Feeding kombucha or jun scoby ?

[One Lucky Momma]

Before posting this I found the same question asked back in 2014. Am thinking home fermenting has grown exponentially in past few years so would appreciate anyone’s thoughts on it.
Personally, I have an incredibly robust jun scoby that requires thinning every couple of months. Putting it on the compost pile makes me a little sad; I’d love to offer it to the flock if there’s no reason not to. Am also willing to share with any non-feathered creatures!

 

[Dephora]

I also brew my own kombucha and struggle in the summer months to find a use for scoby. I dehydrated to make jerky once. I personally hated it.

SCOBY can be fed to chickens and is over 18% protein. A single egg is generally 14 percent protein! Isn't that interesting. My neighbor gives SCOBY as a treat. I haven't done it with my girls yet. She does it as much as three times a week, if she has the SCOBY. She makes green tea kombucha however, I do black tea which is very high in caffeine, so I don't want any residue caffeine getting into their system.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

I use two parts green and one part white for my brew so it would have less caffeine but still some maybe. Is there actually caffeine left in the scoby, do you know? And is that bad for chickens specifically?

And does your neighbor prepare it in any way or just toss it out there? Like a giant slug. Yum. (I tried it once for a facial. Just once.)

 

[Dephora]

I mean green tea is very very low in caffeine. She has been feeding her SCOBY to her chickens for years, they all seem very healthy. She cuts it or grates it, SCOBY is often as thick as leather by the time she gives it to them. lol

She feeds it plain, they love it, but sometimes will add it to other treats. Grits I have seen her do with garlic etc.

 

[darkbaysfordays]

I would've never even thought of this! I always get sad when my SCOBY gets too big and none of my friends will take some. This sounds like a much better idea than throwing it in the compost

 

[Dephora]

I would've never even thought of this! I always get sad when my SCOBY gets too big and none of my friends will take some. This sounds like a much better idea than throwing it in the compost

Excited to hear if they take to it immediately!

 

[One Lucky Momma]

This morning I thinned about a pound and a half off my scoby and shared some with the chicks for the first time. Oh my! It’s a hit!

Previously in this thread some indulgent soul mentioned grinding the scoby before serving. I didn’t, and they had to really work to pull off tasty morsels by the beakful. I’m guilty of spoiling the chicks on occasion, but leaving the scoby intact seemed to make things more entertaining for both them and me.

 

[hsk1977]

I threw away several extra SCOBYs this weekend. Our girls are 12 weeks old. I would like to let them have one as a treat occasionally if it's safe. I was waiting until they were a bit older. I didn't think about residual caffeine though. I use black tea for my kombucha. Does anyone know if that's still OK?

 

[GastonVegas]

Caffeine in Green Tea Versus Black Tea​

Green and black teas are loaded with antioxidants and phytonutrients that support overall health. Both varieties come from the Camellia Sinensis plant.

When it comes to the caffeine in green tea versus black tea, both beverages contain smaller doses of this stimulant than coffee. 1 cup of green tea has 25-29 mg of caffeine, black tea contains 25-48 mg, a much larger range. Decaf black tea has no more than 5 mg as reported by the Mayo Clinic.

 

[Sally PB]

@GastonVegas, this is an old thread. Thank you for the information.