Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

Hi All,
Almost two years ago I read an article titled "Eleven foods we should eat".

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/

1. Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
   How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
2. Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
   How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.
3. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
   How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.
4. Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
   How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.
5. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
   How to eat: Just drink it.
6. Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
   How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.
7. Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
   How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.
8. Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
   How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.
9. Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
   How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.
10. Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
    How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.
11. Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
    How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Canned pumpkin #11 seems like something that would be easy to incorporate into FF especially during the cold snowy winters when there is no greens to forage.

I also agree with galanie's suggestion about hanging alfalfa cubes in a bag to avoid mold. We over a hundred plus bales of alfalfa for our horses with no problems.
Joe

the alfalfa came in a 50lb bag . it is ground to a powder. i mix it right in the mash to ferment. it costs me 17.00 per 50 lbs. right now i am feeding 49 birds. 32 cornish x and 16 layers and 1 rooster.

Hi Bruce,
Would there be more benefit to using alfalfa cubes which would provide some fiber to the FF mix?
Joe

i can't really answer that honesty. however i would assume that alfalfa is alfalfa in cube, ground, or pellet form . i would imagine the fiber benefit is the same just how it is applied to the mix. i know with powder i get a very even mix

Missa Chickabee said:

Thanks all for the replies about the chlorinated water. This is good news. The question was for someone else as I also have well water. Seems like the "good" overcomes the "bad" in with FF in city water.

Can't wait to get going on this.

Snow is falling hard now in Northern MN. The chickens are loving it, it seems.

FF will freeze solid outside this week so I'll be doing this in the basement in my "Booch Barn" (pantry) where I used to ferment Kombuchu tea and where, from now on will be fermenting gallons of AVC.

Got UN/ACV this week at Walmart. YAY.....half the price...so between that savings and splitting it up to culture the "motherless" stuff (I guess we could call it 'orphan AVC' ) that's even more savings.

Click to expand...

Before I knew I could get the ACV at WalMart I was asking a friend if she knew where I could get the ACV w/Mother. She didn't know what that is but offered Kombuchu. Is this something that could be added to the mix if you're not sure the Mother is any good?
The reason I ask that is the 2 bottles of ACV I bought at WalMart didn't reall look like it had any Mother in it, even though the bottle said it did.
Gave my 71 chickens their first taste of FF yesterday. Absolutely NO hesitation in eating it. They CLEAN their plates very well.

knjinnm said:

Hi All,
Almost two years ago I read an article titled "Eleven foods we should eat".

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/

1. Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
   How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
2. Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
   How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.
3. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
   How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.
4. Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
   How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.
5. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
   How to eat: Just drink it.
6. Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
   How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.
7. Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
   How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.
8. Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
   How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.
9. Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
   How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.
10. Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
    How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.
11. Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
    How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Canned pumpkin #11 seems like something that would be easy to incorporate into FF especially during the cold snowy winters when there is no greens to forage.

I also agree with galanie's suggestion about hanging alfalfa cubes in a bag to avoid mold. We over a hundred plus bales of alfalfa for our horses with no problems.
Joe

Click to expand...

One more benefit of blueberries is that they're high in natural aspirin. I use them whenever I suspect that one of my birds is in any kind of pain. They're also anti-diarrheal (unless you eat too many of course).

Thanks for the idea on using pumpkin for winter time Vit A! You're right, that would be very easy to incorporate in the ff.

For those of you wondering about alfalfa, back up a few pages. We just talked about it.

A few notes about my learning process of FF.

After 6 days of fermenting with ACV with the mother, the feed had no sour smell and no white/gray layer at the top. There was the occasional bubble, but not much. This am, 14 hrs ago, I threw in a little bakers yeast and a few hours later the bubbles were going nuts. When I dipped out supper, there was a gray film in between the water and feed layers. They've been eating wet feed for 6 days and loving it. They also gobbled up the real FF this evening.

I know it's possible to get started with wild strains of yeast and lactic acid bacteria but, has anyone else tried using the ACV/yeast, one two combo?

One more note, a 1/32 inch hole, or even 200 of them is way toooo small. After reading this thread, I just grabbed the smallest bit I had and started drilling. Even after 24 with the FF bucket inside the other bucket, I had only a few ounces of liquid in the bottom bucket. I redrilled with a 3/32 bit and it's still having trouble draining because of the layer/scratch combo in there. BUT, they love the liquid mash anyway.

My .02.

Lacy Blues said:

One more benefit of blueberries is that they're high in natural aspirin. I use them whenever I suspect that one of my birds is in any kind of pain. They're also anti-diarrheal (unless you eat too many of course).

Thanks for the idea on using pumpkin for winter time Vit A! You're right, that would be very easy to incorporate in the ff.

For those of you wondering about alfalfa, back up a few pages. We just talked about it.

Click to expand...

You can ferment pumpkins without adding them to the feed mix. I've been doing it for years and it takes no effort at all....just store them in a shed outside. Let them freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw....somewhere along mid to late winter, they are moldy and squashed looking. THIS is the time to feed the pumpkins....they will swarm over it like honey bees and you won't find a scrap left when they are done.

Kombucha left on its own will eventually turn to vinegar so I would say yes that kombucha would be an excellent addition to FF - especially if it's homemade!

B J Hopkins said:

Before I knew I could get the ACV at WalMart I was asking a friend if she knew where I could get the ACV w/Mother. She didn't know what that is but offered Kombuchu. Is this something that could be added to the mix if you're not sure the Mother is any good?
The reason I ask that is the 2 bottles of ACV I bought at WalMart didn't reall look like it had any Mother in it, even though the bottle said it did.
Gave my 71 chickens their first taste of FF yesterday. Absolutely NO hesitation in eating it. They CLEAN their plates very well.

Click to expand...

Beekissed said:

You can ferment pumpkins without adding them to the feed mix. I've been doing it for years and it takes no effort at all....just store them in a shed outside. Let them freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw....somewhere along mid to late winter, they are moldy and squashed looking. THIS is the time to feed the pumpkins....they will swarm over it like honey bees and you won't find a scrap left when they are done.

Click to expand...

That is very interesting! What about the mold though?