Re: [AlpacaTalk] RE: corn/beet pulp
Once again, the cycle continues, can someone please point me to the study(ies) that demonstrated that corn will cause ulcers?
Thanks in advance,
Laurel
The Shouvlins
Bluebird Hills Farm
Springfield, Ohio
937-206-3936
www.bluebirdhills.com
bluebirdhills@voyager.net
> <<< Yep, you're right Tina.
> Any kind of sugars will cause an elevation in acid. Studies have found
> too much corn has been causing ulcers in alpacas ( which are very
> difficult to treat especially when one has no clue as to which stomach
> chamber the ulcer is in... ).
> Janice, sign up to the alpaca site/ yahoo group. Lots of good health
> questions come up there. Got a few vets who often chime in!>>>
>
>
> Thanks Dede, Tina, Wayne......I took all my animals off corn several
> years ago because of the GM aspects and my concerns. I even stopped
> feeding my chickens whole corn which I used to throw out for them in the
> winter to help add calories/heat. But last winter and this winter
> have been so cold that I have revisited that possibility. At the same
> time I began looking for ways to cut my time and costs. It has been
> quite an eye opener for me to discover that corn is now the most costly
> ingredient as it used to be the cheapest - thank you ethanol. So a
> double reason to avoid corn. After a week of pricing and thinking and
> gathering all your input I have come to the conclusion that the pellets
> formulated for each species is actually cheaper than trying to do it
> myself by mixing my own grains - which do not have the vitamin/mineral
> fortification formulated for each species which are added to the
> pelleted feeds.
> So my conclusion is to just keep doing what I have been doing. I have
> not had an alpaca emergency in several years now for which I am
> extremely grateful. Those of you who have been on here a long time may
> remember that I used to have constant paca emergencies and have lost
> more babies than I can count, along with adults. Knock on wood I have
> not had to bury one in 3-4 yrs now.
>
> I too also only feed a small amt of pellets to the alpacas - mainly just
> to keep em coming. But also in the winter I give a bit more for the
> calorie. After the bitter cold last winter that left my elderly
> matriarch shivering one night I managed to purchase enough of the XXXL
> dog blankets to have a coat for each of them this year. So any time we
> have wet cold coming in the blankets go on. I have already used them
> 3x this winter - and we are in the south! I am grateful to have found
> these great deals which made it possible for me to purchase coats for
> them all. I don't remember who first posted about this - Allison
> maybe? But I am eternally grateful.
>
> I also think I am going to shelve my idea of taking them off pellets and
> doing the chopped alfalfa way for the AM & PM "treat" giving that now
> alfalfa will also evidently be GM :-(. Why mess with success.
> The alpaca pellet formulation that I get from Southern States is
> inexpensive (tho a long drive for me) and Dr Evans told me many years
> ago that S States was using his formula. Whether or not that is still
> the case I don't know. All I know is that I have not had a health
> issue or emergency in several years.
>
> So its back to the laying pellets for the chickens and the alpaca
> pellets for the alpacas :-). I did however stop at the bread outlet
> yesterday - which I have been meaning to do forever. I discovered they
> sell a cartload of bread for $8 as feed. I loaded up my trunk. But
> even that is not really all that much cheaper than the 50# bag of laying
> pellets for about $10 with the proper balance of protein and calcium for
> poultry.....and this is nothing more than white flour with additives -
> no nutritional benefits at all. But the ducks, guineas and the
> chickens sure enjoyed it when I started tossing it out for them
> yesterday afternoon! Maybe I'll just do that instead of corn for a mid
> day treat and extra warming calories in the cold.
>
> I top dress the alpacas feed with soaked beet pulp. That is what is
> taking so long to feed. It seems to need to soak for 1-2 hrs to plump
> up nicely....so it turns into pretty much an all day rotation thru of
> soaking, then back out feeding, then soaking again for the evening,
> feeding, then soaking again for the morning......over and over ad
> nauseum. Those of you who are feeding beet pulp - how long do you soak
> it? I feed it to all the critters here except the cats who won't touch
> it and the poultry. But it seems to do good things for the dogs,
> horses, and alpacas.
>
> Janice
>
>
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