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Spoiled

November 9th, 2013

The animals around here are spoiled. The chickens, ducks, guineas and pigs get fermented grains as their daily ration. They also get homemade kefir and various supplements to keep them healthy. There are all manner of vegetables grown in the garden just for feeding the animals, in fact I have a good deal of kale for the chickens this winter.
fermenting zucchini 2
In mid July, I planted a ton of zucchini plants, mainly for feeding to the pigs. When I harvested the lot before frost, I ended up with around 60-70 lbs of them. Yesterday I set to work grating and fermenting much of what was left for the chickens and for us this winter.
fermenting zucchini 1
Fermenting will add probiotics and make the nutrients easier to absorb. No doubt the chickens are going to be happy as clams this winter when they get their first ration.

Do you ever make homemade food for your animals?

6 Comments to “Spoiled”
  1. Nebraska Dave on November 9, 2013 at 9:54 am

    Susy, wow, your animals are spoiled. I wish I could just be an animal at your house. They get the best food. I learned in the Mother Earth News Fair that there is a big difference between fermentation and petrification. One is beneficial and one is not. We had a live demonstration there with cabbage. Fermentation is really simple and I will most certainly give it a try. They claimed that almost any vegetable can be fermented and that the nutrition level increased with fermentation but that heat would destroy much of the benefits of fermentation. How do you store your fermented vegetables? Does the fermenting process produce an odor?

    I do like your crocks. I had a cousin from my Mom’s generation that collected them and had a whole room full of them. They ranged from five gallon down to pint level. She’s been gone for a long time now but I often wonder what happened to all those crocks. I see the value of them now but back then I thought it interesting but not that interesting. I kind wish I had some of those crocks now.

    Have a great animal food fermenting day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

    • Mz Kat on March 20, 2014 at 3:11 pm

      Ha ha! You made me laugh. I wish I could just be an animal at her house too! I think of all the wonderful crocks I have lived with on and off over the years. They got cumbersome on account of my many moves. Crocks! It is time to hunt them down again!

      Do you see she has gleaming new crocks and uses Real Salt brand salt? Now I TOTALLY want to be invited for dinner with the flock.

      Reply to Mz Kat's comment

  2. whit on November 9, 2013 at 10:17 am

    Wow! I agree with NE Dave; to be an animal in your house would be delightfully tasty.

    While I don’t purposely set out to make food for our schools, every once in a while they get the benefit of a cheese experiment gone foul. I do make extra waffles when we have them to feed to our ducks and barn cats. Both adore homemade buckwheat waffles.

    Have a great day! Good luck with all the yard clean up.

    Reply to whit's comment

  3. Katrina Amstutz on November 9, 2013 at 7:53 pm

    I spent 7 years of my life growing up overseas in Cambodia with my family. Over there we would make our dogs food (rice, beef and some sort of veggie), mostly because that was cheaper (and healthier) than buying it from the store. Now they get half homemade and half dry food.

    Reply to Katrina Amstutz's comment

  4. Smhynes on November 9, 2013 at 10:34 pm

    I am curious, how do you ferment zucchini?

    Reply to Smhynes's comment

  5. Heidi on November 9, 2013 at 11:08 pm

    I also make our dog his food because it is cheaper and better for him. He is a 4 year old mastiff with a short expected life span so I am trying the lengthen it. Chicken, rice, veggie, eggs and barley….my father in law arrived for a visit and looked in the pot and said, “Mmm…is that dinner?” and then looked confused when I told him it was the dog food. Less waste out the other end as well….commercial dog food has so much filler.

    Reply to Heidi's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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