Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Fancychooklady]

That's the name of it lol Thankyou Fancy Couldn't think of it for the life of me

No worries sandee, I have a lot of senior moments too.

 

[appps]

So if someone had told me I would hAve doves running wild in my house I would have told them they were crazy lol

They seem to have an amazing knack of waiting till they are just off the paper to poop. Sigh. Going through an awful lot of paper towels cleaning up behind them. I cannot imagine doing this with a full grown chicken!!

Oh in case you are imaging poop on the furniture these guys are far too uncoordinated to ever get of the ground lol

 

[smallbluejellybean]

Bummer, will keep looking for you.

Thank you I really appreciate your efforts.

 

[rexy]

A few days ago, I asked if anyone on here fed fermented feed. No one answered, so I assume no one does. I started my fermented feed two days ago, and fed it for the first time this afternoon. This is a pic of my 5 week olds 2 minutes after I put their first ever dish of fermented feed (or ff) in with them. Excuse the photo, especially after seeing all Fancy's beautiful shots.

If anyone is interested in reading about ff, this is a great thread with a few other links. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds

 

[Fancychooklady]

Rexy after reading the link I realized that I have been fermenting food without really knowing it. I boil barley till most of the water is gone, turn the heat off and pour a cup of acv in . Put the lid on and stand over night. The grain absorbs any moisture and the acv. I've been doing this during the winter months for years purely by accident because previously when I made it up for the horses the chooks would get into the bucket, so I thought , ok I'll make some up for the chooks. They love it!

 

[rexy]

Rexy after reading the link I realized that I have been fermenting food without really knowing it. I boil barley till most of the water is gone, turn the heat off and pour a cup of acv in . Put the lid on and stand over night. The grain absorbs any moisture and the acv. I've been doing this during the winter months for years purely by accident because previously when I made it up for the horses the chooks would get into the bucket, so I thought , ok I'll make some up for the chooks. They love it!

That's great, I am only partway through the thread, but I have put all sorts into my mix - layers, pullet micropellets and mixed grain. I fed it to every age I have, 6 day olds, 5 week olds, 11 week olds, and the layers, and they all ate it immediately and really well. If it increases the available nutrients as they say, and reduces the amount of feed they eat, then its worth a go for me. I have also been sprouting oats for the breeders for a few months. I have never been very happy with the quality of chook food available, and the better stuff is so expensive. So, I thought this was worth a go.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I also sprouted lupins. They are only $14 for a 20 kilo bag. I get 20 kilo bags of grain barley for $10 and if you are anywhere near a brewery , they often sell the barley / hops tailings. It really is a matter of making the most of what is in your area.

 

[rexy]

I also sprouted lupins. They are only $14 for a 20 kilo bag. I get 20 kilo bags of grain barley for $10 and if you are anywhere near a brewery , they often sell the barley / hops tailings. It really is a matter of making the most of what is in your area.

Did you do lupins for chooks? I used to feed lupins to goats for their high protein. they were always pretty expensive, not sure that I have ever seen them that cheap. My mixed grain I use is about $14, so if I am happy to be able to use that and layers to make a good quality feed. I actually do have a brewery about 40 mins away. I had forgotten about them until you just mentioned them.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Yes I soak them for 24 hours and sprout them for 3 days. You can also sprout triticale , and I think that is readily available and cheap.

 

[Bens-Hens]

I had a bin of scratch grain that had got wet when the kids left the lid open, it had layer pellets in it that went all 'furry' I didn't want to waste about 15kg of feed. We soaked the grain for a day or so and rinsed the fluffy pellets from it. Laid it out in the laundry and started a little production line of fodder.

Chooks loved it, but was glad when the bin was empty, took a bit of work to keep that line going, plus the wife was not keen on a rain forest in the laundry!





When it got thick and green I would take it out to the run and move the tubs along a notch.