Dehydrated Vegetables

[JesterLady]

Hi all!
I live in western NC where we have had quite the growing season so far. I was thinking of dehydrating some of my bumper crop, cucumbers, squash, those sorts of vegetables I have a hard time preserving for my family's consumption, and supplementing my chickens winter diet with them. I was wondering if anyone else has tried this and if they had luck with it?
My hens and roosters are pretty good eaters, they'll eat just about anything I throw in the coop with them, even English pea shells and sage, which I was really kind of surprised they ate.
Thanks in advance for the input, any ideas are more than welcome!

 

[eggbert420]

Its worth a try.

 

[JesterLady]

Its worth a try.

That's what I was thinking, if they don't like them I guess we'll have some healthy snacks!

 

[The Golden Egg5]

What part of nc do you live in? I'm in banner elk/ Boone area

 

[The Golden Egg5]

And

 

[jennyf]

You could always soak them too if they end up not eating dehydrated. If it's less work, you could also freeze them, I'm thinking, since they shouldn't care too much about the texture of their cucumbers. Great idea!

 

[JesterLady]

What part of nc do you live in? I'm in banner elk/ Boone area

I live in Boonville! Nice to meet a neighbor! I grew up in Wilkes, we travel to Boone pretty frequently.

 

[Patinas]

I too think it's worth a try and certainly can't hurt. As long as you store them correctly and they don't get any mold on them it should be fine. I personally would soak them before feeding only because they might have a hard time with larger pieces.

I have a huge garden and hadn't thought of dehydrating for feeding the chickens in the winter. Thanks for the idea! I might give it a try myself!

 

[JesterLady]

I too think it's worth a try and certainly can't hurt. As long as you store them correctly and they don't get any mold on them it should be fine. I personally would soak them before feeding only because they might have a hard time with larger pieces.

I have a huge garden and hadn't thought of dehydrating for feeding the chickens in the winter. Thanks for the idea! I might give it a try myself!

I had read somewhere where someone had made a mush of dehydrated vegetables and grains they served to their chickens warm in the winter. This sounded like a good idea to me.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

I live in Boonville! Nice to meet a neighbor! I grew up in Wilkes, we travel to Boone pretty frequently.

So cool! I have never been there before but I have heard many good things about the area. I just moved here from Texas and I'm so far loving it.