Spent Grain

[hughman666]

most of my spent grain ends up on the garden beds with the surplus going on the compost heap, considering i do double batches (10kg of grain at a time) it does the job for the garden fairly well without having to fork out for fertilisers etc.

however since finally gathering enough guts to get a new dog since my lab passed away a couple of years back (i'll post a pic for dog lovers), harry has shown an appetite for the spent grain, so much in fact that he will devour every trace of it.

is this safe for dogs? i know a lot of breweries send their spent grain to farms for cattle, but interested to know if anybody actually intentionally feeds it to their dog(s)....

cheers

hugh

 

[manticle]

I believe people make dog biscuits from it so I would asume it's safe. May just result in different..............................

dog produce.

 

[pants]

May just result in different..............................

dog produce.

And lots of it. My Labradors both gorge themselves on it after I dump it on the garden, too. No ill effects, just lots more to pick up...

 

[hughman666]

would it replace regular dog food if you gave them chicken necks or other meaty snacks every couple of days?

i'm no linda mccartney, my dog likes meat...

 

[manticle]

I'm no expert but I'd see it as a treat rather than as a meal replacement.

 

[Maple]

I'm no expert but I'd see it as a treat rather than as a meal replacement.

Yeah, but really depends... that crap you get for the dogs now (kibble) is all just ground up corn/rice/wheat stalks anyway. they really need a feed of 'real meat' every day or 2, just to keep em hunting... Kanga meat is great for them, low fat high protein. the grains are exactly the same as bran would be for us if all we ate was meat (which would certainly be my preference). yeah it changes the output, but good for a cleanout anyway.

 

[manticle]

I grew up with dogs but I own cats now. My feeling on their diet is similar to yours - mainly fresh meat with a bit of dry food for extra vitamins and teeth health.

As for human diet - quality game meat and fresh fruit and vegetables, with a limit on processed and refined foods makes the most sense to me. All meat doesn't suit us and neither does lazy/factory processed farmed meats.

Having said that I love bacon, coffee, white rice, chocolate and um...............malted barley products.

 

[DJR]

I've heard too much is bad as they can't digest that amount of fibre. I'm sure once in a while isn't that bad though.

Chooks love it

 

[t2000kw]

Some brewers aren't aware of a risk to the dog when they eat the spent hops in used brewing grains. It can kill them through a hyperthermic (overheating) reaction. Some breeds are more susceptible than others (like greyhounds), but hops can kill a dog.

http://www.bme.ogi.edu/~ericwan/DOG/hops.html
http://www.simplybeer.com/blog/2009/08/24/...all-dog-owners/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_health
http://www.tastybrew.com/forum/thread/163473

I had a dog die of hyperthermia (not from hop poisoning) and it's not a pretty sight to see.


Don

 

[pants]

Wow... Until now I'd been disposing of spent hops in the same garden bed as the grain, but it seems the dogs weren't interested in it (luckily). I'll be disposing of it more carefully in future! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[t2000kw]

What I understand is that it's not the hops that attract them, it's the sweetness still left in the spent grains. But it's the hops that will kill them.

I'm not sure if keeping your hops separated in a nylon bag would work or not. It wouldn't work if you use pellet hops but might if you use leaf hops like I do. Toss the hops in the garbage and let them have the grains, but only if you can keep them separated.

The very small amount of hops in finished beer won't hurt them as far as I know. When I had a Doberman Pincher a long time ago and had her ears cropped (I'm no longer an advocate of that), she was obviously in pain, and veterinarians (at least in the US) don't seem to care if a dog or cat is in post-op pain, so I "medicated" her with some cheap beer. It worked well and her legs slowly slid out from under her and she went to sleep. She always loved beer but after that I only gave her small amounts. I didn't want her to have to attend Canine AA meetings.

Don
"I tried to be an alcoholic, but I didn't have time for the meetings." --Stephen Wright

 

[DJR]

If you've got spent hops in your grain there is something seriously wrong with your process :huh:

But yes hops and dogs are bad. I dig a little ditch and put the hops in there, fill it over with dirt and leaves. Never had them digging around that part of the garden or anything. Grain goes in the bin at the moment, should do something else with it which i will do when we have chooks again.

 

[Steve]

she was obviously in pain

no shit sherlock!

 

[t2000kw]

If you've got spent hops in your grain there is something seriously wrong with your process :huh:

I usually throw my spent hops and grains together in the garden (now that I don't have a dog--and we do have a fenced yard so neighbors' dogs are safe).

Not giving it a lot of thought when I said that, you really wouldn't have problems keeping them separate unless, for some reason, you used hops in with the grain in the mash tun. Thanks for pointing that out.

I think if you act quickly a veterinarian can save the dog (in some cases, anyway). I think they use a cortisone-like drug to control inflammation response in the animal. If I had a dog and he ate some hops I would immediately be calling the vet who has a 24-hour emergency number. I would also induce vomiting immediately (not advisable with all poisons, though!).

http://www.dog-first-aid-101.com/induce-vomiting.html

But this issue is fortunately brought up from time to time in our homebrewing groups, forums, etc., so it doesn't happen very often.

Don

 

[Fourstar]

If you've got spent hops in your grain there is something seriously wrong with your process :huh:

Not unless you're mash hopping

 

[Nick JD]

It makes your local feral Peacock nice and fat. This is a good thing considering the current price of Christmas Turkeys B)

 

[HoppingMad]

mmmm....peacock... :icon_drool2:

 

[PistolPatch]

Hughman, now that you are living up in them there hills you better get educated in what animals you can feed spent grain to

Rule 1 is Don't Feed it to Goats

That link above is one of my favourites.

Spot ya you hillbilly,
Pat

 

[Wisey]

It makes your local feral Peacock nice and fat. This is a good thing considering the current price of Christmas Turkeys B)

Thats quite a nice cock you got their.

 

[Dave70]

Ive got two dogs, a Bullmastiff cross and a black Lab with a head the size of a saltwater croc. The Mastiff wont touch it, but the Lab quite enjoys a few handfulls of spent grain, but then again I have yet to see any variation of foodstuff that he won't inhale - maby tofu - but I dont actualy think thats a food.. If you own a Lab, you know what I mean.
Latley though Ive been using strategically placed piles of grain to attract indian miners to within sniping distance of my battered old air rifle.
Plink! - thwack! - he..he..he..gotcha sucker!..