Brewers Grain

[wildfrogs1]

Has anyone fed "fresh" brewers grain to hogs.
I am able to pick it up the day after it is brewed and it is still wet.
Mostly Barley with some wheat.
Should I feed if right a way or try to dry for latter use.

Thanks in advance.

Stephen

[RoyalValley]

We used some of this for our butcher hog last fall. She ate it, but after a few days I had to mix it with other dryer grain. She just wouldn't eat it exclusively, but some hogs might. I have heard it's pretty high in protein and other nutrients.

[Bfly Farmer]

We feed it wet and the hogs have no problem with it. Ours is a 24% protein barley/wheat mixture. We spread a 400# barrel out between troughs so it can drain and over the few days it takes them to eat it, it starts to dry out.

I will say that our hogs do moderate themselves. They will eat the grain, go out to pasture, come back, and so forth.

[highlands]

We get this time to time from a local brew pub and the pigs as well as the chickens love it. Almost all of our feed is pasture/hay and dairy. The little bit of boiled barley is a nice addition. I give it primarily to the younger pigs. If I had more I would give it to more of them.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[wildfrogs1]

Thanks for the Help.
I picked up some today that was still warm.
How soon should I feed before mold etc. starts to be a problem?
Thanks a Lot
Frog Man

[highlands]

It will mold if warm and time passes. Depending on your weather it could be just a few days. This is a problem in our climate only in the middle of the summer but we get so little that we get it fed out right away and avoid that problem. I would suggest picking up immediately after it is made and using it right away. If you do get moldy barley sometimes you can take off the top several inches and what is below that is fine. If in doubt then mix it in with the compost. Don't feed molds in quantity especially to pregnant sows as some of the molds cause miscarriages.

[wildfrogs1]

Thank you very much Mr. Highlands.

Frogman

[Lazy J]

I did a lot of research with Wet Distillers Grains several years ago. I was trying to find a combination of Organic Acids and an application rate that would preserve the WDG to extend shelf life for livestock producers.

I found that if the WDG was not treated with a preservative it would mold within 3 days during the heat of summer and 5 to 7 days in the spring and fall. Since the moisture acts like a sealant, the WDG underneath the mold layer is fine, but molds very quickly once exposed to air.

In addition to molds, we found that Yeasts loved to grow on the WDG and you would not see a growth as a result like you would with a mold.

If you can get it fed quickly it is a good supplement, but be very careful of any mold growth as you can decrease growth rate, compromise the immune system, induce abortions, and severly inhibit the reproduction if the pigs consume high levels of mycotoxins which are released by molds.

Jim