# Wheat Bran



## GotmygoatMTJ (Apr 25, 2009)

I'm going to be buying wheat bran for my horse, and was wondering if it would be okay to the feed the goats? I know it has to be wet for the horses, otherwise it sticks to and drys out their intestines, causing colic.

Would there be any benefits to feeding it?


----------



## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

I was wondering about this also. Not so much the bran, but the wheat grain.Hope someone answers you soon!


----------



## 4theluvofgoats (Jun 9, 2011)

Yes, you can feed it to goats for added fiber. I have fed it to my goats in the winter to increase their fiber intake. I mix it dry with their normal grain ration which is a sweet feed so it sticks to it.

Hmmm, two of my horses are 30 years old and I purchased them when they were 2 years old and have fed them dry bran for 28 years and neither has ever has a case of colic. I supose if your horse didn't drink enough water there could be an issue. This year I have started adding hot water to their bran mashes to make sure that they are consuming enough water on these really cold nights to keep things moving and avoid impaction and to make sure their supplements are consumed as well.

Benefits of bran:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5742/2

This info is from my current bag of bran:
Wheat bran, when used as a supplement to your horse's diet, provides many benefits. It is very high in protein, very high in phosphorus (1.27%) and very low in calcium, with higher energy (1.5 Mcal/lb).

Guaranteed Analysis 
Crude Protein (Min) 14.5 % 
Crude Fat (Min) 3 % 
Crude Fiber (Min) 12 %

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wheat bran is often mixed with hot water, oats, sweet feed, vegetable oils, fiber sources or maybe some flax seed to make a warm mash.


----------

