Rice Bran

[thylton]

Does anyone use rice bran in their feed mix. I live in rice country and it is very cheap, will it hurt my birds.

thylton

 

[Percheron chick]

You can but I would use it rather sparingly. It's relatively high in fat and calories so you can end up with fat non laying hens and it doesn't have much of a balanced vitamin and mineral profile. The biggest problem with feeding a large amount of it is if it is not fortified with Ca, it has a grossly inverted Ca of 1:25 when you need more like a 6:1.

I would maybe sprinkle a few T per hen over their feed if they were laying. They will have nice soft and glossey feathers. If they are molting, it is high in protein and energy so it would help lay down new feathers and you wouldn't need to worry about the Ca because they aren't laying.

Feed it to your dogs and other livestock.