[kernow64]

Hi all,

I've recently taken on a smallholding in mid-Wales. No livestock yet, it's very early days but am still sifting through  treasure trove of "stuff" we have "inherited" from the previous owners (and their predecessors) - thank you to those on the sheep forum who replied to my enquiry about ancient hay.

Various delays have meant that our ambitions with regard to livestock will be modest this year but I am keen to get started with poultry.

Further exploration of the recesses of our cluttered barns has uncovered steel drums containing home made vacuum packed (some more "vacuum" than others) packs of oats and "bean mix" in sizes ranging from 600g to 20kg.

No obvious signs of mould or mildew in the ones I've checked but advice on what to do with it (polite ones please - I'm a newbie to all this!) would be welcome.

Are there any risks in feeding old beans, oats or other feed which may not have been stored in ideal conditions to poultry (poisonous moulds/fungus etc) to poultry? Are they smart enough to avoid anything that could be harmful or do I have to check it first and what to look for.

As I said above, I am a newbie to most of this and while lots of free feed is nice, I don't want to start off using stuff that could cause problems.

Many thanks,

Jerry

[chrismahon]

Don't risk it Kernow64. There are things called Mycotoxins formed in old grain which cause collapse of the immune system, even in very tiny amounts.

[Alex_]

I agree with chrismahon. I wouldn't feed it just in case. also you don't know how long it has been stored for so the nutritional composition could be on the low side (good nutrition= Good eggs/meat)

I always was told dried beans was  a no no with birds and no kidney beans

[macgro7]

Beans could be poisonous to chickens (definitely kidney beans). I think might be OK for pigeons.

What is he meant to do with all that grain now? Compost? That will bring rats though right?

[Penninehillbilly]

Have you thought of trying to grow the beans?  Might be interesting. Soak some, leave them on damp kithen towel and see if they sprout?

[kernow64]

Thanks for all the replies.

Apologies I missed one rather important bit if info from my original post - the packages all have handwritten notes on them saying 2014 so they are likely to be just over two years old. Does that make a difference, either to the nutritional value or the risk of toxins.

They were sealed in plastic and stored in a steel (200 litre?) in a fairly dry barn.

Point taken about beans being potentially poisonous (I haven't opened that pack as it's one of the 20 kg ones), AFAIK, in addition to hens, the previous owners (and the ones before that) kept Muscovy ducks and alpacas (I'll be posting a separate question elsewhere looking for suggestions as to what to do with dozens of sacks of alpaca wool!) so I'm assuming it was intended as feed for one or more of these.

Any other thoughts before I bin the oats and try growing a few of the beans.

Many thanks,

Jerry

[Marches Farmer]

Unless the previous owners can tell you how long they've been stored for I'd err on the side of caution and turn them into compost.  If they've been stored through an Autumn or Winter in open-topped containers the likelihood of vermin contamination, moulds and mildews is considerable and chickens aren't that intelligent.

[kernow64]

Unless the previous owners can tell you how long they've been stored for I'd err on the side of caution and turn them into compost.  If they've been stored through an Autumn or Winter in open-topped containers the likelihood of vermin contamination, moulds and mildews is considerable and chickens aren't that intelligent.

If it makes a difference, According to the hand written labels, the oats and beans date from 2014. They are in sealed (but not completely airtight) plastic packs and have been in a steel drum with a lid on.
I don't think that vermin contamination is likely to be an issue, mould, fungus and associated toxins was more my concern.

Apologies for the series of dumb questions, I am new to this and have taken on a place that has been run down for a while and in addition to oats and beans, I am wading through loads of old hay, alpaca fleece and tons of junk while trying to empty the barns but have also unearthed a few treasures.

I hate wasting stuff and can't afford to throw out stuff that will be useful but on the other hand don't want to blight my first forays into keeping livestock with dodgy feed. 

[Penninehillbilly]

Sounds exciting and a chore at the same time:-).
We have some wheat and barley that must be a couple of years old, I pour boiling water on a jugful at night for the next day, swill in a seive before feeding, these have only been in sacks in vermin proof bin. No problems, softens it a bit as well, less undigested grain going through.

[Alex_]

so I'm assuming it was intended as feed for one or more of these.

Any other thoughts before I bin the oats and try growing a few of the beans.

They sound like they were just preserved. Were they in mylar bags in the tubs? There is proberbly an O2 absorber in there too.

I have done it with rice and beans.

I would compost it all (minus the oxygen absorber). Some one mention rats if you compost but seeing as most people compost some sort of food waste (peelings etc) you should be fine.