FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Lazy Farmer]

Yes maggots do make great chicken feed. A common trick is to stack, say, possum bodies, roadkill etc on a wire rack above your chickens head height, and they pick up the maggots as they fall.

I tried it once. Frankly I don't like the smell or look of dead things. Also, basic fact, no "Energy Conversion" is totally loss-less, and although the maggots are higher in protein than possum meat, more is lost in nitrogen gasses, and the odd "One that Got Away".

So now I feed the meat straight to the chickens (cooked). Mostly offal meats from my sheep. Occasional supplementation with possum or eel. They do much better on this than on the few yucky squirmies they actually got!!

 

[Lazy Farmer]

thing is about that barley as nice as it may seem, if it leftover from beer or whatever, it may not contain enough nutrients,,, be careful there...I was told that from a friend who both had chickens and made beer.

I love barley for chickens and i have a fifty pound bag of it that i use for fodder...

Thanks.. We just feed it to the poultry as a side offering. They have several feeders of conventional grain pellets/crumble 50/50 mixed and only a single feeder of the barley grain.
The majority of the wet stuff goes to our swine. Feeder swine need "free will feeding to get the weight on them quick. The swine get conventional grain as well but without the barley, the feed cost would out weigh the revenue produced by the swine sales. Pigs are at rock bottom value right now. Pig feed is at the high end.
I get more calls from people that see my ad trying to dump their swine on me for a so-called deal, than people interested in buying mine.
I have 6 freezers packed with prime Berkshire pork. I'm not desperate to sell when I throw BBQ get togethers for friends and such. Last year I gave chops tenderloins for Christmas.
Sorry I jumped off subject.. hehe.. But back to the chickens, moderation fed with the wet grain and they gulp it down, kinda like my friends at the last BBQ..

 

[tigger19687]

Since I penned up the hens in the run all day yesterday and left them in the run this morning till almost 9am. They acted like they were starved.
Gobbled it down, but the SECOND I opened up the run to let them have the back yard they left the FF.
There are NEW bugs because I had to move the straw bales for the fence (they were there for over a year). Wish I could have let them out when I moved them, tons of bugs. I felt bad
I raked all the loose hay out of the way into a pile. Guess what happened to my pile

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Glad to hear the explanation of how to tell more accurately how the body weight of one's birds is ... I've always wondered how other people tell.

I pick them up and try to compare what they feel like along the keel to similar chickens we've eaten ... I wonder what they think I'm doing ... "Now Kira, are you nice and fat today???"

Er um... you could use a scale! That's what I do.

 

[FlyWheel]

I wish there was a gross tab to click!View attachment 1109698

Yes maggots do make great chicken feed. A common trick is to stack, say, possum bodies, roadkill etc on a wire rack above your chickens head height, and they pick up the maggots as they fall.

I tried it once. Frankly I don't like the smell or look of dead things. Also, basic fact, no "Energy Conversion" is totally loss-less, and although the maggots are higher in protein than possum meat, more is lost in nitrogen gasses, and the odd "One that Got Away".

So now I feed the meat straight to the chickens (cooked). Mostly offal meats from my sheep. Occasional supplementation with possum or eel. They do much better on this than on the few yucky squirmies they actually got!!

If I were to do that NO ONE would eat the eggs (including me, probably)!

 

[theuglyduckling]

i am wondering do you HAVE to use ACV with mother when FF or can you use just water alone? can you do either or? does using ACV with mother effect the fermenting process at all? is it okay to ferment medicated feed? i read you can but i am just making sure. right now i am fermenting two batches without ACV because i am not sure about whether it is good to use or not while FF. one of the batches already has foam at the top and i have mixed it back into the mixture. when fermenting without ACV do you still ferment it for 3-5 days or just one? im sorry i have probably asked questions that have been asked and answered before but my computer isnt working right. its extremly slow and freezing so i am trying to just get answers fast instead of going through page by page. hopefuly i can get a new computer soon.

 

[lazy gardener]

This article has all the info you need about the HOW and WHY. https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

Really, all you need is a bucket, feed, water, and time. Really! But, you can start it with just a bit of ACV with mother. Not necessary, but you can do so. Remember, all you are trying to do is inoculate it with some of the SCOBY from the ACV. YOu are not trying to make pickles! I just let it set till it gets a bit bubbly, or puffed up, then feed it out.

 

[bradymars]

I agree, just water, bucket , and feed. keep it thick not soupy, good stuff for the guts. You can also feed soured oats, same deal just make sure they stay under water and let them ferment. There best once they turn gold in color.

 

[theuglyduckling]

thanks for all the replies. i read the link and was helpful. as long as i dont see any mold im good? last night the batch that is for tomorrow had what i am understanding is yeast? it was white at the top even the bubbles were white so i just mixed it all together and have it fermenting again and today again the same thing happened with the same batch and so i again stirred it together. if i can get my computer to work i might try to upload pictures of it that i took just to make sure it is all right.

 

[theuglyduckling]

Tomorrow's batch