Can guinea pigs eat spent grains?

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MikeFallopian

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We have two guinea pigs and a rabbit at home, and I was wondering, rather than throwing out my spent grains, could I feed them to our guinea pigs or the rabbit?
 
I don't see why not. I make cookies and bread out of the spent grains. I give the cookies to my dog, and he LOVES them.
 
They'll have to eat them pretty fast or the wet grains will putrify. Or you could dry them out.

I don't see why it wouldn't make good feed for them, though. Try it and report back. :)
 
I don't see why not. I make cookies and bread out of the spent grains. I give the cookies to my dog, and he LOVES them.

Have heard of people doing this before - do you just shape them and bake them? Any specifics you can provide will be appreciated as I don't compost and have two voracious pugs!
 
Have heard of people doing this before - do you just shape them and bake them? Any specifics you can provide will be appreciated as I don't compost and have two voracious pugs!

I think I read an issue of Zymurgy recently that had some spent grains recipes for dog treats and such. If memory serves me right, it was from earlier this year, maybe march/April...
 
Sure you can. Their system might need the roughage. Remember though, there is minimal nutritional value remaining in the spent grains, depending on your efficiency, cause you already mashed them out. Those sugars you extracted are the same carbs your pets want.
 
Have heard of people doing this before - do you just shape them and bake them? Any specifics you can provide will be appreciated as I don't compost and have two voracious pugs!

Here's the recipe I've been using. I found it on here awhile back, but I can't remember who posted it. My dog goes nuts for them.

4 cups spent grain
2 cups flour
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs

Mix ingredients, push onto cookie sheet like it's a pizza dough. Cut almost all the way through the dough into small shapes. Cook at 350F for a half hour. Then pull out the treats and break them apart on the cookie sheet. Cook for another 3-4 hours (this is what the recipe says, but I've found that an hour is sufficient) until very dry. Store them airtight. I freeze them until I'm running low, then I'll pull a bag out.
 
Here's the recipe I've been using. I found it on here awhile back, but I can't remember who posted it. My dog goes nuts for them.

4 cups spent grain
2 cups flour
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs

Mix ingredients, push onto cookie sheet like it's a pizza dough. Cut almost all the way through the dough into small shapes. Cook at 350F for a half hour. Then pull out the treats and break them apart on the cookie sheet. Cook for another 3-4 hours (this is what the recipe says, but I've found that an hour is sufficient) until very dry. Store them airtight. I freeze them until I'm running low, then I'll pull a bag out.

Thanks for sharing - will give this a shot!
 
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