feeding alfalfa cubes

[jfoley]

a short time ago i seen something about feeding alfalfa cubes. so being new to this i tryed it. at first i just put cubes in run. they did not like them. so i soaked them in water for a day before i put in run. they went wild over them. i give them this treat about once every 3 days. a lot cheaper than a folck block.

 

[theoldchick]

Good to know!

 

[moodlymoo]

My girls love them rehydrated

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Hmmm, I'm interested in hearing more. I have one who LOVES to eat this kind of stuff. But she ate straw before and got sour crop so I've refrained from putting anything like that in her run. But this time of the year, I catch her eating leaves. Yes, dried leaves that have fallen down. It doesn't seem to be causing a problem. So maybe the leaves don't ferment in the crop like straw?

And perhaps it moves through their system more easily?

Can anyone think of any reason why I wouldn't want to put out alfalfa for my hens?

 

[CheerioLounge]

I read a post a few days ago about tossing a flake of alfalfa in the run for them to scratch through. I don't think it would be a problem. I guess they love the flowers.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I reconstitute the pelletized alfalfa. It does wonderful things to the yolks. It's winter here, so greens are harder to come by.

 

[Chris09]

I feed a custom mixed mash feed so I just have the mill mix in 10 lbs Alfalfa Meal per 490 lbs of feed.
Alfalfa Meal, Alfalfa Cubes and Suncured Alfalfa Pellets is around,

Crude Protein, 17.0%
Total Dig. Nutrients, 61.5%
Crude Fibre, 28.0%
Acid Det. Fibre, 35.0%
Calcium, 1.50%
Phosphorus, 0.21%
Potassium, 2.35%
Copper, 11.0 mg/kg
Manganese, 34.0mg/kg
Zinc, 21.0mg/kg
Magnesium, 0.32%
Selenium, 0.35 mg/kg
Along with a good amount of Vitamins and Carotene


Chris