feeding wet distillers grains

[muddymomma]

we get fresh/wet distillers grains from a small distillery for free, mostly wheat but some rye and some corn also. i layer it with whole grains (wheat and/or barley) and cover with water and ferment for a week for the pigs. i've also been feeding this to my birds since they seem to like it, along with some fodder and they also free range. they get free choice minerals and also a grit/calcium supplement. is there anything else they need? i've been trying to stay away from commercial chicken feed and prefer to make up my own. we're getting so much of the distillers grains ive filled the incubator with a test batch of barnyard chicks to see how they do on the grains alone for meat production for our personal use.

 

[Torch404]

It seems like the mashing and cooking would strip the grains of most of their nutritional value. Leaving mostly insoluble fiber remaining. maybe someone knows for sure but I think you're going to need something more balanced. You could see if any local feed mills mix their own feed and that way you don't have to rely on processed feed.

 

[muddymomma]

It's actually got lots of good stuff esp after it's been fermented further. High protein (though incomplete I think) lots of probiotics and other stuff based on my research. http://www.feedipedia.org/node/4265
That's where I got a lot of info but frankly some of it sounds like it's in a foreign language lol! There's not a ton of research on wet wheat distillers grain online that I've found, most distillers grains are corn, or they're dried which changes the nutritional profile.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Here's another feedipedia page - brewers grains:
http://www.feedipedia.org/node/74

Read through both the feedipedia pages - it's a good supplement, but I have a hard time believing you're gonna get good performance out of it using it as a complete feed.

from the feedipedia page:

; Onifade et al., 1998).
Laying hens

In laying hens, 10% brewers grains did not depress egg production (Yeong et al., 1986 ; Jensen et al., 1976). Higher inclusion rates such as 20% (Branckaert et al., 1970) and 30% were found to be adequate (Deltoro López et al., 1981a). Levels higher than 30% depressed performance and a 90% inclusion rate caused enormous body weight losses and inhibition of the lay (Branckaert et al., 1970; Deltoro López et al., 1981a).