Oats

[Hans52]

My question is oats or no oats at all
It was -30. C here last night and I like to give my chickens a bit of a warm breakfast so I cooked up some oats added some sunflower seeds raisins and a hand full of their regular food
They of course loved it
Than I started reading about it and noticed a few articles that tell me that oats are not ok because of……..
Do I worry? Are there any alternatives like buckwheat rice or barley?
Or should I just use their layer food snd mix it with water and heat it up
Any suggestions would be very welcome
Also heard conflicting ideas about protecting combs and wattles from frost bite
I know about the humidity factor in this but some say use Vaseline and others say protect it with special ointment made of beeswax and essences of different herbs
Again any feed back would be great
I am not about how to learn to knit some cute chickenhead hats
Hans52

 

[cherrynberry]

Again any feed back would be great
I am not about how to learn to knit some cute chickenhead hats
Hans52

Same here

The internet can do that. Conflicting information is the worst! I have fed rolled oats with no issues. Just don't overfeed them, since it is a treat. Remember that anything else other than their "normal" food is considered a treat. The more treats fed, the less balanced their diet is.

I have nothing to say about the frostbite, its not something I have to deal with living in CA. The only thing I can recommend is to keep the coop draft-free and dry. Good luck!

 

[WIchickMama]

Same here

The internet can do that. Conflicting information is the worst! I have fed rolled oats with no issues. Just don't overfeed them, since it is a treat. Remember that anything else other than their "normal" food is considered a treat. The more treats fed, the less balanced their diet is.

I have nothing to say about the frostbite, its not something I have to deal with living in CA. The only thing I can recommend is to keep the coop draft-free and dry. Good luck!

Same here, I have fed some oats to my chickens as well, but as treats only

As for the frostbite, our temps have been in the -10s and feeling like -20s over the last month or so. Draft free and dry are #1--the dry comes with lots of ventilation. Trying to keep the temps as close to outside is good, and the humidity down. My girls coop was -8 this morning and they all came out looking great! Added some electrolytes to their water this morning for a boost and will give them a little extra protein for their treat today (tuna/mealworms/etc)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

So... Its not (mostly) conflicting information. Mostly its conflicting interpretations of the same information, often influenced by differing assumptions.

In *small* quantity, oats are fine, and used in poultry feed around the world. Oats, like any feed ingredient, has some anti-nutritive properties which become problematic in quantity. If you are prepared for that, compensate for it, or otherwise address it - no issues.

If you are ignorant of those potential problems and feed to excess? Real issues.

Oats are very high in beta-glucans. Those can slow the passage of food thru the digestion tract, and affect the uptake of certain nutrients. In humans, that can be a good thing. In poultry, generally not. It also contributes to sticky droppings - something best avoided, particularly in extreme cold. So much less concern for my climate than yours. But more concern for Brahma and other feather-footed breeds (likelihood of it sticking to the feet, and thus making frostbite conditions potentially greater, as well as the enhanced disease vector if one of the flock has some parasite transmitted via fecals...)

OTOH, if you have a very small flock, using supermarket "enriched" rolled oats out of the breakfast aisle can be a big vitamin boost for your birds if the diet is otherwise lacking. (I don't recommend trying to make your own feed - or to "fix" your feed with home solutions - but desperate times...)

Buckwheat is ultimately less nutritious in many ways, but also less concerning for its anti-nutritive properties, because it has fewer of them. I plan to plant some myself this year for that reason.

tl;dr? It Depends. You can certainly "F" around and find out, at risk to your flock, or you can do some deep reading. Start here.

As a general rule, treat things other than commercially complete feed as "treats" and offer no more (in total) than 10% of the daily diet, by weight, daily. Particularly if you are feeding layer, which is already (usually) a minimum nutritional value diet.

My general recommend for the typical backyard owner, of the typical backyard flock, with typical backyard management practices? Oyster Shell and Grit available free choice at all times. Feed a "Flock Raiser/All Flock"-type feed to all of your birds, all of the time, all of their lives (loosely, 18-20% protein, 3.5% fat +/-, 3.5% fiber +/-, calcium around 1-1.5%). and if you want to serve it as a wet mash in oatmeal like consistency with hot water, or as a fermented feed? Go ahead.

Lay off the treats. Birds will chase thrown All Flock just like they chase after scratch.

/edit and if you have the needed enzymes, as commercial mills generally do, you can put quite a lot of oats into a feed with very little concern. One of the reasons you can't just look at a feed bag and say "this is full of "X", its the first or second ingredient - therefore my home made feed can contain lots of "X" too."

 

[Henny Penney]

My general recommend for the typical backyard owner, of the typical backyard flock, with typical backyard management practices? Oyster Shell and Grit available free choice at all times. Feed a "Flock Raiser/All Flock"-type feed to all of your birds, all of the time, all of their lives (loosely, 18-20% protein, 3.5% fat +/-, 3.5% fiber +/-, calcium around 1-1.5%). and if you want to serve it as a wet mash in oatmeal like consistency with hot water, or as a fermented feed? Go ahead.

Could you give brand recommendations for an “all flock”? I am starting over with chickens after a 6 yr hiatus, the rescue pair we were given will not eat the all-purpose from local feed store I fed previously, for 45 yrs. I am giving them Scratch and Peck Grower, recommended by person who had this pair in her flock (these two for only a few mo) but they pick out certain grains and leave others, an expensive waste. They aren’t interested in fermented feed. They are small OEG bantams, I’m wondering if the grain they leave behind is too lg for them.

oh, they will not be totally free range, as all my previous chickens were, we no longer have a dog, we live where there are many predators, they do however have an “outer” pen outside their coop yard where they scratch around for the usual when we can be outside nearby. They are fed chopped greens daily, which they love.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Could you give brand recommendations for an “all flock”? I am starting over with chickens after a 6 yr hiatus, the rescue pair we were given will not eat the all-purpose from local feed store I fed previously, for 45 yrs. I am giving them Scratch and Peck Grower, recommended by person who had this pair in her flock (these two for only a few mo) but they pick out certain grains and leave others, an expensive waste. They aren’t interested in fermented feed. They are small OEG bantams, I’m wondering if the grain they leave behind is too lg for them.

oh, they will not be totally free range, as all my previous chickens were, we no longer have a dog, we live where there are many predators, they do however have an “outer” pen outside their coop yard where they scratch around for the usual when we can be outside nearby. They are fed chopped greens daily, which they love.

If Organic and GMO are not important to you (they are not to me), Purina Flock Raiser's guaranteed nutrition label is, in my view, somewhat superior to Nutrena's All Flock, though both are perfectly acceptable, widely available products I've used without issue. Anything with similar nutrition is just fine.

I could explain why I think Purina better, but that would be a lengthy post (which I've made before - its searchable) I don't have time to repeat at the moment.

Currently, and for the foreseeable future, I use feed from a family feed store, straight from the local mill (and cheaper than buying at said mill).

If you have another feed in mind, routinely in stock, routinely fresh, at a price point you find acceptable, let us know - I can probably find time today to glance at its label, if its available on line.

 

[WIchickMama]

I use the Purina All Flock and never had any issues and the girls are all healthy and laying fine. Need an extra container with oyster shells though.

 

[cherrynberry]

Could you give brand recommendations for an “all flock”? I am starting over with chickens after a 6 yr hiatus, the rescue pair we were given will not eat the all-purpose from local feed store I fed previously, for 45 yrs. I am giving them Scratch and Peck Grower, recommended by person who had this pair in her flock (these two for only a few mo) but they pick out certain grains and leave others, an expensive waste. They aren’t interested in fermented feed. They are small OEG bantams, I’m wondering if the grain they leave behind is too lg for them.

Whole grain may not be a good idea for them. I recommend Purina, purely because it works and is a brand that stores restock on quite often.

 

[Henny Penney]

If Organic and GMO are not important to you (they are not to me), Purina Flock Raiser's guaranteed nutrition label is, in my view, somewhat superior to Nutrena's All Flock, though both are perfectly acceptable, widely available products I've used without issue. Anything with similar nutrition is just fine.

I could explain why I think Purina better, but that would be a lengthy post (which I've made before - its searchable) I don't have time to repeat at the moment.

Currently, and for the foreseeable future, I use feed from a family feed store, straight from the local mill (and cheaper than buying at said mill).

If you have another feed in mind, routinely in stock, routinely fresh, at a price point you find acceptable, let us know - I can probably find time today to glance at its label, if its available on line.

Thanks for the brand suggestions. I’ll need to shop around and see what’s available locally. Organic is important, but so is finding something they will eat! And available in less than 25-40# bags!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thanks for the brand suggestions. I’ll need to shop around and see what’s available locally. Organic is important, but so is finding something they will eat! And available in less than 25-40# bags!

Nutrena's "Naturewise" line is **NOT** what you think that word means. Fair warning.

AAFCO voluntary labelling requirements
Commentary on "Natural"