Untreated Seed Grade Whole Grains - Use for feed & kitchen?

[noobiechickenlady]

My feed store carries whole oats, corn, milo & wheat. The wheat & oats are seed grade, the corn & milo are feed grade. However, the seed grade are untreated and my supplier says he feeds his horses the seed grade oats.
Can I use these for chicken feed, and more importantly, can I grind these up for MY use? What can I expect when I purchase them?

The oats I got a look at, and they appeared to be regular whole oats, without a lot of dross (plant material, etc). The wheat I am unable to preview, as they did not have any in stock.

These prices are cheaper by far than any I've seen online, plus I won't have to pay shipping. The oats are $9.50/50lb. bag.

 

[freemotion]

That is what I feed when I can get it....seed grade will be plump, full grains with lots of food value. "Feed Grade" is thin, mostly hull and less food value. It is usually what they screen out from the seed grade. I feed barley, oats, and corn, and would feed wheat if I could get it here.

You won't be able to use it for your own use unless you can figure out how to hull it. Not worth the effort, IMO. Ask if they can get the grains hulled, it will be more than $9.50, but maybe not the $50 or more that I have to pay here!

You will be able to sprout it, too, if you are so inclined. Great find!

ETA: I have picked through feed grade corn to get enough nice-looking kernels to make cornmeal. The kernels are big, so it is doable. Not so much fun with wheat. I did it once. Never again, unless we have nothing else to eat....literally.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Thanks, free! They had several different types of oats, not just hulled. Steamed rolled and 2-3 others that I can't remember off the top of my head. From what I'm reading, the hulling process is less damaging to the germ of an oat. If they have hulled whole oats, those would be a better bet, yeah?

While searching for how to hull grains, I came across this. It seems fairly straight-forward. Have to wonder how effective it will be.
http://www.savingourseed.org/pdf/grain_dehuller.pdf

I think I will end up buying a bag of each, at the least, I can feed it to my chickens. And if the huller works as well as the grain grinder, I might just be in business.

The feed corn looked fantastic by the way, lots of great sized whole corn kernels, very few broken bits, just like what I've paid several dollars per pound for at the whole foods store. I bet it would be fine for cornmeal.

 

[freemotion]

The food grade oats will be called oat groats, whole.

I prefer as little processing as possible for my feed grains. Even rolling grains or cracking corn begins the spoiling of the grain. Rancid=free radicals=health problems and weakened immune system. We are bombarded in our environments in ways we cannot control, so my philosophy is to control as much as I can and reduce the impact. I have found no reduction in productivity in any of my animals, it seems I have less illness here than many people I know have to deal with. Free-ranging helps, and I bring fresh "range" to any confined animals, like the chicks and the turkeys (until I can keep them confined within my pasture!)

So for the critters, get the whole oats, hulls and all. For you, oat groats, wheat berries, and borrow corn from the feed sack! Unless you have success with the huller, let us know. Cool link!

You will still need a protein source for your chickens if they are not free-ranging all day with lots of access to bugs and worms. They can balance their own ration if you provide separate containers for grains and protein. And give them three weeks to switch to whole grains, as they need to develop a stronger crop to deal with it. They will likely think that they can't eat the whole corn, but will figure it out quickly enough and then run for it! It makes a cool sound when I first throw grain out for my flock and they all dive for the corn first. A strange, soft clicking sound as they pick up the kernels with their beaks.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Thanks again, free. I got my copy of Nourishing Traditions via inter-library loan yesterday and I've been reading it exclusively. I normally rotate between several books all in the same time period. It makes total sense that when you break open the protective coating the seed isn't as stable. Thats why I'm attempting to get whole grains. This book is going to change my life, I can feel it. Caught DH reading it this morning

The chicks are completely free range, all day unless its raining and we have tons of bugs. They like to follow the lawn mower around the yard catching all the run aways.

So just slip in a few whole grains with the cracked they already get and increase the amount over 3 weeks?

The huller linked to works for rice & spelt, the local antiques store has several old-timey farm & kitchen implements for reasonable prices, I'm betting they have a huller I can get just to experiment on. I'll let everyone know how it works.

 

[freemotion]

Yup, just start replacing some of their food with whole grains until they are all switched over. You might start with the smaller grains, and scatter it like scratch before you feed them. Unless you use a feeder that is full all the time....then I need to know how you deal with the rodents!

 

[modern_pioneer]

Here's a link I have booked marked because once I get my head around some stuff, I am going to have a look.

http://www.howeseeds.com/ordernow.html

 

[freemotion]

Oh, and don't forget, the chickens need real rock grit when feeding whole grains. Not just the oyster shell that is mis-labeled as grit. I get crushed granite for the winter months, or if you have a source of sharpish crushed rock, save some in a bucket if you live in a snow and ice-covered area. Stream bed sand is too round.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Yeah, mine get crushed granite as well, and have been since they were turned outside. I also see them in my gravel driveway occasionally, picking up rocks.

If I order online, it will probably be through www.honeyvillegrain.com . I've heard many good things about their customer service and products, both from RL friends & reading on this site.

The only reason I am looking at the feed store is they have pretty high quality ingredients for really low prices. I got to look at the oats & corn and they are simply beautiful. I found out yesterday that the oats & corn are locally grown even better!

Whole oats are 9.50/50lb bag, whole red wheat is 12.50/50lb bag, corn is 9.75/50lb bag.

 

[freemotion]

Those are great prices. Even if it is not suitable for your table, it is much cheaper for your birds....and healthier. Just be sure to give them a wide variety of foods if you have a harsh winter and the free-ranging doesn't supplement their diet well. Sprout some of the smaller grains to increase protein, just sprout until a little nub emerges. I also feed all the scraps and bones from broth-making, well-boiled and mashed with a potato masher. In spring-summer-fall, I freeze that in bags to feed in winter. They go nuts for it! And they lay well all winter in my uninsulated coop.