What are sour oats?

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Stick with oats. Same as used to grain feed horses so should available anywhere people keep horses. Do not use sweet feed mixture.

 

[chickenbaguette]

Ok. Countrywide has lots of stuff for horses so maybe I just have to look harder

Thanks again!

 

[Chemguy]

Soaking should work well with any whole grain. So will fermentation, over time; barley, oats or wheat for beer, corn for whiskey. Keeping the soaked grain chilled will slow down fermentation significantly. The amount of time needed to sour will no doubt vary with the type and quality of grain. I suppose that folk who make their own beer could and do feed the barley filtered off from the wort. Does anyone reading do this?

 

[chickenbaguette]

I think people do do that with the used grains from alcoholic stuff. I used to soak corn just until it swelled and went juicy, and they love that. I'll start doing that again at least

I hear fermentation is good for bacteria for their insides too.

 

[centrarchid]

Relative to other grains I have access to such as corn / maize, wheat, barley and soybeans; oats are the way to go in respect to impacts on the birds and cost.

 

[chickenbaguette]

They're cheaper? I'd have thought they were more expensive.

 

[LRV555]

The lady that used to write ( or may still do so) for the Poultry Press newsletter always soaked oats in buttermilk.

 

[chickenbaguette]

Oo very nice! Unfortunately I don't have any buttermilk...

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Oats cheaper than wheat yet better for performance than corn. Try all side by side and let chickens tell you what they like. The cornfed birds might get a little fat.

 

[Chemguy]

Quote:
I never do, when I need it. And, when I have it, I only use about 1/8 of the container. There is a powder available that can be dissolved in water to give reconstituted buttermilk, found in the baking supplies aisle of a grocery store. If you find you would like to try and keep using buttermilk, I suggest using the powder.