Got 200+lbs of soybeans given to me... here's what I'm gonna do

[jabowery]

I'm thinking of taking one of those big garbage cans, filling it about 2/3 with raw soybeans, wrapping it in old sleeping bags, pouring scalding water on them until the beans are covered, waiting until the temperature has dropped to around 95F, mixing in a bunch of tempeh I got from an organic grocer, covering it and letting it sit for a week.

Then feed _that_ to the chickens.

Yeah, I know -- you're supposed to keep the temperature at 88F and all sorts of things which I can't afford to do.

Anyone try anything like this?

 

[pigeonguy]

I thought they had to be roasted so now I'm curious if this works.

 

[pigeonguy]

I thought they had to be roasted so now I'm curious if this works.

Surprised no one commented. I would really like to know. I have access to lots of soy beans.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I think you'll just end up with a big nasty mess, since that is NOT how you make Tempeh

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

All soy products fed to chickens commercially are roasted.

It is toxic unless roasted. You can roast them in the oven! That is what I would do.

 

[jabowery]

All soy products fed to chickens commercially are roasted.

It is toxic unless roasted. You can roast them in the oven! That is what I would do.

Are you willing to state that fermented soybeans are toxic if they are not previously cooked?

 

[jabowery]

I think you'll just end up with a big nasty mess, since that is NOT how you make Tempeh

I'm not concerned about whether its a big nasty mess or making tempeh.

I'm concerned with fermenting soybeans without cooking them and whether the fermented product is any better for the chickens than raw soybeans.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://www.ehow.com/how_2183093_natto-fermented-soy-beans.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nattō

Here are a couple of links but they mention that to ferment them you must pressure cook or steam them. Sorry I have no experience with this.

 

[jabowery]

I just tried something even lazier.

I dug a couple of holes. Filled them with raw soybeans. Soaked them with water. In one of the soaked soybeans I put about a 1/3 packet of tempeh -- crumbled up and mixed around a bit.

Then I covered them both with soil to an inch or two.

I figure _something_ in the soil is going to rot those soibeans even if the Rhizopus oligosporus (tempeh fungus) doesn't. At that point, it will smell like the worst thing you can imagine, although I buried them next to the compost bin way out back so I'm not worried bout the smell. Since the chicken house is near the compost bin, I figure they'll smell the rot and start scratching through the top layer of soil.

I'll let you know if I see any dead chickens in the next few weeks after they've dug through the soil.

Here's some pictures:

Foreground is the already-covered tempeh-seeded pit.


Top view of already-covered tempeh-seeded pit.


Other pit, not yet filled.


Soybeans in container for scale.


Soybeans in pit.


Waterlogged soybean pit.


And now both pits are covered.

 

[Celie]

Hi Pigeonguy's, How did this experiment turn out? I read in another thread that you were using 30% protein Poultry base in your FF. Can you tell me what it contains? I asked for it at my local feed store, but they didn't know what it was. How much protein did the soybeans contain? I would imagine pretty high, since it is a legume and a meat substitute. I would like to grow some of my own turkey feed and was thinking about Soy-beans! Any information or advise you can give me would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance