I was just wondering what is the best way to feed oats and the benefits. Is it better to feed them in free feed or morning and night, what kind of oats are best for weight gain?

My 2 cents.

It is better to hand feed rather than self feed (free feed) whether you are feeding oats or not.

You will want to feed steam rolled oat groats. Not just oats. Sometimes they are called rolled oats, oat groats, or just oats. But, the thing you want and the thing other people are feeding is steam rolled oat groats.

They look like oatmeal prior to cooking. If you have ever opened a container of Quaker Oats, that is what they look like. And actually, that is what steam rolled oat groats are..... feed grade oatmeal. There are some brands (Purina .... sublimally) that are cleaner and almost food grade.

It doesn't take much, maybe 6 to 8 oz per day. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most people don't know why they are feeding rolled oats. They do it because "everyone does it".

They do not speed up growth rate.
They do not create more middle.
They do not do a great job of "holding" pigs.

They are very digestible and pass through the digestive tract fast enough they're not in there long enough to cause more middle.

They do increase the particle size of the diet and offer "oat fiber" that is good stuff for the digestive tract (pigs and humans). They do a decent but not good job of preventing ulcers. (Pigs still get ulcers whether they are fed rolled oats or not).

...prob more info than you wanted. sorry

I found the reply very helpful. Thank you. I've been considering adding oats to our pigs' diets for fiber, and you answered a lot of my questions.

So why do show feeds have steam rolled oats and why does everyone feed them?

I feed them to do what KGB suggested. They do increase the particle size of the diet and offer "oat fiber" that is good stuff for the digestive tract. If your pig is always hungry you can add some oats to the diet to help the pig feel full. This can help with attitude when you are working them. It is another half pound of substance in the gut that makes them happy.