also, just for your information:

We also buy white wheat that we grind into whole wheat that is just as nutritious. The key is that it is fresh and hasn't had the wheat germ, and nutrients removed.

We use mostly Spelt though as it actually has healing properties that the other grains don't have, has a higher protein content, as well as the fact that it is easier to digest for those who have a hard time digesting wheat. Many people have problems with it raising, but I hand knead the dough for 20 minutes (with a timer

) so that the gluten develops and my bread is nice and light, not heavy, etc. that can sometimes accompany whole wheat bread.

Spelt that has not been ground also has a much longer shelf life than many of the other grains, because the nutrients are on the inside.

 

[sheralynb]

I used to give my 3 month old chickens bits of old bread as a treat, and they GOBBLED it. When I found out I could get a huge bag from the day old bread company cheap I began to give them all they wanted. After the first few days, their appetite for the bread slacked off, and they began to eat a moderate amount. I give them grower crumbles, household scraps, garden greens, and bread in moderate amounts, plus unlimited cracked corn. They seem to pick and choose among all items, just as they would if they were free range. Maybe they would be in "perfect" health and lay the optimum number of eggs (when the time comes) if I fed differently. But I think they are healthy enough and much happier. I also think that given a choice they go for the things they need. Right now they are crazy for the greens!

 

[blueskylen]

i ,too, think that this time of year that they are craving greens, but where to find them under more than a foot of snow? i give them left over bread, rice,lettuce ends, leftover veggies from dinner( if they are not spiced or buttery), and even have opened cans of veg-all for them. but just as a treat, so that they are still hungry enough to eat their layer meal.
as soon as they snow melts they will be having an afternoon out to seach for their own treats.