No oats for our chickens!!

[Ms Clucky]

My chickens are scared of pumpkin. The color. It freaks them out.

 

[mixedbreeds]

First time my chickens saw a pumpkin they thought it was a Death Star but they figured it out in a couple days.

 

[ketojenn]

My chickens go mad for pumpkin, but it took awhile before they went from nope to OMG! Pumpkin!!

 

[Fairview01]

If oats are that bad my chickens should be dead.

 

[Shadrach]

So, I've got some expired steel cut oats, probably fine but my daughter freaks out over best by dates, so I was gonna take it out to the girls for a treat, but THEN I found this article....according to Purina poultry nutritionist, it's really bad for them!

https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-shocking-effect-of-oatmeal/

Firstly, it's never a good idea to believe what you read on the internet; not even on BYC.
The site in question seems to be funded by Purina so it's hardly surprising they will promote their feed.
The science is correct but the assumption is that is all you are feeding your chickens. If you just fed your chickens corn, they would become ill.
Much of the information on that site is incorrect from medication dosages (rather important to get that right) to some of the most ridiculous statements regarding chicken behavior I can recall reading.
The level of knowledge and the quality of the information here on BYC is noticeably better.
I feed oats to the chickens here in small amounts and have for the last eight years. The eldest here is probably 9 years old and the rest range from 8 years old to chicks. None have died from oat poisoning yet.

 

[mixedbreeds]

Yes as said if oats were that bad my chickens would be dead. I don’t feed them that much anyway just in winter for a warm treat and it really does help with pasty butt on chicks. I give it to my Cornish x chicks and it made a world of difference in pasty butt, I put it in the blender and just sprinkle on top of there feed for about a week. I think the Cornish x would blow up if there rear ends were plugged.

 

[Optiker]

I suppose I'll get a lot of controversy on this, but...

Years ago we used to raise 50 cornish cross a year for the freezer and just fed commercial feed. For the past 15 years or so we've raised multiple succeeding flocks from pullet chicks to laying hens for eggs, usually not more than 8 or 10 layers at a time. We started with commercial feed, but somewhere along the line my wife developed a recipe for a high protein feed, a mash recipe and a separate scratch recipe.

We cook the mash in large enough batches to last several weeks and store it in the freezer until a few days before needed, then allow it to thaw in the fridge. 4-5 days worth are stored in a container in the fridge for daily use, then the morning's portion microwaved enough to take the chill off before feeding each morning. We also give them appropriate scraps (apple cores and peelings, veggie scraps, and even meat scraps). Around noon we open their scratch container (closed in the morning) and also feed a treat consisting of perhaps a cup of raw sunflower kernels. Occasionally, when digging in the garden, we collect worms and feed those as well for a snack. They don't seem to care for meal worms. When we want to call them in to the pen after a time of free ranging, we rattle the container of sunflower kernels and they come running.

I don't have the recipes in hand, but both custom feeds are designed to provide a complete diet, including greens (kale, beet tops, etc.) which are chopped and folded into the cooked mash before putting it into containers for the freezer. Emphasis is on high protein. The scratch, which I sometimes mix, includes mostly hard red wheat, oats, rolled oats, a rolled multigrain, and cracked corn.

It's neither he cheapest solution, nor the least labor intensive, but we're satisfied with doing it that way.

Our current flock is only five black australorps after the neighbor's dogs killed three. One of the five has changed sex...he/she has a gorgeous comb and wattles and crows loudly and frequently. We had a suspicion when we caught him/her on top of a hen several times but weren't positive until the crowing and comb. We asked a friend who is a chicken expert and she confirmed that indeed, that happens. So we are down to four laying hens, with only three laying, perhaps residual trauma from the dog attack during which one of the survivors was badly mauled.

We have eight week-old New Hamps in the brooder. The australorps were wonderful, but we switched breeds so we could more easily tell the difference between generations.

Comments expected and welcome.

Maybe this should have been in the "Introduce Yourself" forum!

Optiker

 

[debbieharry]

This research article shows that oats are fine as *part* of chicken diet despite the beta glucan issue the blogger and the Purina scientist are raising:

“Oats (both regular and naked) contain beta-glucans, which can cause digestive problems and sticky litter when fed to poultry. Researchers have reported that up to 40% of naked oats could be included in broiler diets with no adverse effect on growth, feed efficiency, shrinkage, dressing percentage or bone strength.

At 50% inclusion in broiler diets, naked oats have been shown to have a negative effect on some sensory quality parameters (tenderness, juiciness and to some extent stringiness and rubberiness). This was not found at the 25% inclusion level. Some research reports indicate that up to 66% of naked oats can be included in layer diets with no adverse effects on egg yolk, feed intake, egg weight, or egg production.”
https://afs.ca.uky.edu/poultry/using-oats-poultry-diets

 

[Aapomp831]

This is correct.

I never advocate feeding chickens oats. It really is bad for them.

Just like bread and other high carbohydrate foods. I’ve heard too many carbs can contribute to sour crop as well.