ok to feed spent grain from brewing beer

[Judy-n-Seth]

Sprouted barley will be much more digestible for chickens compared to non sprouted. It will contain phytase that neutralizes phytic acid that behaves as an anti-nutrient. Plus it has lots of other enzymes that help with digestion. It will still have the carbohydrates and some will be in the form of sugar. So it won't have the protein and fiber of spent barley.

Spent brewers grain is one of the most nutritious and underutilized foods available for man or animal. Very hard to handle safely due to high moisture and tendency to grow pathogens.

 

[oldrooster]

I've been feeding spent grain from a local brewery whenever it's available in addition to commercial GMO free laying ration. The chickens clearly LOVE the wet mash and seem to eat it in preference to just about anything. I decided to run an experiment so see how much commercial ration it was displacing.

Test 1: For several days I fed just the commercial ration giving them as much as they wanted (ie filling their feeder with more than they would eat in a day and subtracting what was left at the end of the day). My 84 hens ate about 16 litres of commercial ration per day.

Test 2: For several days I fed commercial ration and spent beer mash, again giving them as much of each as they wanted. I was extremely surprised (and disappointed) by the results. My 84 hens at about 16 litres of beer mash AND 15 litres of commercial laying ration.

In other words, 16 litres of "free" beer mash displaced only 1 litre of commercial laying ration.

I've been considering possible explanations:

* Maybe the chickens LOVE the beer mash so much they ate twice as much food when the beer mash was available compared to what they normally would.

* Maybe during test 1, the chickens foraged more (they free range over a couple acres of grass pasture) preferring that to the commercial ration. So during test 2, the beer mash may have displace forage rather than commercial ration. While possible, this doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If the commercial laying ration was their least favourite, I would think they'd still forage in preference to that.

* Maybe the beer mash, in the quantities consumed (about 50/50 mash vs layer pellets), was affecting digestion and everything was going right through the chickens. In other words maybe they were pooping everything out without deriving much nutritional value or satisfying their hunger.

Can anyone think of any other possibilities or suggest which explanation might be most likely based on your experience? I'd like to do some further experimentation to determine the optimum amount of mash and commercial ration to feed. Any thoughts on how best to do that?

Thanks in advance.

is the stuff from the brewery also GMO free? if not why do you bother with GMO free feed??????

 

[StevesFarm]

Yes, the brewery sells GMO free beer. The GMO-free movement is very strong where I live (Richmond, BC, Canada). In 2012 city council passed a resolution banning GMO crops in the city. Does that have some relevance to my question that I don't see?

 

[oldrooster]

Yes, the brewery sells GMO free beer. The GMO-free movement is very strong where I live (Richmond, BC, Canada). In 2012 city council passed a resolution banning GMO crops in the city. Does that have some relevance to my question that I don't see?

I did not see in your original post that it was gmo free beer. my question was in thinking that you used regularly sourced beer grains that may or may not be gmo free. so if it was gmo spent grains to me it seemed a waste of money to buy the gmo free feed, if your understanding my meaning. that's what confused me. (unless somehow during brewing somehow it negates whatever may be "wrong" with gmo grains).

 

[oldrooster]

@ this point I have no idea if gmo is good or bad or a mixed bag. not that interested to find out about all the angles of that right now. so please do not read anything into me not being supportive or non-supportive about that subject. I will admit ignorance and will refuse an opinion either direction as a result.....

 

[yakmayar]

I recently came across the spent grains discussion.

We have tons of breweries in Raleigh, NC and I contacted one by our house.
They give most of their spent grains to local farmers, but said I could stop by (as they are putting out spent grains almost daily) and get as much as I need.

My wife and I will be getting baby chicks for the first time next month. How long do we need to wait to feed them spent grains? 5-6 months? a year?
I do not intend to use this to replace their regular food supply, or vegetable scraps, etc.
We will have 6 hens for laying purposed.

Can anyone who has experience with feeding the spent grains give me an idea of how much I should give them and how regularly (daily, only as a treat, weekly, etc.)?

Additionally, I many people have posted about how the spent grains go bad very quickly. Are we talking about 24 hours, a couple days, a week?
The brewery is only 2 miles from my house. I could freeze some, but I would just plan on getting it as needed.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Percheron chick]

The general rule is 10%. Most of the spent grains is water. I give mine around 1/2 C each. I would hold off while they are growing and introduce it closer to POL. What I would do is get a load (a few 55 G barrels) and start a killer compost pile. It can provide tons of food for them.
Freezing it on small cottage cheese containers make great treats in the summer.
I've had 5 G in the summer last 4+ days without spoiling.

 

[yakmayar]

@Percheron chick

Thank you for the information.
A few follow-up questions, as I do not have the savvy regarding chickens as many people do on here.

- We have one compost bin that we fill with vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc. We also have what is probably a 10' x 30' leaf compost pile in the back corner of our yard. When you say it can provide tons of food for them, please elaborate. Do you mean the compost will help us grow things which will in turn feed them? I know it is one thing to feed the chickens scraps, but isn't the compost pile too full of pathogens and other stuff to let them eat from it?

- Does POL mean point of laying?

- I love the idea of the cottage cheese containers. We don't really buy packaged goods, but I'm sure we could collect some containers from neighbors.

 

[Percheron chick]

They will pick out any feed in the compost pile plus you will create a breeding ground for grubs, larvae, worms... It will also sprout seeds from garden waste. Both piles will be well used. They won't use the coffee grinds but everything else is good. You can even place a new compost pile in the run if they are going to be locked up. I dump wheelbarrows of hay and poop for mine to pick through. I've been composting for way too long and i haven't kill myself or my chickens yet. I don't worry about pathogens as the cooking process is going to kill everything and you're not going to use raw compost. Benefits far outweigh any risks. You should realize at least a 50% reduction in feed if your birds can forage. My goal for 2017 is to create a sustainable compost pile(s) and see how far I can reduce my feed bill.

Pool is point of lay. Typically somewhere in the 24-30 week range.

Ziploc bags work for freezing too and easier to pack a bunch in the freezer but they don't pop out nice and clean.

 

[Charli Jo]

What place near 27612 mid n raleigh has very good but low cost grain from Brewery or whereever?? I'm raising friendly beautiful rare breed chicks and have growing flocks..