Preparing Spent Grains for Chickens

[JayZeus]

Hello everyone! I have heard & read that free range chickens enjoy consuming spent grains which is awesome. I've got a buddy that just started a chicken coup a year ago and they are laying well for him...

My question is, What do I need to do to my spent grains so he can benefit from them? Throw them in some plastic bags while they're still hot n steamy? Wring 'em out and toss em in a bucket still damp? Spread them on a baking sheet and dry them out in the oven?

TIA

 

[Sam_92]

I put my spent grains into a five gallon bucket and deliver them to my sister-in-laws chickens the next day. If I can't make it in a day or two I just dump them on my compost pile.

 

[Golddiggie]

I put mine into a bucket and bring them to the woman with chickens a short distance from me on brew day. I get them over as soon as possible and let her do as she wants. In the cooler months, they can last longer than during the hot/summer days/months. Since she also at least rinses out the bucket before bringing it back to me, I don't know if any has spoiled on her. I'm glad that the chickens LOVE them (producing more/larger eggs when they eat the grains). Added benefit is that I don't need to toss the grains into the trash barrels. Since I don't have a compost pile/bin nor can I set one up where I am.

 

[smccollu]

I provide my spent grains to a coworker and it sometimes takes a couple weeks to coordinate a time to pass them off. I’ve had them get really smelly and moldy and the chickens could care less. He tells me they will eat just about anything.

 

[scrap iron]

I have a plastic tub I dump them in on brew day. After I have rinsed out the BK and MT and the grains have cooled I give the chickens several scoops and the rest goes on the compost pile along with spent hops. Be sure to give the chickens some grit to help them process the grains.

 

[JaggersBrewingCo]

I take them after mash to them at mash temp, often with in about 10 mins they are on it and eating them.

Chickens also like spent hops if you use a hop basket. Mine normally eat them all gone with in five mins also. I use a hop basket for anything over an oz of hops for a five gallon batch for them.

Couple pre coffee notes:
If you do use spent grain a word of advise - You will attract mice, rats, and etc to that area. - I dump my grains in a big plastic bin for them with holes drilled in the bottom. Mine chickens normally seem to like to let the grains ferment for a few days and draw bugs to the area then they go to town on the scrape bin. I try and turn the bin over onto the grain one a week or so and then they scratch through all that again. At that point it becomes dirt for the area.

 

[scrap iron]

I take them after mash to them at mash temp, often with in about 10 mins they are on it and eating them.

Chickens also like spent hops if you use a hop basket. Mine normally eat them all gone with in five mins also. I use a hop basket for anything over an oz of hops for a five gallon batch for them

I didn't know hops were safe for chickens, I know to keep them away from dogs. I'm going to start giving them some spent hops now, they are supposed to be good for their gut. Thanks.

 

[T Murph]

I've always just spread them out on the ground, the chickens love to scratch around on them. If they sat around a few days and started molding toss them into the compost pile.

 

[day_trippr]

No prep here, I just let the grains cool overnight then spread them out in the next door neighbor's coop...

Cheers!

 

[BrewChem]

I transfer the spent grains to a 5 gallon bucket then walk them out back to the coop. Just shake them out around the coop and the birds pounce on them..!

 

[marc1]

I plop my BIAB into a bucket when it's done for easy and mess free transport. The next day I'll take it outside, dump the grains out of the bag into the bucket, then dump the bucket into their food bowls in the coop. It overflows, and may take a couple days for them to finish, but they like it.

 

[TkmLinus]

My birds have access to the compost. So I just dump the warm grains on the compost and they take care of it from there!

 

[keggert]

I let them cool a bit, put them in a bucket and call one of the people I know who has chickens. No prep is really necessary, the chicken owners are usually more picky the chickens don't seem to care.

 

[BrewChem]

Just dumped a pile of steaming grains in the run … it’ll be gone by morning…

 

[T Murph]

Just dumped a pile of steaming grains in the run … it’ll be gone by morning…
View attachment 766255

They love it and the eggs taste better a few days later

 

[day_trippr]

I don't know about "better" but my neighbors have always maintained that when I'm on a brewing jag and dumping spent mashes in the coop every 3-4 days they get more eggs...

Cheers!

 

[JaggersBrewingCo]

I had read that at worst it does not really have any bad effects on them and that they are able to gain some vitamins and antioxidants from spent hops. I don't know how true all that is especially after them being boiled and all. But in the year that I have been feeding them I have not seen any ill effects at this point.

The chickens know when I am brewing and demand their cut as soon as I start mashing in is all I know! If I have them free ranging while I'm mashing in they come and hang out by me and the kettle.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I dump mine into the run right after my boil gets going; nice hot cereal! (However, I do save two cups for myself and make spent grain bars.) The chickens love the grain but I’ve often wondered how much benefit they get from them since so much of the “good stuff” is now in my boil pot.
Nice to know that I can give them the hops. I’ve heard that hops are toxic to dogs, so I have been careful to dispose of them.

 

[JayZeus]

My situation is a little different. I'm in a urban setting and noone near us has coops. My buddy is over an hour away so I don't seem him for up to a couple weeks at a time. I read somewhere that "wet" grains should be used within 3 days so I was wondering what I need to do to extend the "shelf life".

 

[TkmLinus]

My situation is a little different. I'm in a urban setting and noone near us has coops. My buddy is over an hour away so I don't seem him for up to a couple weeks at a time. I read somewhere that "wet" grains should be used within 3 days so I was wondering what I need to do to extend the "shelf life".

In that case, the only options I could see for saving the grains is to either dry or freeze. Good luck!

 

[MaxStout]

My situation is a little different. I'm in a urban setting and noone near us has coops. My buddy is over an hour away so I don't seem him for up to a couple weeks at a time. I read somewhere that "wet" grains should be used within 3 days so I was wondering what I need to do to extend the "shelf life".

Put some of it in gallon ziplocs, flatten them out to save space and freeze. Then when you get the chance to give them away (or bake doggie treats), take out and let thaw.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

My chickens enjoy the frozen grains as well as the hot cereal!

 

[TkmLinus]

My chickens enjoy the frozen grains as well as the hot cereal!

I never thought to feed frozen, I will start doing that from time to time in the summer when it hits the upper 90s/ 100s.

 

[JayZeus]

This is a great discussion. Thank you for the feedback/ideas.

 

[Hopalong]

Hello everyone! I have heard & read that free range chickens enjoy consuming spent grains which is awesome. I've got a buddy that just started a chicken coup a year ago and they are laying well for him...

My question is, What do I need to do to my spent grains so he can benefit from them? Throw them in some plastic bags while they're still hot n steamy? Wring 'em out and toss em in a bucket still damp? Spread them on a baking sheet and dry them out in the oven?

TIA

Instead of making animal feed why don't you use the starch in the spent mash to produce beer with? Spent mash contains complex starch, amylopectin, which is thrown away in home brewing because the temperatures aren't high enough to burst amylopectin because the starch is heat resistant to a point. Amylopectin is the richest starch in malt, the complex starch contains limit dextrin and pectin, partly responsible for body and mouthfeel in ale and lager, a type of protein is the other ingredient. Limit dextrin are tasteless, nonfermenting types of sugar and pectin is the binder that holds everything in beer together during conditioning and storage. It takes more than simple starch, amylose and soaking malt in hot water for an hour to make ale and lager.

 

[day_trippr]

Question and answer all in one

 

[crazyjake19]

You can take them out to the birds right away if you want. After a day or two, they'll get funky and moldy if still wet, so if you're saving them long term either dry them in the oven or freeze the wet grains in freezer bags and thaw when needed.

We don't have chickens here but on brew day I'll reserve a small container for my mom's or friend's chickens if I'm going out. The rest goes in my compost bins.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Yep, you have to do something right away; they won’t keep wet & unrefrigerated. My preferred option is carrying directly to the bird lot. The composter is a good option as well, and I have done that when my new hens were too young to handle that much grain. Freezing is an option for longer storage, or keeping for a friend, but my freezer space is limited.

By the way, you can reserve a couple cups of the grain and make “spent grain bars” for yourself. I especially like the ones made from grains from an oatmeal stout.

 

[crazyjake19]

Yep, you have to do something right away; they won’t keep wet & unrefrigerated. My preferred option is carrying directly to the bird lot. The composter is a good option as well, and I have done that when my new hens were too young to handle that much grain. Freezing is an option for longer storage, or keeping for a friend, but my freezer space is limited.

By the way, you can reserve a couple cups of the grain and make “spent grain bars” for yourself. I especially like the ones made from grains from an oatmeal stout.

I do that as well, it's about the only food I ever make with my spent grain is granola/spent grain bars. In the past I've made cookies, pretzels, pizza dough, bread, dog treats, and other stuff with spent grain, but usually I'm too busy on brew days to worry about saving it or cooking. Plus I typically need the grains in my compost anyway.

 

[soccerdad]

I have a spare fridge, so what I don't give them right away I store in qt or 2 qt containers and use them over a week or so.

 

[Old Medic]

The chickens know when I am brewing and demand their cut as soon as I start mashing in is all I know! If I have them free ranging while I'm mashing in they come and hang out by me and the kettle.

Thats how ours were... I would have to put them up before brewing... and they would raise hell till I was done. It was hilarious to watch them jumping and attacking the door to get out when I walked out the garage with that red cooler full of the steaming goodness.. I once set the cooler on the back of the ATV and they jumped all over it... So I played a demon, and took off out the driveway... they chased me all the way out to the road, and back... 4/10 a mile...
But I just poured them out and they were gone.

 

[JaggersBrewingCo]

Thats how ours were... I would have to put them up before brewing... and they would raise hell till I was done. It was hilarious to watch them jumping and attacking the door to get out when I walked out the garage with that red cooler full of the steaming goodness.. I once set the cooler on the back of the ATV and they jumped all over it... So I played a demon, and took off out the driveway... they chased me all the way out to the road, and back... 4/10 a mile...
But I just poured them out and they were gone.

They do not like games when you are playing with their grains... Heaven help me if I ever stop brewing, I'm sure there will be a coup.

 

[JayZeus]

In regards to compost, are the grains considered Carbon or Nitrogen? (Brown or Green?)

 

[day_trippr]

I would think green...

 

[JaggersBrewingCo]

In regards to compost, are the grains considered Carbon or Nitrogen? (Brown or Green?)

Do you have a secure place to store it or get your compost going? From my experience adding grains to the mix increases the amount of pest and rodent activity in the area. If I add any grains to my compost it goes in the sealed bucket that is on the stand and you rotate kind of turner. That thing fills up fast so if I add any it just a small amount.

For us the chickens have become the best way to get rid of spent grains. They enjoy it a lot and we are able to sub out some of the feed they get. With nine chickens a five gallon batch of grains gets eaten very quickly. Ten gallons is eaten a little slower but most of it is gone that day. In both cases it'll get some bugs coming which the chickens can keep up with. When we had five chickens they didn't seem to knock out a full five gallon batch of grains at one time, it's like they preferred to let it ferment for a few days then eat it.

We saw some people added to the garden directly. We tried that but pest and rodents wound just dig that up and ruin the plant and etc. Both dogs suffer grain allergies so we can't turn them into dog snacks. We have dried the wet grain out and made flour, or left it whole and sub it into thing like bread, pizza crust, meat loaf, I once made a tea with the spent grains. Bu there was only so much that we use in the kitchen.