Soybeans are often touted as a miracle product, mostly because of the high protein level they contain. This might not be quite accurate, however.
Bulk soybeans contain about 35% protein, which is quite high. As I’ve previously mentioned, chickens require a lot of protein, especially in late fall and through winter. It might seem that an easy solution would be to feed soybeans to the chickens, right? Not so fast. Did you know that if soybeans are fed to chickens without processing the beans, usually through thoroughly cooking the beans, the chickens can die…of malnutrition?
The reason is that soybeans and other legumes contain enzyme inhibitors that interfere with the digestion and utilization of nutrients in the diets. Cooking/processing the soybeans breaks down the enzyme inhibitors.
If soybeans are fed to chickens or other game birds without processing the beans first, the birds can actually die of starvation, even with full craws! One cannot help but wonder if the same thing is true of humans.
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Did you know that soybeans must be processed before feeding them to chickens?
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Yes
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No
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I always learn something new or something that somehow I have forgotten. Thank you.
Thank YOU. That is a good thing and it gives me purpose.
Soy is also used in human nutrition.
Adds meat up to 30%
Yes, adding cooked soybeans to a diet that already contains meat can increase the amount of protein that is eaten.
Interesting and great information , never know this before
This is an example of information that is sometimes given that isn’t complete. Many people don’t know that little tidbit.