Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Ashdoes]

Thanks delisha x2, as I saw your link on the (new) OT thread as well.
Ashdoes: they drink water... Mine love added acv to their water... Besides the bacteria - good bacteria - that grows as it ferments, I don't see how "all that liquid" would cause any problems. With any diet change in dogs, I'm almost expecting an initial phase of diarrhea but I could be wrong, especially since my dogs already get those probios by helping the chickens eat their feed! LOL

I've been doing ACV in the water for months now, so I'm not really worried about that. I am open to most anything, after others have tried it. I'm pretty sure a case of diarrhea anywhere in the house would not end well. Crying and cleaning up dog poo doesn't sound like fun.

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

Lol, true! I have the leisure of leaving mine outside - the diarrhea in the house thing hadn't even crossed my mind! Excited to see what everyone's results are!

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

Sorry, double post...

 

[delisha]

My dog never pooped in the house or had loose stools. i do give her knuckel bones for chewing. She's 12 and has good teeth. i should take a picture. Most 12 year old dogs have problems with teeth. She used to shed all over the house and now she does not. Her hair is soft, she does not have that doggy odor when it i raining out and she comes in as bad as she used to. Now i hardly notice, before it was pretty bad. Her food is not water logged. Sometimes I take one feeding out of the bucket and let it set on the counter. If it drys out a bit it gets little crunchy's in it. You can dry it if you are concerned about crunch or water, that is what the dog food company's do.

 

[pigeonguy]

Thank you very much! It is really working out well for me, and wasn't hard at all for my husband to build. We already had everything we needed on the property except the glue. (ours had dried out)

Thanks for posting, I was just looking for this, I found a 6 foot piece in the barn i can use

No problem to both and my glue always dries up or gets lost so I always have to buy new. I normally only do a few pvc projects a year.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Just my 2 cents, Its working well for my pug/Chihuahua mix. She will eat a cup a day dry, I am using 3/4 a day FF, and she leaves a bit, so that's a plus. I use Iams and have for years. She was having skin issues, like rashes, as she is getting older. This is going away instead of getting worse. Is it the FF? Its not for sure yet, but I like the results i see so far. We usually see hot spots on her all winter. Her fur will get stiff, and almost brittle in winter, and it looks really good after her shed still yet. Allergy shots, etc? Ugh not doing that any more. Time to try another approach for her.
As far as the moist vs dry, i was worried for that too. She loves big rawhide bones, so i just keep close eye on her chompers. I do know after having bred Labrador retrievers for several years and working with service dogs, every vet i ever asked has said moist foods are better for digestion.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

My dog never pooped in the house or had loose stools. i do give her knuckel bones for chewing. She's 12 and has good teeth. i should take a picture. Most 12 year old dogs have problems with teeth. She used to shed all over the house and now she does not. Her hair is soft, she does not have that doggy odor when it i raining out and she comes in as bad as she used to. Now i hardly notice, before it was pretty bad. Her food is not water logged. Sometimes I take one feeding out of the bucket and let it set on the counter. If it drys out a bit it gets little crunchy's in it. You can dry it if you are concerned about crunch or water, that is what the dog food company's do.

What brand are you using? Sorry if you've mentioned it I may have missed it. I changed to Cosco's lamb kibble and find it better than the others that are on the market.
The reason that I ask is that there are supposedly a lot of nasty stuff in kibble **a lot of chemicals that I can't prononce or spell and questionable protein sources** and I'm wondering what will happen to the feed when fermented. I feed 3 dogs with one being a GSD.

I should add that I also feed raw meat & bones in the morning but not enough to make up a day's worth of feed so I keep a bowl of kibble available.
Very interesting btw.

 

[Lacy Blues]

My bigger concern would be the health of their teeth. I do not feed canned dog food for the sole purpose that crunchy food helps keep their teeth clean...

Give them raw bones to chew. If you're concerned about them swallowing the bones whole, get big bones. Their stomachs can handle the bones... they're dogs. That have incredible stomach acid. The chewing of bones will keep their teeth clean, and the calcium from the bones will keep their teeth strong.

I noticed when I had a dog that when I gave him bones daily, he ate them. When I got sidetracked on one thing or another and he only got them weekly, or so, he would bury them to save for another day.

 

[groverlvchx]

How do you cut PVC pipe???

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

How do you cut PVC pipe???

i use a table saw. It does a very clean cut, and won't track off. I have seen DH use a cable saw (by hand) but i am not that patient. It cuts pretty easy, especially if its a power driven tool.