What's this powder?

[ashlierami]

I have always fed my birds cracked corn and Purina flock raiser crumbles. I have always noticed that powder left behind from these feeds. My birds leave the powder behind and so I have been sitting the food before I fill up their feeders. Is this okay? Is the powder left behind much like the powder in the bottom of a cereal bag? I just didn't want to be sifting away something that was good for them and basically taking away from the nutrition of the feed. When I sift it they don't leave anything behind. I've also had trouble getting them to eat crumbles so I add 8 pounds of citrus bird seed for every 50 pound of crumbles and they eat it now.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Broken/smashed convention grain from storage in a huge silo with hundreds of thousands of pounds of weight, then funneled thru a shout, being bagged up, transported, tossed off a pallet.. etc.

 

[ashlierami]

Broken/smashed convention grain from storage in a huge silo with hundreds of thousands of pounds of weight, then funneled thru a shout, being bagged up, transported, tossed off a pallet.. etc.

Thank you farmer Connie! I was hoping it wasn't anything needed. I hate that it takes up so much weight in the feed bag and the actual feed they eat is much less.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I'd just wet down those fines and give them a mash, why waste it after all.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Thank you farmer Connie! I was hoping it wasn't anything needed. I hate that it takes up so much weight in the feed bag and the actual feed they eat is much less.

It depends on how much abuse the bag gets sometimes as well. Just like a bag of potato chips. Conventional grain is delicate. It crumbles very easily. That is so it is more easily digestible. It dissolves quickly because of that fact.

 

[ashlierami]

I'd just wet down those fines and give them a mash, why waste it after all.

That's true! I have a big bucket of it that I collect off the cracked corn and crumbles and I currently have baby chicks I could give it to as well.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

That's true! I have a big bucket of it that I collect off the cracked corn and crumbles and I currently have baby chicks I could give it to as well.

You might want to consider fermenting feed as well. Makes for healthy digestive systems.

 

[ashlierami]

You might want to consider fermenting feed as well. Makes for healthy digestive systems.

I've never done that what's that process involve?

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Equal parts feed and warm water in an open or loosely covered container. Aim for oatmeal texture, spoon stands for a minute. Wait 3 days. It'll puff up like dough. Feed birds. Leave a little behind in the container as starter culture. Add more food and water. Ready overnight. Repeat.

Just keep the sides of the container scraped down to avoid mold. My current batch is 5 months old.

 

[ashlierami]

Equal parts feed and warm water in an open or loosely covered container. Aim for oatmeal texture, spoon stands for a minute. Wait 3 days. It'll puff up like dough. Feed birds. Leave a little behind in the container as starter culture. Add more food and water. Ready overnight. Repeat.

Just keep the sides of the container scraped down to avoid mold. My current batch is 5 months old.

That sounds easy enough! I'll have to try that I don't have many but 14 birds do eat alot