Nuts are expensive, high fat sources. They have their uses - but I tend to look for them last, since they also go rancid fast. But mostly cause they are expensive.
new research debunks trad views on nutrition
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Thanks, I hadn’t considered the shelf life.
The more ingredients I add to the list the easier it seems to be reaching the targets, I’m starting to think that with enough variety it’d be quite difficult to get wrong.
If you switched sides we might win this battle of finding safe alternatives to big ag and their processed food. Join us
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I can't compete on a cost basis, even at 500# a month. Trust me, I did the math.Thanks, I hadn’t considered the shelf life.
The more ingredients I add to the list the easier it seems to be reaching the targets, I’m starting to think that with enough variety it’d be quite difficult to get wrong.
If you switched sides we might win this battle of finding safe alternatives to big ag and their processed food. Join us
I can believe that, it’s less of an issue for me with so few beaks to feed.
It’s optimal health I’m interested in which I believe is the best thing to invest in with the limited funds I have. That and I can’t find a suitable gluten/oat free alternative.
It’ll be interesting to compare costs when/if I get this working, by including plenty of ingredients in the mix it doesn’t seem so extravagant adding expensive ingredients if they’re only 2% of the total.
Some I can forage or grow myself so that will help, and if they would eat more of a blended mix to get what they need at the different stages of life than they would if they could self select it might even out the cost.
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Eggs have about 15 mcg per serving.
There is a list of foods here rich in selenium. The recommendations are based on human DV.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/
I will always have fresh, complete feed for my birds regardless of what else is available. The do get some eggs, fresh vegetables and very rarely meat scraps or grains in small amounts.
Eggs from hens who have been eating commercial feed with selenium added if needed to reach the standard percentages have about 15 mcg per serving.
"...The Se concentration in the eggs was approximately equal to the dietary Se level..." source in picture
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Yes. Why I added
"I will always have fresh, complete feed for my birds regardless of what else is available. The do get some eggs, fresh vegetables and very rarely meat scraps or grains in small amounts."
I started an osteoporosis thread
here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/osteoporosis.1581069/
to not derail this topic.
Thank you all, for your concern
I don't know how well chickens like nuts. I've been meaning to chop a brazil nut up and see if mine will eat it. I can do that next week, probably. I thought, if they did eat it, to put a dish out and try to see how much they ate - as part if my project of growing my own feed. I can't grow brazil nuts here but if they are all I need to buy, I would consider the project a success.
I would rather risk the toxicity rather than wonder if they are eating the nuts for the selenium or for something else.... at least in the testing period.
But, if you want to go about it differently:
Cashews are the next richest nut source with 12 µg per ounce.
Pistachios have about 7
Walnuts have about 5
Almonds have about 4
For perspective, Brazil nuts have about 1917
None of the sources that give these numbers say where the nuts they tested were grown.
About 99% of the walnuts grown commercially in the US are grown in California's central valley. I think if you are feeding walnuts from your own trees that it would matter how much selenium is in your soil like it does for grain.
Oh. This study about how the amount of selenium in soil correlates to the amount in the brazil nuts grown in that soil covers this aspect well...
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and for reference, the selenium needs of a commercial layer are usually given as about 60 micrograms - with maximum allowed supplimentation in the feed being half that number, 30 micrograms. 100g of dried brown rice (roughly a half cup) has (average) 22-30 micrograms of selenium.
And, oddly enough se enriched brown rice is more shelf stable than varieties not selected for higher selenium levels, so it tends to be what you find on the grocery shelf - unless you are buying brown rice local in an area whose soils are known to be Se deficient - in which case, ask the farmer what he's growning - he should know.
Obviously, you can't feed your chooks 200g of uncooked rice each day - it may provide the selenium, but its deficient in about every other major metric except calories and fiber. (it is good on a number of other minerals of course)
And, oddly enough se enriched brown rice is more shelf stable than varieties not selected for higher selenium levels, so it tends to be what you find on the grocery shelf - unless you are buying brown rice local in an area whose soils are known to be Se deficient - in which case, ask the farmer what he's growning - he should know.
Obviously, you can't feed your chooks 200g of uncooked rice each day - it may provide the selenium, but its deficient in about every other major metric except calories and fiber. (it is good on a number of other minerals of course)
Oh, yay!
The rest of the study about the Brazil nuts talked about the difference the acidity of the soil makes in how much selenium the trees can uptake. People with marginal amounts in their soil and acidic soil may be able get enough by liming a plot of their land. Actually, they probably already are spreading lime if they are soil testing.
The rest of the study about the Brazil nuts talked about the difference the acidity of the soil makes in how much selenium the trees can uptake. People with marginal amounts in their soil and acidic soil may be able get enough by liming a plot of their land. Actually, they probably already are spreading lime if they are soil testing.
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