Feeding Question

luvfarmin04 · #1 03/14/07, 04:43 PM

Has anyone or does anyone feed barley left over from a brewery? The local brewery will give away all the barley they are done with and say it is a good animal feed. Just wondering if anyone has done this. Thanks.

tinknal · #2 03/14/07, 04:54 PM

You should do a little animal nutrition research. It is a good feed but it has it's limitations. Brewers grain has had all the starch (carbs) removed. This means it will provide a good deal of protien and very little energy. I say go for it but educate yourself enough to feed a balanced ration.

rambler · #3 03/14/07, 05:33 PM

As tinknal says. It make a wonderful portion of the feed you need, but be sure you understand what you are getting & what else you will need to feed with it.

--->Paul

Stephen in SOKY · #4 03/14/07, 06:36 PM

Ask the brewery if they have an analysis of their spent grains. I entered into an agreement with our local brewery today & they'll provide a one time analysis showing what's left when they're through brewing.

vallyfarm · #5 03/14/07, 10:41 PM

Buddy's pigs eat that and stuff from the day old bread store with very little else. They grow and taste great. Mike

Tiffin · #6 03/15/07, 05:06 AM

Our local brewery sells it. You're lucky to find it free. We make homebrew and the beefers love the spent grains. They eat hay and pasture grass (summer) for the most part. I would say go for it since it is free; just watch the animals growth.

majik · #7 03/15/07, 10:55 AM

I haven't done it myself, but I know people who do with good success. There is some research being done on alternate feeds here in Ontario. Here's a link:
http://www.searchontario.gov.on.ca/c...tillers+grains

**Terri** · #8 03/15/07, 11:13 AM

I used to work in a feed lab. My memory for numbers is pretty poor, but I recall the protien value for spent CORN to be about 17%. The value of the carbs was nil.

Of course, grain protien is not a complete protien, so you might want to supplement with something that is high in the amino acids that the spent grain lacks.

You are LUCKY to be able to get it for free, by the way!

luvfarmin04 · #9 03/15/07, 04:44 PM

My husband stopped and picked a little up to see if the goats and sheep liked it and the sheep liked it more. There are two local brewerys wanting someone to take what they have and they told me to tell anyone else I might know who would use it. They even supply the garbage can for you to pick it up in. It is nice to know the pigs like it, we get feeder pigs every year and this should come in handy with the price of corn lately!