The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Sylvia on November 25, 2010, 10:38:53 am
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I have access to a regular supply of porridge oats. I make porridge for my hens and ducks and for the wild birds through the winter but was wondering if you would feed them to sheep. If so, in what quantity per size of sheep?
(the oats are very slightly out of date but free!!)
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Well, if you get them free, I would definitely feed them to my sheep! I probably wouldn't give them just porridge oats, but maybe mix it with a bit of sheep course mix, and that would make them a lovely feed. I would just treat the oats as I would treat flaked barley or oats bought from the feed merchants. We use porridge oats to make a treacle gruel for the goats after they kid too.
Beth
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Thanks for that. If you lived nearby I could supply you as well!
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best hens food on the markit
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i just made some porridge for the chickens, flavoured it with a pot of very greasy dripping that was lurking at the back of the fridge........into the kitchen comes OH.......... 'that is very strange porridge' he says! ;D ;D ;D
the girls liked it though!
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dooooo bear in mind with all these delicious recipes that it is illegal to feed chickens (or other livestock) anything other than vegetable waste which has never been through a kitchen or straight grain or proprietary feed (eg ewe nuts or layers pellets or oats). You are specifically not allowed to feed biscuits, dripping etc etc etc.
Not saying I agree with the rules! or them being so black and white; but if we dont want big brother making all poultry owners with a couple of hens be registered and inspected and tied up with paperwork.... also we have to bear in mind people may read the posts who are new to poultry and think from it that it is OK legally.
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dooooo bear in mind with all these delicious recipes that it is illegal to feed chickens (or other livestock) anything other than vegetable waste which has never been through a kitchen or straight grain or proprietary feed (eg ewe nuts or layers pellets or oats). You are specifically not allowed to feed biscuits, dripping etc etc etc.
Not saying I agree with the rules! or them being so black and white; but if we dont want big brother making all poultry owners with a couple of hens be registered and inspected and tied up with paperwork.... also we have to bear in mind people may read the posts who are new to poultry and think from it that it is OK legally.
If anyone new to keeping poultry and who has more than a few hens has any sense they'll realise that there would be regulations and to look at what DEFRA has to say. So although I agree with the rules for those who have commercial flocks (is the limit not around 50?) as they may be selling eggs and meat to the general public and we all need to know where our food comes from, small flocks such as my 10 hens and 5 ducks should not be regulated. As far as I am concerned my ducks and hens are pets and I'll feed them what I want.
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Here here!! Totally agree with the above. Feed mine what I want too and it pays off in increased egg production - for our own use!
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Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If there is one thing that makes the heat of rebellion boil in my blood it's petty bureaucratic wind.
Our food, our choice.
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I quite agree (I was inspected - have sheep chickens and geese - and they then gave me a certificate to carry on using chicken pellets, which has fish oil and therefore isnt veggie which seems to frustrate them, but they cant avoid it as chickens arent veggie and cant cope without)!
All I was trying to highlight was that smallholders already get lumped with the blame for disease outbreaks by many, even tho most have been caused by large scale practices, and that one of the few dispensations left for smaller scale keepers was the one for not registering if you have under 50 chickens.
That will surely end if people publicly ignore the rules or encourage others to. Makes no difference if the eggs are for own use or not as far as the feeding regulations are concerned. Nor whether the owner thinks of them as pets or not.
Sadly the concept of proportionality doesnt enter into it with the authorities where animal health scares are concerned, and since they could tighten regs further, it is a concern that they might if pushed too far.
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I agree, the last thing we need is the a headline in the News of the World saying things such as "Mutant chickens raised by barmy bumpkins threaten the WORLD........" Anyway my chickens found a nest of baby mice the other day in the compost bin and ate the lot!!
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Thanks for all your replies. The sheep are enjoying their porridge oats as are the hens and ducks (and some of the dogs)
I, too think it very unfair to force an omniverous animal to become a vegan, whether chickens or pigs or humans.
I wouldn't, obviously feed meat waste to them( though my old hens love to peck at a lamb bone!) but lovely organic porridge oats processed in a factory dealing with nothing but cereals is surely no threat to health.
Also, thinking about it, why is it alright to supply eggs from 49 hens fed on anything you like to the general public whilst if you add a 50th you may poison them all!!!!
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It isn't, it doesnt matter if you have 4 hens 49 hens or 49,000, or whether you eat them or sell them,the feed rules are the same!!
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I'm surprised that so many people don't seem to be aware of this. It's really important that smallholders are seen as capable food producers. We are already blamed by farmers for bringing in disease (cf after the foot and mouth outbreak) but there's no need to lay ourselves open to more blame by talking about breaking rules on an open forum.