Homebrewers! Do you feed your flock mash?

[MoSo]

We brew our own beer (extract method) and grind our own grains. Fellow homebrewers, do you feed your chickens the left-over cooked grains?

 

[Bob Cajun]

I haven't brewed since we got our chickens but I will certainly feed them the spent grains when I do. There is quite a bit of nutrients left in the grains. I made a batch of blueberry wine and gave the chickens the leftover pressed fruit. They gobbled it up and pooped blue for a day or so afterwards.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

Our girls are so spoiled they wouldn't touch it. Silly birds.

 

[al6517]

What are the down side to feeding the spent mash ??.

AL

 

[haTHOR]

any other opinions? dh brews and i'd like to give the mash to the birds.

 

[Taylor]

can't see why thay couldn't

 

[Schultz]

We have gone to local breweries for spent mash, it is very good for them and our girls love it, bad side effect is that it doesn't keep for long unless you freeze it. Our local brewery would give us a 55 gallon barrel and it wouldn't last long at all because of the fermentation process causes it to spoil quickly. Girls love it though and I love free feed!

 

[dragonlair]

Possible side effect-having to send your chickens to AA?

 

[felixhoy]

Cooked grain? I don't think a downside could exist and especially for free. If we had a brewery nearby I would visit them often. I have not used alcohol in years but do feed my birds a warm cooked mash every morning. We heat with wood and the cooking costs only a bit of time.
My Americanas came to laying several weeks before a friends did and we got our birds in the same shipment. I atribute this early laying to the warm mash in the freezing mornings.
The leftover mash from the brewery may be tilled into the garden and not wasted.

 

[DaveD]

Is the spent mash only a waste, that the brewery would be happy to give away?

-David