FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[kile529]

Shouldn't be anything like that happening on their backs unless they are literally taking a bath in the FF. I'd be watching these chicks to see if they are picking one another. You can feed them more if they are seeming to be too hungry or if they are picking each other's feathers even when there is no feed to clean off.

Another thing to consider if these are being brooded out in a coop...many people are reporting mice chewing feathers on their adult hens at night. If these chicks are where mice can prey on them, it's one possibility. It's been a bad winter for the wildlife and this could be why they are resorting to the feathers for nutrition.

Do you think that mice could get in and out of a 150 gallon rubbermaid trough? I'll go out in a little bit and really watch them to see if I can see anything. Is Blu-Kote safe to spray on chicks? I used it on hens before that were getting picked on to keep the other hens from seeing the blood, I just don't know if it's safe for chicks.

 

[Beekissed]

Do you think that mice could get in and out of a 150 gallon rubbermaid trough? I'll go out in a little bit and really watch them to see if I can see anything. Is Blu-Kote safe to spray on chicks? I used it on hens before that were getting picked on to keep the other hens from seeing the blood, I just don't know if it's safe for chicks.

Shouldn't be able to....so that leaves them picking one another. I've used the FF on two largish batches of chicks, one batch were meaties, and never saw anything like what is happening to your birds. If any chick was going to eat on another chick, the meaties would be the ones...they are like piranha.

You might set a trap outside your brooder with a little lard, bacon grease or peanut butter on it and see what you catch.

 

[niqueie]

I had some of my chicks get their throat/crop area totally bald from the FF crusting up there. They grew back eventually and look great now, but it took awhile. It made sense though, because it was where the feeder rubbed on them and where the feed would end up after they ate. The top of the head may make some sense because if you have a feeder where they stick their entire head in then they might get feed on their head. But the back and base of tail is very suspicious indeed.

 

[Little Wing]

I have had the same issue with chicks getting bald. Their feeder has the holes in it to stick their heads through. It doesn't happen to all of them. I don't know why it is some and not others. This guy was a Lavender Orp. We called it Dr. Phil. It all came back after they got bigger and switched to an open trough.
It seems like all of the chicks get more scraggly looking with the FF. It's not too bad with chicks but it was almost a deal breaker with my Ameraucanas. The beards getting picked out was driving me crazy. Making it drier has helped a lot with that but hasn't stopped it completely. The benefits are still outweighing any downsides to it though.

.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I much prefer the reel top chick feeders than the ones with the holes. They can't roost on top and poop in their food. The ones with the holes only work for a few days and then they can't get to all the feed.

http://www.toolfetch.com/teksupply-...313036313339&gclid=CKjhy5vWir0CFewRMwodlS4AMQ

This type is better for dry feed.
http://www.strombergschickens.com/product/baby-chick-bulk-feeder/chick-feeders
It will feed much older chicks.

 

[kile529]

Ok that makes me feel better. Ours have been feeding out of a plastic tupperware container, so nothing rubbing it there. At least I know it's somewhat normal. lol I put a red light on last night and sprayed blu-kote on the backs of the chicks with the stripes on their backs. No sign of mice so it must be pecking. I haven't seen any pecking at eachother though...craziness. lol

 

[MandalaMaMa]

My girls are doing great on FF food. I am so pleased with it. They get it twice a day. I do have a question however. I have been mixing DE in with the dry food when I buy it. Do I need to continue to use the DE or are they getting enough good stuff from the FF.

 

[beverly evans]

My girls are doing great on FF food. I am so pleased with it. They get it twice a day. I do have a question however. I have been mixing DE in with the dry food when I buy it. Do I need to continue to use the DE or are they getting enough good stuff from the FF.

Hi MMM, The DE in the ff is just to help prevent worms and if I remember right the idea from Bee was that if your chickens are healthy, active and behaving normally you have no reason to treat for worms. Save that for when you are sure you need to treat. DE is good to sprinkle in the litter, in the nesting boxes and on the roosts to kill or prevent mite infestations. : )

 

[Beekissed]

My girls are doing great on FF food. I am so pleased with it. They get it twice a day. I do have a question however. I have been mixing DE in with the dry food when I buy it. Do I need to continue to use the DE or are they getting enough good stuff from the FF.

I don't use DE and am not convinced it's a good thing to feed it to the animals or place it everywhere in their environment, so can't really help you with that one. FF has nothing to do with the properties of DE and vice versa...one is an improved feed filled with prebiotics and probiotics and the other is diatom dust..tiny, sharp pieces of silica. Although it's something to be found in nature, I'm not sure I'd feed it to animals or let them breathe it in their environment. That's just my thoughts and I'm sure that's not a popular thought on this forum, but as a nurse I just bulk at feeding sharp dust to the birds simply to try and rid it of worms or dust it with sharp dust to rid it of a mite...too many other less destructive ways of doing this without using DE.

[27][28] This effect can create an occupational hazard for people working with sandblasting equipment, products that contain powdered crystalline silica and so on. Children, asthmatics of any age, allergy sufferers, and the elderly (all of whom have reduced lung capacity) can be affected in much less time. Amorphous silica, such as fumed silica is not associated with development of silicosis, but may cause irreversible lung damage in some cases.[29] Laws restricting silica exposure with respect to the silicosis hazard specify that they are concerned only with silica that is both crystalline and dust-forming.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Hi MMM, The DE in the ff is just to help prevent worms and if I remember right the idea from Bee was that if your chickens are healthy, active and behaving normally you have no reason to treat for worms. Save that for when you are sure you need to treat. DE is good to sprinkle in the litter, in the nesting boxes and on the roosts to kill or prevent mite infestations. : )

X2

DE adds nothing from a nutrition perspective.