Note to self. Never talk to a farmer about grass feeding

[FarmerDenise]

Uncle John had a cow or two. He fed them a bit of grain at each milking time as well as hay. As much as possible, his cows were out in the pasture, even in the winter in upstate NY. Many summers he raised a calf or two or three for meat. We didn't feed them any grain. They got hay only, when they were in the barn. My mother probably knew how to cook this meat differently from store meat, but we always loved the meat we got from Uncle John.

 

[freemotion]

I think almost all dairy animals and egg-laying chickens are grained, and the profile of the milk and eggs is still completely different from commercially raised IF they are on pasture, even with the grains. I can't see that it would be any different with beef. I mean, bring them a few pounds of grain (sprouted, of course!) on pasture, like 5-10 lbs a day, not a bushel or three a day.

 

[Mackay]

It is different. Just like with people. Stop feeding them grains and flour and all that stuff and all of a sudden their cholesterols get normal, their diabtes goes away.. they loose weight.. their sleep improves...

So the first signs of disease from grains is an increase of omega 6 fat in animals. I wonder how the fat content of people change when their diet changes... I don't mean quantity but quality.

High omega 6 is strongly associated with a lot of different diseases.. and in animals it comes from eating grains..

just like with the farm raised salmon. they feed them grains and they are no more healthy for you than a feed lot steer.

 

[freemotion]

Show me the research....I don't want to beleive it, but I will if I see a well-designed study. Absolutely, the profile changes when they are taken off pasture and put in a building or small pen and fed grain, grain, and more grain. But if the vast majority of their food is green, growing grass and a very small percentage is the seeds of grass, well, I'd need to see some statistics.

I base this on a study done by Dr. Price where he took a bunch of young students at a school who were from poor families, eating white flour and sugar (like is normal today, not so normal back then) and gave them a good lunch of stew based on bone broth and pastured meat, veggies, butter on wheat bread, raw milk, etc. They went from low achievers to high achievers. The bulk of their diet was still garbage.

I also base this on MEN statistics of pastured eggs from hens still getting grains, compared with commercial eggs. The pastured hens will still eat a diet very high in grass and bugs, supplementing it with the grain. The nutritional profile of the eggs is so different you would almost not recognize them as the same food if you just looked at the numbers.

I'd like to see numbers, haven't found them yet.

 

[me&thegals]

Our pastured (and grain-fed) chickens yield high omega-3 eggs while on pasture.

 

[freemotion]

Yes, so why wouldn't the profile of beef, goat, lamb, etc, also be right up there in spite of a small amount of grain? Grain itself is not evil. It is food for many creatures. Within reason....1-3 bushels a day is not reasonable for any animal, and it is not reasonable to feed creatures grain (dogs, cats, fish) that were not designed to eat it.

 

[MsPony]

I think its gross how fish food is mainly wheat, corn and soy. And how bird pellets are mainly corn and soy!! As healthy as the idea of pellets are, especially since zoos feed that same brand, I stick with seed.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Yes, so why wouldn't the profile of beef, goat, lamb, etc, also be right up there in spite of a small amount of grain? Grain itself is not evil. It is food for many creatures. Within reason....1-3 bushels a day is not reasonable for any animal, and it is not reasonable to feed creatures grain (dogs, cats, fish) that were not designed to eat it.

I'm interested in this also, as in I would like to find concrete facts. my sheep, between the ffive that are left (soon to go down to two) are getting about 5 cups--total for all five of them, each night. Ther rest, right now is hay. My cow is not getting any grain. When she is pregnant/lactating, i would like to know about what grain will do to her diet and how it will affect the milk for human consumption.

We have recently put some sheep in the freezer, is there meat considered pastured, even if they are getting about 1/2 to 1 cup of grain a day? Is the grain I am feeding them compromising the quality of the meat? I have too much on the go right now to look into this, but will if no answers are provided, when i get more time.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Yes, so why wouldn't the profile of beef, goat, lamb, etc, also be right up there in spite of a small amount of grain? Grain itself is not evil. It is food for many creatures. Within reason....1-3 bushels a day is not reasonable for any animal, and it is not reasonable to feed creatures grain (dogs, cats, fish) that were not designed to eat it.

I'm interested in this also, as in I would like to find concrete facts. my sheep, between the ffive that are left (soon to go down to two) are getting about 5 cups--total for all five of them, each night. Ther rest, right now is hay. My cow is not getting any grain. When she is pregnant/lactating, i would like to know about what grain will do to her diet and how it will affect the milk for human consumption.

We have recently put some sheep in the freezer, is there meat considered pastured, even if they are getting about 1/2 to 1 cup of grain a day? Is the grain I am feeding them compromising the quality of the meat? I have too much on the go right now to look into this, but will if no answers are provided, when i get more time.

I think when considering grains during lactation and pregnancy, focus on whole wheat, barley, BOSS and the like. Grass type seeds are best, because they are going to be naturally eaten during part of the year.
Sprout them if you like.
All grains used to be sprouted in the field prior to being brought into the barn for threshing.

Ideally though, root veges would be grown, such as mangles, carrots and potatoes. Pumpkins are good too. Chop them up to be fed during milking, about 5 pounds per day for cows in winter. Cattle do not need this.
Not sure on amounts for goats and sheep though.

 

[Wifezilla]

I think its gross how fish food is mainly wheat, corn and soy. And how bird pellets are mainly corn and soy!! As healthy as the idea of pellets are, especially since zoos feed that same brand, I stick with seed.

I have started offering my quail seeds. They prefer them to the game bird feed.