I started to do fermented feeds, but that somehow never quite worked out, so I gave up and just went with soaked feeds, which I typically soak the night before I feed them.
Part of it is my way of using up the chick starter crumbles, since soaking the high protein feed makes it okay for everyone, and it'd been a good way of helping to keep my birds hydrated during our ridiculously hot weather this summer.
I add a large scoop of chia seeds, and two or three heaping spoonsful of diatomaceous earth for added minerals, along with a generous swig of organic apple cider vinegar, before mixing it all well with clean filtered water. Our girls have been laying better, and everyone has been happier overall, since I started doing so.
I should note that we're in Zone 7a, though the previous three years our low temp each year was minus 3 degrees, which is pretty damned cold.
This last winter was far warmer, and our low temperature was 14 degrees, so pperhaps they really did revise our growing zone correctly..
Wow. That sounds like a well thought out process! I love it
Yeah, I'm pretty much a research junkie, and I started learning about natural foods when my dad bought a small health food store in the early seventies.
I have a fair amount of knowledge already, and keep adding to it, in the hopes that we can stave off any potential health issues.
The nicest thing is that everyone loves the soaked feed, including our rooster and our ducks, so there's little if any waste.
I make it in a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup, half fill it with chick crumbles, add the other ingredients, and fill it with filtered water.
The feed and chia seeds soak up the water overnight, so in the morning I scoop it out into two or three flat plastic food storage containers, which work well to feed our birds, as they are easy to clean.
I typically add more water before feeding them. The feed is usually gone within twenty minutes or so, so it seems to be the perfect amount for our eight birds.
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