Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds - Page 174

chickachee,

milo is grain sorghum, millet is a cereal grain (google)

you really don't need the huge regional menu of all the grains mentioned on this thread, not sure how many birds you are feeding, if only a few you can get wild bird seed mix it has a host of grains in it,,,if you have more than a few birds then using the local "scratch" feed should supply what you want

just my .02

I have a couple of obnoxious geese who have earned the right to become thanksgiiving dinner. I started them on ff about a week ago, and I have a question: have any of you added herbs to the ff to see if you could flavor the meat? and what goes good with goose - i'm thinking some garlic, some rosemary, maybe a dash of thyme...

I think I've decided to continue with the FF for the winter.  The coop will be cozy enough and there will be hay bales around the bucket, so I don't think I'll get freezing going on.  I'm still worried about the birds eating cold food so I'm thinking I will be feeding it drier than I have been feeding it, so it's back to draining my feed mix to get the excess moisture out.  That's no problem for me, used to do it every day for the meaties. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mendocinosunris 

I have a couple of obnoxious geese who have earned the right to become thanksgiiving dinner. I started them on ff about a week ago, and I have a question: have any of you added herbs to the ff to see if you could flavor the meat? and what goes good with goose - i'm thinking some garlic, some rosemary, maybe a dash of thyme...

We've had that discussion.... But I don't have meat birds at the moment and the handful of people that are trying it haven't reported back in yet. The theory seems sound, we know that wild game picks up the "gamey" taste from the variety of plants they consume, also I have few chicks herbs before (long story, funny but not worth repeating again) and had their bodies give off the aroma og fresh cooked Dressing for weeks after, so again the theory seems sound. We just don't have any practicum reported yet. Feel free to dump a goodly portion of your favorite herbs and spices into your FF and let us know come turkey... er, Goose Day

Quote:

Originally Posted by mendocinosunris 

I have a couple of obnoxious geese who have earned the right to become thanksgiiving dinner. I started them on ff about a week ago, and I have a question: have any of you added herbs to the ff to see if you could flavor the meat? and what goes good with goose - I'm thinking some garlic, some rosemary, maybe a dash of thyme...

I put a bunch of thyme, oregano and sage in my ff like a week before i process my roosters, their insides smelled like oregano, and my husband said they also tasted a little flavored.

Personally I would start off with sage, it's a good all purpose herb, followed by oregan and/or basil. Simple common and cheap all. buy in bulk from some discount or bent and dent store and dump it in. Also if you REALLY feel enthusiastic do some research into some of the herbs that really pack a punch at giving some boost or the other to the body (ie cinnimon is a great glucose regulator and has had huge benefits to diabetics, tumeric and cumin have been linked to matabolism boosts and higher energy) Most all of our herbs and spices were originally used medicinally, that's why so many other cultures are kicking our butts are the health and weight of their populations, Americans eat pretty bland food (salt excluded) compared to other cultures, and those spices do more than just add flavor. So again, find a recipe that you like the sound of and start adding those seasonings to the FF; can't really hurt, may really help.

*ahem* Oregano, please don't start eliminating states for this experiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dianuzhka 

I put a bunch of thyme, oregano and sage in my ff like a week before i process my roosters, their insides smelled like oregano, and my husband said they also tasted a little flavored.

AWESOME! So we DO have a results post... and that was just a week. Wonder how much it would affect it if you fed the whole period. Might aught to be careful on this..... Too strong an herb, or fed over too long might prove to be potent

Anyone wanna throw some Goat Weed in the batch a week before slaughter?

Do you think that putting ground up nuts into a FF would be OK.  I just cleaned out my pantry and have several bags of old nuts that I would like to put to some use.  They are pecans, walnuts, almonds, and filberts. 

I also have several partial bags of beans that I would like to use somehow and know that I have to cook them first.  should I just cook them and give the to the birds or should I also add them to the FF?  I am feeding layers not meaties if that would make any difference?