Oats - Yay or Nay

[Hillschicks]

Do oats have any nutritional value for chickens?? Is it worth the bother of getting oats??

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Oats have more nutritional value than corn. They are highest in protein of the cereal grains. An added value is that they aren't GMO like corn and soybeans.
They don't generate the heat that corn or wheat do so in summer the only seed I use for scratch is oats.
As winter approaches I replace the oats with wheat and BOSS.

 

[Hillschicks]

Figures... My chickens scrape oats out of the way to get to the corn

 

[Chris09]

Oats have more nutritional value than corn. They are highest in protein of the cereal grains. An added value is that they aren't GMO like corn and soybeans.
They don't generate the heat that corn or wheat do so in summer the only seed I use for scratch is oats.
As winter approaches I replace the oats with wheat and BOSS.

Corn will not "generate" heat it is digested way to easy, in fact raw oats can give off more "heat" than corn or wheat do to it's fiber content and it taking longer to digest than corn and wheat.

Chris

 

[donrae]

When I fed out some old cob--corn, oats and barley---the oats were the last to go. Now, rolled oats, like you use for oatmeal, those are a big treat. Go figger.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

All the university poultry research I've read shows the heat energy generated comes from the starch in the grain, not the fiber.

 

[horsiefly53]

There was an article in Backyard Poultry Mag about feeding oats. I don't know which issue becasue I give them to my friend but it was recent. I fed regular old fashioned oats for people until I found out you can get rolled oat groats at the feed store, which is basically the same thing. They all love the oats, including chicks, maybe especially chicks. I feed 1/3 to 1/2 oats, flock raiser (brand of crumbles), and throw out a mix of grains for scratch that includes a lot of dry rice which they also love.

 

[Chris09]

All the university poultry research I've read shows the heat energy generated comes from the starch in the grain, not the fiber.

Would you like to post these University poultry research papers that you are talking about?

Yes corn is a high energy feedstuff at 1.78 DE Mcal/lb, .98 NEm Mcal/lb and .67 NEg Mcal/lb but that energy is burned up quickly.
A feedstuff that is fibrous or a protein is harder to break down so the body produces more heat wile breaking down that feedstuff than it would with corn which is much more easily broke down by the body.

You may also what to look into feed poultry to reduce Heat Stress, I think that you will find that they recommend lowering protein and high fibrous feedstuff.

Chris