What Animals Can Eat Oats

As we've covered on this website before, with picture and video evidence, deer can eat oats and oatmeal. But what about other animals?

Image: Pexels

Well, many animals can eat oats without any issues, including pets like dogs and even cats in moderation. Here's a short list of some animals that commonly consume oats:

1. Horses
2. Cattle
3. Sheep
4. Goats
5. Chickens
6. Turkeys
7. Ducks
8. Geese
9. Pigs
10. Rabbits

Oats are commonly used in animal feed due to their nutritional content and suitability for various livestock species. In 2009, livestock feeding, including horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry, was one of the primary uses of oats, 70% according to Feedipedia.

According to AHDB, "Oat grains can be fed whole to calves up to eight months of age (and sheep of all ages), due to their high fibre content and high percentage of husk, which take a long time to be broken down by rumen microbes."

Finnish Cereal Committee states that: 

Oats are suitable for feeding pets and game.
In pet foods, all grain material can be replaced by dehulled and cooked oats.
Oats make a suitable ingredient for pet foods. Good attributes of oats in the feeding of pets include thin hull, large grain and high fat content.

Benefits of oats in pet foods:

• Can suit animals allergic for other cereals
• Improve fur shine
  
• Helps to keep normal intestine functions
  
• Can suit animals suffering from gluten absorption disorder
  
• Compared with other cereals, it has been noted that dehulled oats are a very suitable option for grain material
  for dog foods.
• Dehulled oats have a higher nutritional value than rice.

What's Great About Oats?

Oats stand out among cereals:

• They're rich in protein, balanced amino acids.
• High B1 vitamin content, variable kernel sizes affect feed value.
• Oats' fat boosts energy; starch digestibility surpasses some cereals.
• Favorable fatty acid profile, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants.
• Naked oats improve palatability, fit for poultry, horses, piglets, lactating sows.
• Highest cereal fat content, mostly unsaturated fatty acids.
• More oleic acid, less linolenic acid than wheat and barley.