Use of Unpolished Rice, or Simply Bran

[SmithFamilyLoft]

I am always willing to reinvent the wheel. But, I seek your feedback on the use of unpolished brown rice and the milled bran.

[Happy]

Warren, Odd that you would bring this up. I have never used rice for my Racers ever. This yr. I'm going to fly with many more types of grain in feed. I found Leach's Breeder Conditioning Feed (here in So. Cal.) at the end of 2004 afer racing season was over & it has abt. 10 dif. grains in it & one is Brown Rice. I went & bought extra 50lbs. of Brown Rice at Smart & Final & started giving extra to them all. They love it & I've been searching for more small grains that they like without extreamly high protien content & don't cause lose droppings. I'm now feeding about 25% Brown Rice in mix & will through out the OB season starting mid March 2005. Never heard of anyone using it in the U.S.. So far birds are looking great & droppings are better than ever. Will let you know after season if the price of it is worth it.

[SmithFamilyLoft]

I sort of let this "Secret" out. It was late and I didn't know what I was doing. Pound for pound, is there any other grain out there which has as much "Good Stuff" in it, then brown "UNPOLISHED" rice ? I found a family farm that grows some of the best rice in the US. I have them ship it to me in 20 pound bags. It ends up costing me a little over $1.50 pound, but as I said before, nothing is too good for my babies !

http://www.kodafarms.com/hist_logo.html

[birdy]

Brown rice is great to use for races less than 200 miles then go to pop corn for the longer ones. I buy mine right off the shelf at the grocery store.

[Motherlodelofts]

The wild brown rice will retain water and it takes longer to digest by a few hours. An old Tippler flier from the U.K. told me this and they use it for that advantage as it helps keep them up longer due to not needing water as soon.

[birdy]

I only use rice during race season and then the team gets it on Wed, Thur & Fri (shipping day). 15% of their total feed on Wed & Thur, then 33% on Friday.

Mind your peas. It will make them thirsty. I remove all my peas about 2 weeks before race season and they don't eat any until racing is finished.

Barley is the miracle grain. Find the best barley you can. Mine like the pale malt found at the home brew supply.

[Happy]

Birdy, I have never raced with-out peas in feed. I've heard a few guys talk of late, no Peas for YB'S Racing, but would you recomend not using any Peas for OB Racing?? I have only been back into Racing the last Yr.+ after not being able to race for 11+ yrs.. My 30 yrs. of Racing before that I never heard of not feeding Peas for Racing. I need some updateing here. Now as for Barley, I have always used quite a bit after molt till a little before breeding, & if my birds were getting too fat in the early Races & just before them..... The only Barley I know is Recleaned Barley, that still has the Husk on it & some of the tips are still pretty sharp. Has anyone ever used Pearl Barley with-out husks?? I can't seem to find it here in So. Cal. except in 1-3lb. sizes. Maybe your Pale-Malt Barley is with-out husks?.... Thanks Hap

[birdy]

Happy, I haven't race old birds since 1986 . Just race YBs these last few years. However, I'd have to say that by the time we race in the fall most of mine are 9 months old. I can't give you a lot of scientific proof about peas making pigeons thirsty and maybe it's a crock . If you feed them other high protein grains just a few days before the race they won't need peas - like safflower, hemp, rape, and peanuts.

My pale ale barley has the husks on it and it doesn't seem to bother my pigeons. Sometimes its a bit chaffy and I will get a flour sifter to get some of that out of it. I started using barley a few years ago and it made all the difference in their feathering and energy level. It's an acquired taste but if you've got them eating and flying where there right on "the edge" they'll gobble the stuff with gusto. When my racers return from a race I give them peanuts and safflower but the next two days it's all barley with Sedachol B15 soaked into the barley. Then build them up with the high fat, high protein so by basketing they are ready for some real racing!

[Happy]

Originally Posted by birdy

Happy, I haven't race old birds since 1986 . Just race YBs these last few years. However, I'd have to say that by the time we race in the fall most of mine are 9 months old. I can't give you a lot of scientific proof about peas making pigeons thirsty and maybe it's a crock . If you feed them other high protein grains just a few days before the race they won't need peas - like safflower, hemp, rape, and peanuts.

My pale ale barley has the husks on it and it doesn't seem to bother my pigeons. Sometimes its a bit chaffy and I will get a flour sifter to get some of that out of it. I started using barley a few years ago and it made all the difference in their feathering and energy level. It's an acquired taste but if you've got them eating and flying where there right on "the edge" they'll gobble the stuff with gusto. When my racers return from a race I give them peanuts and safflower but the next two days it's all barley with Sedachol B15 soaked into the barley. Then build them up with the high fat, high protein so by basketing they are ready for some real racing!

Thanks Birdy for the reply. I'm always looking for anything to give my birds to help them in the Races etc.. Course I have always loved OB's the best, & breed my young in March & April. These months used to wark better "for Me" even in YB'S before the Light & Dark Systems came along, or before I knew of them. Happy

[Trees Gray]

Brown unmilled-(unprocessed)rice is an excellent source of B vitamins (the energy and happy mood vitmanins). The vitamin is contained in the husk and in the germ, and is lost in dehusked rice. Brown rice is fairly high in fiber, so it will make for looser stools, if too much is given.

Its protein, starch and fat content are lower than in other grains, in proportion to the fiber, but that is compensated by the B content. Therefore as an additive, it should only be 2 to 3 percent of the entire seed mix, and should not make up more of the mix.

[Camrron]

Thanks again for the tips Treesa. I am putting some wild, brown rice into the mix that I put out for the wild birds. I have never seen more than a scrap leftover at the end of a day. I think my mix is less than 5% rice, some crushed peanuts, whole peas, corn and wild bird seed all together.

My flock is healthy and happy but I was concerned when I read in one of the posts that rice can be a hazard to birds. There is one seed in the wild mix that none of them like though but I am not sure what it is. It is a toasted light brown, smooth and elongated in shape. I have to clean it up everyday because it's not popular with any of the birds. Could it be Millet? The sacks of seed I buy don't exactly help you define which seed is which.

Cameron

[TerriB]

Originally Posted by Camrron

...There is one seed in the wild mix that none of them like though but I am not sure what it is. It is a toasted light brown, smooth and elongated in shape. I have to clean it up everyday because it's not popular with any of the birds. Could it be Millet?...
Cameron

Millet seeds are small, round, and light yellow or red:
http://www.ebirdseed.com/page/EB/CTGY/white_millet
http://www.ebirdseed.com/page/EB/CTGY/red_millet

I wonder if it is canary seed?
http://www.ebirdseed.com/page/EB/CTGY/canary_seed

[Trees Gray]

Check the ingredients on this link from Purgrain, those are good close ups of all seeds in the mix:

http://purgrain.com/ingredients.htm

[feralpigeon]

Treesa,

Do you happen to know about pine nuts and pigeons? Nabisho asked about that recently, and I was curious as well. They are rich, so presumably if ok, they would be a treat as opposed to a staple.

fp

[Camrron]

That was a really helpful site Treesa. Excellent pictures for reference. I think I can say for sure now that the unpopular seeds are either oat groats or canary seed. They both look like what I am throwing out. The canary seed is a better match though.

Cameron