whole oats or rolled oats?

[bucky52]

My question is what is the difference.My hens love their scratch.I have been reading about the fatty liver syndrome and that feeds high in fat is the culprit.I went to tractor supply to pick up a bag of oats to mix in their scratch,and I did not know which one to buy?any suggestion would be highly appreciated.Scratch seems to have more cracked corn than any other grain.

 

[PolkaDot77]

Whole oats are the whole kernel. In people food, they are often called groats. They are the simplest form of oats as they have just been harvested, cleaned, and the inedible hull has been removed. Rolled oats are groats that have been rolled out flat. I have heard that the process of steaming rolling the whole groats into rolled oats gives them a longer shelf life. My chickens love both. Good luck!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Here is a good explanation of all the different types of oats with handy pictures:

http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/types-of-oats


Whole oats are just cleaned oats but they are still fully functioning seeds. If you plant them, they will grow. Rolled oats are steamed and flattened. Because they have been "processed" in some fashion they are slightly less nutritious BUT they also last longer. They will not grow into a plant. It is basically just old fashioned oatmeal.

Any of the oats on that list are fine for poultry but with each step down you loose a little more nutritional value as they get further from the original plant.

For the most nutrition for you buck you can sprout your whole oats or grow fodder. If you are looking for a grain to buy in bulk as a feed supplement you can go either way depending on your goals.

 

[bucky52]

thanks.i sure appreciate the information.

 

[fiberart57]

I have always fed mine a homemade scratch of whole wheat, racehorse oats, and black oil sunflower seeds and they've done very well. The ratio is 5/5/1.