Can chickens eat Wheat Bran

[roxanne]

I have a friend who is giving me a 50 pound bag of whole wheat bran that I would like to include in the fermented mixture that I will me making to feed my chickens. Does anyone have any information on whether or not this bran can be included in the fermented feed I am making to feed chickens?

 

[TheOddOneOut]

It sounds ok, but not in large amounts.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Here's some info on wheat bran as animal feed:

https://www.feedipedia.org/node/726#:~:text=Wheat bran is relatively rich,that of the whole grain.

 

[roxanne]

It sounds ok, but not in large amounts.

I just read this on the forum:

Wheat bran is a very nutritious feed amendment. Since it's so light and fluffy, I've found the easiest way for them to consume it is to mix it in with the fermented feed I make for them. I don't ever measure, but I think I've used about 6-10 cups bran in a 5 gallon bucket (the rest is feed) when I've used in it the fermented feed.

Another idea would be to take the powdery fines from the bottom of their feeder (which is full of minerals and vitamins), mix it with some wheat bran and then mix in some water and yogurt/kefir to make a tasty slurry they'll gobble down.

 

[Percheron chick]

I absolutely would use it. It is a nutrient dense feed and it's free. The one caveat is that it has a severely inverted Ca : P. Yes the bran weighs next to nothing but 10 C is probably close to 40% by the time you add the water and leave headspace. Start a fresh batch. Weigh out the feed. Weigh the bran. I'd keep it 90/10. More like 2 C per batch. If you have some old Tums or Ca supplements, I would also toss one in the bucket. Even add your egg shells to the mix.