Feeding brew grain

[tdan]

Id like to feed my flocks brew grain to displace as much food as possible. I know pekin ducks will eat whatever and don't seem to respond negtively to any tye when they actually eat it instead of the creek but question the chooks. How much spent grain can I replace my chickens diet with. Obviously free and separate calcium sources for the layers will be available and some scratch/mealworms here and there.

Let me know what everyone has done or thinks i can get away with.


Mixed flock EE, Light Bramha, BJG, GC, Amberlink, Cuckoo Maran, BO, Australorp and Chantecelors

 

[floppysquirrel04]

Do you mean fermented feed? If so yes, my chickens love it.

 

[tdan]

No, the grain leftover of from the brewing process. It loses sugars but retains a decent amount of nutrients. Its a byproduct and I want to see if it works well with fowl.

Do you mean fermented feed? If so yes, my chickens love it.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I'd start with a small amount (say 10%) and see how it goes, and increase if everything looks good.

Someone may have a better idea of the actual nutritional profile of spent grains...if you know that, you could probably go higher % by supplementing any nutrients that are missing.

 

[tdan]

Some research showed it was ok to go 60% but most erred on the 40% margin. Ive got pekins and mostly I want them to be able to gorge on it. They eat like monsters, despite foraging the creek.

I'd start with a small amount (say 10%) and see how it goes, and increase if everything looks good.

Someone may have a better idea of the actual nutritional profile of spent grains...if you know that, you could probably go higher % by supplementing any nutrients that are missing.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Oh yeah...I had some Pekins for a while and they’re eating machines!

 

[Papmike]

It is not as simple as replace this with that. The brewing process also leaches soluble vitamins and minerals. When you see brewers grains in commercial feed they analyze the grains and adjust the rest of their nutrients to balance.

What is the brand of feed you use and the percentage of nutrients. (carbs, fats,protein ect.). Using that information you can then make a better decision on how much of each feed stuff will give you a decent diet. The creek will help out your birds but not as much as you might think.

It will most likely take longer to get to market weight also.

 

[tdan]

I'm aware it loses some, which is why I cited it retains a good bit. I'm looking for educsted opinions of these numbers so I can supplement. I'm aware of the concept and I can read my bags to get the known variables.

I'm not concerned about time to market weight, if the over all investment is lower.

No, the grain leftover of from the brewing process. It loses sugars but retains a decent amount of nutrients. Its a byproduct and I want to see if it works well with fowl.

It is not as simple as replace this with that. The brewing process also leaches soluble vitamins and minerals. When you see brewers grains in commercial feed they analyze the grains and adjust the rest of their nutrients to balance.

What is the brand of feed you use and the percentage of nutrients. (carbs, fats,protein ect.). Using that information you can then make a better decision on how much of each feed stuff will give you a decent diet. The creek will help out your birds but not as much as you might think.

It will most likely take longer to get to market weight also.

 

[Rden]

Hey Dan -

How is it going using brew grain? I will be starting with chickens this year and i have friends that brew and own a brewery. If using the spent grain Is a good option, I would love to. Would love to hear your results.

Thank you!

Rob

 

[tdan]

It was stinky and seemed to get rank over a couple days. the quantities and life of it without mold seemed counter productive to me. Much better outcome was obtaining wilted veg from grocery store/produce stand.

It was gobbled up but it seemed to get beyond my feed standards very fast. It seemed to "spoil" faster than I was using it so it was a waste and hassle. nutritionally, it was very good and they seemed to like it. Just not the ROI I wanted. I spent time burying excess grain because it seemed moldy n such very fast in my climate.

On a side note, logistically if you can grab 5 gallon buckets of it, then do so after every batch your friend has. Get just enough to feed a day to supplement. I was getting trailer loads and it did not suit my goals.

Hey Dan -

How is it going using brew grain? I will be starting with chickens this year and i have friends that brew and own a brewery. If using the spent grain Is a good option, I would love to. Would love to hear your results.

Thank you!

Rob