FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

I would say this is more of a crushed grain. What I was getting is a crumble. I will definitely compare the labels as soon as the rain lets up around here. Thanks for your advise.

I would bet it is a mash.

I would bet the same.

It doesn't matter. Once you add the water, the feed no matter the form will break down to a mush. Most small feed mills do not have the equipment to pellitize the feed.

Nope...my layer mash doesn't go to mush, more like granola cereal.

Beekissed wow your chickens walk right thru it... Mine might but they stand back and let Hubby Daddy clear them a path. Candied spoiled bunch.. LOL
I hate snow and cold with a passion
just chiming in yall

They are built like Mack trucks and they have the thickest feather coat I've ever seen on any other breed, so they don't even feel the cold and wet. They are built for winter, sort of like me.

I always think, what's the simplest thing to do or "what would their mama do? (Or what would beekissed do? Haha) If they were free range and wild, they'd be eating pretty "advanced" stuff right away. If I let a hen brood babies, they'd be members of the flock and would just eat along with everyone else. So they get switched to layer feed when they go in with the rest of the flock. That's usually around 6-8 weeks here. I had someone at TSC tell me I "couldn't give a chicken under the age of 6 months anything but starter or grower because of their delicate digestive system." I looked at her like she had two heads because I've seen them eat beetles as soon as they could catch them. Table scraps, scratching through the compost pile, and grazing free range, if they have such a delicate system and will keel over on layer, then I guess they just don't have enough gumption to survive on this farm. I'm not separating pens and building special feeders to segregate the feed because there are new babies. I'll look after like a mother hen if they are getting bullied from the feed bowls, but that's all the help they get from me. I ferment their feed while they are in the brooder feathering out for the current climate and let them at it. I even brood without any heat lamps of I can help it. They certainly aren't as delicate creatures as some treat them. Personal preference for a lot of chicken keeping from what I understand. Of course, I also don't have hundreds of dollars in breeding a pairs of rare breeds, just building a mixed flock of layers.

This post is amusing on many counts....and it's also correct. Chicks eat anything their mamas can find them from hatch onward and they have anything BUT a delicate digestive system. My chicks are out on range at 2 wks with mama~ or without a mama~ and they then eat foraged feeds and whatever the flock eats...layer mash. Been doing it that way for years and years, no birds succumbing to any health issues due to this oh, so indelicate diet.

 

[All Ball]

Any feeder ideas for this situation?!!

I have always fed FF to my 8 chickens, who backyard free range and use a mini-coop, in old dog/cat dishes on the ground outside, two times a day.

We've moved and at the new place, there are the same crowned sparrows stealing food - but these idiots POOP all over the feed...

I am trying to ration out the feed, so it's not sitting all day getting poopy, but it's hard to find the sweet spot where there is enough for the girl at the bottom but not enough to get all dirty.

It looks like no one here has tried/had success with using FF in treadle feeders - is that right? Any other ideas possibly? The dishes are nice, because they are small enough to stow in the coop at night in corners away from flying chicken poop. I would be willing to take some bigger, bulkier feeder inside the garage each night, but would want to make sure it had a good chance of working before going to the trouble/expense of making or buying....

Thanks for any helpful hints!!

 

[Beekissed]

I feed in the coop, so never have problems with wild birds. If you don't have room in your coop, maybe you could build a box extension on one side in which to house your FF feeder/pans? Could even have an outside access, like nest boxes, to provide ease in feeding. This could easily be done with just a simple plastic tote fastened to the side of your coop, cut the right holes in the wall and in the bottom of the tote, have a locking lid on the outside that you can open to fill your feed pans and you are golden. Would solve the poop and sparrow problem at the same time. Then you could feed once per day, just enough that they clean it all up...and I mean picked clean...by day's end.

I use a wooden trough I built here and it stays in the coop all the time, feed once per day...that trough gets picked clean.

 

[chitownhens]

I have 21 chickens and what I do is use drywall mud pans, a total of six. I mix food scraps and FF in each container and then bring it out and place it into holder I built with a few pieces of wood. One has a piece of wood held on by hinges that flips up and down to prevent the hens from standing in it while also allowing me to easily remove the trays. With the other holder I removed the cover because I built a small perch area for them to get some sun in the winter to add on to a larger one right around the corner.

I can pull the one with the cover out and take better pictures if you are interested but hopefully you can see it easily with these pictures below. I keep the feed inside the coop during the winter as they don’t go out unless they have to. I bring the pans back in at night and usually feed them once in the AM and then later in the afternoon and the mud pans are very easy to rinse out.

 

[KJoyce1111]

Started my first batch of FF last week and ready to start the second round tonight. I was surprised to find how easy it is and that I am not offended by the smell. The chickens did not even hesitate to dive into it and most definatly enjoy it. I do still need to adjust the size of the batches according to how fast they are eating it but I am very encouraged to continue.

 

[shodack]

I'm happy to report that the FF strike has come to an end. This week they are back to wolfing it. They had been eating it over the last month or so, just not as well as usual, but their appetites seem to have returned!

 

[RoseMarie1]

I got some more hens and a roo to go with my flock and they're not used to FF so I am watching them to make sure they're eating. So far I've only seen one pecking at the trough. The roo ate some of his since he's by himself I can tell he's eating.

 

[triplepurpose]

I got some more hens and a roo to go with my flock and they're not used to FF so I am watching them to make sure they're eating. So far I've only seen one pecking at the trough. The roo ate some of his since he's by himself I can tell he's eating.

you could always try introducing them gradually--start with dry and add increasing amounts of the wet until they get used to it. but if they get hungry enough they'll eat it, especially if they see the others doing so.

 

[RoseMarie1]

you could always try introducing them gradually--start with dry and add increasing amounts of the wet until they get used to it. but if they get hungry enough they'll eat it, especially if they see the others doing so.

That's what I figured to. They're not quite a year old yet.

 

[Beekissed]

I got some more hens and a roo to go with my flock and they're not used to FF so I am watching them to make sure they're eating. So far I've only seen one pecking at the trough. The roo ate some of his since he's by himself I can tell he's eating.

They get hungry enough, they'll eat it like slop.

I've brought several grown birds here since I've been doing FF...probably 30-40 by now...and each and every one dug in like it was caviar once they realized it was food. Didn't take them more than a day. Never met a chicken yet that would starve itself.