Do birds have the digestive system to digest grains and seeds?

[Techydude]

Well North Star bison serves grass fed pasture fed, and insect/etc birds, but said 20% of their diet is grain. Is it okay for birds to eat grain and seeds? Can they digest it and wont the anti nutrients harm them?

[Sitting Coyote]

Most birds have crops and so their digestive systems are designed to process seeds.  I would sooner eat a bird that had been fed grain than a mammal, but even birds aren't well suited to a diet of 100% grain.  Most are omnivores, and would let fat and protein dominate their diet if given the choice.

[kurite]

I agree with coyote. Most nuts are fat and protein and not complex carbs like the ones found in grain IMO.

[CitrusHigh]

If a particular animal consumes a particular food in the remote wilderness, that is the food it is designed to eat. Which means you can determine what is the 'right' food for any animal as long as you are willing to make the effort to find out what it eats in the wild. Most poultry (partridge, pheasant, grouse, jungle fowl, turkey, goose, duck, etc) in the wild are like pigs, they are generalists and will eat whatever they come across as they scratch their way across the forest floor (bugs, worms, seeds, mast, plant foliage, buds, carrion, small animals such as mice, snakes, frogs).

So if you're talking about chicken or turkey then a diet with that proportion (20%) of grain would actually be great, since most places are at or around 99% grains (soy, corn, etc).

It's the same for any animal, find out what they (or their closest wild relatives) eat in the wild and you've got their optimal diet. Of course you may have the same species across a variety of regions and habitats, so diets may vary, but you can get a general idea.

Stokes field guides and many tracking books are great for getting to know about an animal's habits and natural diets.

[HIT_it_RAW]

When birds eat RAW grains(as they would in nature) the grains would stay in the crop(along with some water) at least 12 hours allowing germination to start. during germination the enzyme inhibitors, aka antinutrients, are destroyed and enzyme activity rises. The nutritional value changes significantly, prot and fat raise carbs go down. I would say there pretty well adopted te aeting grains.

[miles]

Can people get the same effect by fermenting grains outside of their bodies?

[CitrusHigh]

Kind of, weston A pricers are big on soaking grains. Infact the leader, Sally Fallon recommends not to eat unsoaked/unfermented grains at all....

http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/497-be-kind-to-your-grains?qh=YTo0OntpOjA7czo4OiJleHRydWRlciI7aToxO3M6ODoiZXh0cnVkZWQiO2k6MjtzOjc6ImV4dHJ1ZGUiO2k6MztzOjk6ImV4dHJ1ZGVycyI7fQ%3D%3D

The rest of this website is a wealth of info also, so if you haven't examined it, don't be afraid to peruse the rest of it.

I don't necessarily agree with grain consumption even soaked, I think if you can't eat it in it's natural state, raw, then it is not really food for you. But this is harm reduction at least, to soak grains.

[HIT_it_RAW]

Can people get the same effect by fermenting grains outside of their bodies?

Fermenting is a bacterial process so I'd say no. However you can very easily sprout them. Just soak 12 hrs poor off and rinse with clean wather every 12 hours.

Im a real fan of enzyme rich nutrition so I sprout mung beans and lentils anuse them in my green smoothies. They're packed with vitamins to!

Off course raw annimal products are enzyme rich to however I started using sprouts before I dare eat raw meat and felt much better.

[donrad]

Birds have the digestive system to eat very small grains like those that existed thousands of years ago. I think like humans they are harmed by the starchy grains that humans developed.

Hot chile peppers evolved their hotness so that mammals would avoid them but birds don't. The birds spread the seeds around.

Actually most berry and fruit seeds evolved to survive the digestion systems. They are coated with sweet colorful coatings to attract birds and animals. The seeds themselves pass through, get spread around, and fertilized.

[raw-al]

Birds have the digestive system to eat very small grains like those that existed thousands of years ago. I think like humans they are harmed by the starchy grains that humans developed.

Hot chile peppers evolved their hotness so that mammals would avoid them but birds don't. The birds spread the seeds around.

Actually most berry and fruit seeds evolved to survive the digestion systems. They are coated with sweet colorful coatings to attract birds and animals. The seeds themselves pass through, get spread around, and fertilized.

Some seeds have to pass through the digestive tract of some living being to germinate, ie. bakeapples.

[raw-al]

If a particular animal consumes a particular food in the remote wilderness, that is the food it is designed to eat. Which means you can determine what is the 'right' food for any animal as long as you are willing to make the effort to find out what it eats in the wild. Most poultry (partridge, pheasant, grouse, jungle fowl, turkey, goose, duck, etc) in the wild are like pigs, they are generalists and will eat whatever they come across as they scratch their way across the forest floor (bugs, worms, seeds, mast, plant foliage, buds, carrion, small animals such as mice, snakes, frogs).

Just to be clear, around farms, "wild" animals do not eat their regular diet and especially in areas of grain growing, they tend to eat the grain which means they are not eating naturally and are really not that much different from farm animals.

[CitrusHigh]

When birds eat RAW grains(as they would in nature) the grains would stay in the crop(along with some water) at least 12 hours allowing germination to start. during germination the enzyme inhibitors, aka antinutrients, are destroyed and enzyme activity rises. The nutritional value changes significantly, prot and fat raise carbs go down. I would say there pretty well adopted te aeting grains.

Do you have any reference for more info on seeds beginning to germinate in the crop? I just butchered a rooster a couple days ago and his crop, completely full of wheat, oats, rye and corn (our feed ration) seemed quite dry, and for germination to happen there's go to be moisture, and warmth, if either are too scarce it cannot occur.

Thanks!