FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

It is maddening trying to keep him from the food. We also give him a very high quality puppy food. Honestly it is frustratingly hilarious.

He is eating a lot of corn in the FF. Corn is not a good thing for some dogs.

smccully said:

We got a puppy a few weeks ago and he goes crazy for the chickens FF. Does anyone see a problem with him eating it?

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Ugh...my dogs also loves fermented feed!

I wonder....I have read on here some people add cayenne pepper to their FF to keep 'critters' from eating the feed. I wonder if this would deter a dog also??

Only if the dog doesn't like hot stuff.

I had a dog that LOVED hot food. I could get it to eat anything if i put pepper flakes in it.

I think if the dog only eats the FF once in a while or a little bit at a time there would be no harm to the dog. But i would worry more about the high calcium content in layer feed than i would worry about the corn in the feed. Dogs love corn and will happily gnaw it off the ears if you give them one.

Not all dogs can eat corn. I have a min pin that is allergic to corn. Her hair falls out and then she starts gnawing/chewing herself ...... it gets ugly!

in the case of the puppy eating FF

Why not try to Ferment some of the puppy food? Maybe then he will leave the chicken food alone.

Just a thought I have not googled FF for puppies.

I have been feeding ff for about 2 weeks now. I also have noticed my layers aren't eating as much as before. They do free range all day. I have 9 chickens and want to make sure they are eating enough so they keep laying. How much ff should I feed them each day?

The chickens will eat less when you switch to FF. When chickens eat dry feed there is a surprisingly high percentage of feed that doesn't get digested because it goes all the way through still dry in the middle. The fermentation process softens the feed grains and allowing a higher percentage of the feed to be digested by the chickens.

Now chickens average 3 oz of dry feed per day per bird when they are 20 weeks old. Smaller hens eat less and larger ones more. When they start laying how much they eat depends on the size of the hen and how big their eggs are and how often they lay. So there is no set number to give you.

So most folks start by giving as much FF as they will eat in the morning. Let them free range all day long. Then give them another measured feeding at night. It wont take that long for you to figure out how much you flock will eat.

That is what i did to start with. Then i got lazy and now I put out a large dish of feed that lasts all day. They eat as much as they like then wander off to free range. Come back half a dozen times throughout the day and eat a little. The go out free ranging again. I do top off the dish in the evenings and put a cover over the dish after they have gone to bed at night. I also check the dish midday and if its drying out i add a little water and stir.

I'm having a problem I'm helping someone can offer some solution to.

I have about a million flies hanging around my coop and run.



Here's some background info:
I have been feeeding FF to my five 10 week old girls since they were born. I feed then once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. I sometimes feed them straight FF, sometimes I mix in oatmeal or raisins or some sprouts. They finish what I give them in about 15 minutes. The free range in a 20X20 grassy area. I have poop boards under the roosts that I clean everyday. I also clean up whatever droppings I can see in the coop, run and grass daily. The coop has pine shavings, the run has a mix of shavings and hay, the area between the run and the grass is rocks. This is where it seems the worst. Hardly and flies in the coop.

Any ideas why I have this horrible fly problem or what I can do to remedy it?

I am thinking I might take out the shavings and hay in the run and put in sand. It is all covered so I'm not worried about it getting wet.


Thanks!

It sound like the flies have picked your place to gather and sun. They pick a place that is warm and it helps them to warm up. The rocks are probably warmer than everything else. They will usually stay in that spot from anything too an afternoon too a week or so. Then they will just disappear.

Usually if you observe this happening you will see it again at the same time of the year nearly every year. My parents had this happen on the side of their house every year until they put up an awning to shade the side of the house. Perhaps you could put up some shade cloth over the area.