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I’m working with an unfamiliar recipe that calls for barley in it — a very small amount, percentage wise but barley nonetheless.
I don’t generally feed grains. It is from a specialist vet I’m working with & for now I think I need to stick pretty closely to the recipe, at least until I have a chance to talk to her about it. The nutrient levels, including very, very high protein & fat percentages + caloric density, are critical . . . as well as whatever values Chinese medicine attaches to the specific ingredients that I may not be aware of.
My Q is how I can make it digestible. I really don’t recall if/when I’ve ever fed barley (would have been years ago) . . . but I’m concerned it will all just come out unchanged at the other end, because that’s what happens if I were to feed whole brown rice.
Bulk recipe calls for several lbs grass fed organic beef, various veggies/greens/herbs/spices, and 1 C barley — so he’d be getting about 1/5 or 1/6 cup barley a day (and half of that at each meal) — cooked in a crockpot. Would the small amount make it easier to digest??? Or is it going to still be about the small size of the whole grain and its exterior covering?
Should I grind it raw, and THEN throw it into the crockpot with the other ingredients? Or cook it separately and then puree it? And what KIND of barley do I buy? Pearled, whole, flaked/rolled?
Or should I just not worry about him not digesting it well and just throw it in there?
I have a feeling I’m going to run into the same thing if she wants me to use quinoa or millet. . . .
Sprouting it first is best. Cooking it then pureeing it would make it most digestable. Flaked or rolled already damages the hull, so would be good enough for me. Good luck.
I personally would use pearl barley as the hull is already removed from it. That’s what I use anyway and I have never noticed Piper poop it out. Maybe she’s getting no nutritional value if the hull is removed??? I’ve never use millet before but have used quinoa. 😉
Dogs don’t need nutrition from hulls, but since I don’t know the details of this recipe, it may be the source of fiber, then you would want the hull, just not whole.
I would overcook it and then puree it. I tried some germinated brown rice in some of my recipes a few months ago and upon examining my dogs’ stools I thought I saw some worm segments, then I realized it was the rice! It all came right out the other end. 🙁 I wonder if something like this would work? http://livesuperfoods.com/sunwarrior-activated-pre-sprouted-barley.html
Neither Barley or Brown Rice are a problem for dogs. I have a formula that contains just that,
Brown Rice, Barley (it is Pearl), dehydrated veggies, garlic and vitamins and minerals. In the formula I have used both diced and non-diced and none of my customer’s dog have had any problems with this in 14-15 yrs. If you or anyone wants to know more about this formula, or the others ones I have, please visit Pet Food Formulas
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