Dried Chick peas and Lentils do I soak or cook?

[chuckzoo]

I would like to add some treats such as chick peas and lentils since I don't have much green stuff to offer now. Do I need to soak or cook them or chop up the chick peas since they are dried and rather big?

What are the protein contents/nutrional value of each?

 

[al6517]

The Lentals shouldn't need to be soaked or the peas for that matter but I would at least crush up the peas to a rough grind, Not really sure about the nutritional value of them but as a treat it should be fine. You will probably hear many different way's to prepare theses two legumes here on BYC, anything from making a gourmet mash to spoon feeding them to your birds. But like I said a slight rough grind and fed as a treat should be just dandy, without all the drama.

AL

 

[churchx3]

Quote:
Don't forget to use the silver and china when spoon feeding...it's all in the delivery!

 

[Lotsapaints]

I don't feed chickpeas because I can't get them but I do feed lentils they are small and all my birds young and old eat them just fine I mix them into my feed 24% protein and very usable to birds adds great flavor to my butcher birds...

 

[chuckzoo]

Quote:
Don't forget to use the silver and china when spoon feeding...it's all in the delivery!

I am digging out my good china and silver as we speak!

Thanks for a good chuckle!

Thanks also for the info.

 

[WildflowerJLH]

I serve my lentils sprouted. Once they have been soaked, they become "living" food. More nutrition that is more available.

 

[chuckzoo]

Quote:
I like that idea! I will definately try it, thanks.

 

[shesaredroan]

I started experimenting with sprouting whole grains/seeds this summer.......planning for the winter days to come, when there's nothing green/alive for my flock to free range on. I also have tried feeding alfalfa pellets, they are about the same size as the lay pellet I feed.

The sprouted stuff is gobbled up right away. The alfalfa pellets are OK, but not preferred at this point.......perhaps the girls will be more interested in the alfalfa this winter when they have nothing green to range on......we'll have to see.

My sprout mix:
hulless oats (planting oats are good, just be sure it's not treated with chemicals)
hard/red wheat
BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds)
pigeon mix (popcorn, canadian peas, milo, maple peas, wheat, austrian peas and buckwheat
All of these I get from my feed store.

I use two 5 gal buckets, that fit one inside the other and one lid. (The gray LOWES buckets are inexpensive.)
I drilled a bunch of 3/32 holes into the bottom of one of the buckets. This is the bucket that the whole seeds/grains goes into.
I rinse the seeds/grains several times to wash all the dust away. The water drains out of the holes.
Then put the seed/grain bucket into the other bucket and fill with water (over the level of the seeds/grains), put lid on and let soak for 24 hours.
On day 2 I rinse the seeds/grains, letting water drain out of the bottom, and put damp seed/grain bucket back into the other bucket, put on the lid and .......this is when the sprouting process begins.
Day 3 is same as day 2.
and so on.
The more days you let your seeds/grains sprout the more root you'll get. Just remember to rinse them every day or else the mix will start to stink!!!
As Wildflower said, the sprouted stuff has a higher nutritional content, than the same seeds/grains feed dry right out of the bag.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

"Lentils should not be eaten raw, due to the presence of anti-nutrients such as phytic acid and tannins; some types of lentils require soaking overnight before cooking as well."

-From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentil

Other beans also have anti-nutrients. I would personally cook or sprout chick peas and lentils before feeding them to chickens.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Yeah, I believe all beans need to be cooked before feeding them to chickens.

chick peas are also known as garbanzo beans and ceci beans.

I'm not sure if lentils are truly beans.

Imp