100 Broilers and Fermented Feed Project

[kuntrygirl]

Since they've been free ranging I've had to change out hay and leaves in their coop every other day since 4 weeks even tho they're only in it to sleep or it looks just like that.

If the weather were warmer, I surely would let them free range.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Kuntry girl  here is a big   for you!!

I would do as Chicken Canoe suggested and just go deep litter-- stir up the litter every day and addmore bedding and stir again.  You can give them grain to dig into the litter but they will need grit also. THe gissard will be more dveloped in the bird that gets grit and grain. I found the litter issue to be the biggest management problem. Holding back feed is not not necesasarily a bad thing as you know-- meaning being without food for a few hours will not kill these pigs. 

Constantly emptying out the litter is a PITA.  I have gone to DL with all my coops. Easier.  I use powdered lime to help with odor, and more shavings ( and dried leaves racked up in the fall). Check out the deep litter thread for info-- otherwise ask Beekissed.

Thanks. I will try the deep litter method. I guess I was trying to see how long the shavings would be "ok" before it got too bad. It looks like it lasted 1 1 1/2 days. So after I clean this batch, I will add more bags of shavings and clean it out daily. I will go online and find a conversion chart and try to figure out how many bags (at 8 cubic feet per bag) are really needed for my 12 foot long 4 foot wide brooder area. to get a 4 inch layer. :/

 

[kuntrygirl]

I just went out to check on the feed and it was LONG GONE. I filled up all 6 feeders this morning and now is time for a re-fill. I"m home today because of the bad weather in my area, so I normally wouldn't be home at 4:00 PM. I am usually not home until 6:00 PM. so they are eating early today. But I'm glad to know that it looks like I need to add a few more feeders. I'm thinking about those PVC pipe feeders all around the brooder. So that would be (2) 12 foot long feeders and (2) 4 foot long feeders. This will cover the entire wall of the brooder. I will have to measure the size of the feeders in their now. What I do know is that all 6 feeders in there right now hold 20 lbs of feed. So for today they will have eaten 40 lbs of feed. 20 lbs this morning and 20 lbs at 4:00 PM. I'll probably put more feed in before bedtime, so that will be 60 lbs of feed total. Goodness, what have I gotten myself into?

Do you think you can sell some off at this point to restore your sanity? 

100 is A LOT. Especially when they can't free range.

You will make your money back at least. The work involved does not seem worth it though. Maybe next time just raise enough for yourself to eat. 25 is easily manageable, and feeds our family of 2 for a year at least.

Yes, I thought about selling some for the same reason that you have mentioned. I will just have to figure out a good price to make sure that I get my money's worth after all of this feed has been eaten.

And yes 100 is a lot especially when there is only 1 person (ME) who does ALL of the watering, feeding, cleaning, etc. And at this point, I don't think that it's worth it. I know that I will only do a small portion next time. I think I can handle 25 like you all did. I know that will be more than enough for my freezer.

 

[Angelicisi]

Well at least that's the wet weight! Dry weight should be significantly less. I was scared I was waaaaay under feeding. I use 18lbs of feed for each 5gal bucket I make. They (37 CX) were eating about bucket a day by 5 weeks on restricted diet (twice per day feedings). By 6 weeks up to slaughter last weekend we started an extra feeding per day and go thru a bucket and a half. We processed 14 last weekend and the remaining are down to a bucket per day now.

My 3 week olds are almost 3/4 of a bucket a day already but we have 44 of them I think ( lol we sold a set) we feed these guys 3-4 times a day right now.

Yes ma'am. That is the FF weight . Straight from the plastic storage fermenting container to the scale to the feeders. Do you know how much yours are eating these days?

 

[aoxa]

Yes, I thought about selling some for the same reason that you have mentioned. I will just have to figure out a good price to make sure that I get my money's worth after all of this feed has been eaten.

And yes 100 is a lot especially when there is only 1 person (ME) who does ALL of the watering, feeding, cleaning, etc. And at this point, I don't think that it's worth it. I know that I will only do a small portion next time. I think I can handle 25 like you all did. I know that will be more than enough for my freezer.

We did 50 our first go, with 40 layer chicks. I HAD to move them out at 2 weeks. It just was way too much otherwise. I did 25 that didn't get out until 5 weeks because of a bad hawk situation, and the weather. I'm going to get 50 this May and 50 in July. We do sell some to our close family and friends, so I want to make sure I raise enough to at least make the ones I eat even out. I won't do fall broilers here again.. Not with the hawks migrating. I actually stopped a hawk mid-attack. The broiler had a huge gash on the back of it's neck. Coconut oil is an awesome thing. It survived.

But when you do 100 broilers, and you have already 120 ducks + 115 chickens + all those other species of poultry, you must be exhausted by the end of the day. RESPECT!

I am exhausted after caring for 170 chickens, 4 goats, 1 alpaca and the 3 rabbits (who free range and require maybe 2 minutes a day to feed).

You work too.. Definitely a hard worker! Maybe a little self harming by jumping in with 100 meat birds

You will feel much better doing 25 I know it.

 

[Cpolanco3]

on a posotive note... after taking care of 100 CX you'll be able to handle any other amount easy peasy.

claudia

 

[kuntrygirl]

I had been trying to post these pics for the last couple hours but was having problems downloading and I finally got them up. Here are some before feeding weights from the Large and Medium broiler groups.

Large Broiler 2 lbs 8.2 ounces

Medium Broiler 2 lbs 1.1 ounce

 

[kuntrygirl]

Well at least that's the wet weight! Dry weight should be significantly less. I was scared I was waaaaay under feeding. I use 18lbs of feed for each 5gal bucket I make. They (37 CX) were eating about bucket a day by 5 weeks on restricted diet (twice per day feedings). By 6 weeks up to slaughter last weekend we started an extra feeding per day and go thru a bucket and a half. We processed 14 last weekend and the remaining are down to a bucket per day now.

My 3 week olds are almost 3/4 of a bucket a day already but we have 44 of them I think ( lol we sold a set) we feed these guys 3-4 times a day right now.

Yes ma'am. That is the FF weight . Straight from the plastic storage fermenting container to the scale to the feeders. Do you know how much yours are eating these days?

That's a lot of feed as well. I wonder how many lbs is in that bucket. I think I need to feed mine at least 3 times a day.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Yes, I thought about selling some for the same reason that you have mentioned. I will just have to figure out a good price to make sure that I get my money's worth after all of this feed has been eaten.


And yes 100 is a lot especially when there is only 1 person (ME) who does ALL of the watering, feeding, cleaning, etc. And at this point, I don't think that it's worth it. I know that I will only do a small portion next time. I think I can handle 25 like you all did. I know that will be more than enough for my freezer.

We did 50 our first go, with 40 layer chicks. I HAD to move them out at 2 weeks. It just was way too much otherwise. I did 25 that didn't get out until 5 weeks because of a bad hawk situation, and the weather. I'm going to get 50 this May and 50 in July. We do sell some to our close family and friends, so I want to make sure I raise enough to at least make the ones I eat even out. I won't do fall broilers here again.. Not with the hawks migrating. I actually stopped a hawk mid-attack. The broiler had a huge gash on the back of it's neck. Coconut oil is an awesome thing. It survived. 

But when you do 100 broilers, and you have already 120 ducks + 115 chickens + all those other species of poultry, you must be exhausted by the end of the day. RESPECT!

I am exhausted after caring for 170 chickens, 4 goats, 1 alpaca and the 3 rabbits (who free range and require maybe 2 minutes a day to feed).

You work too.. Definitely a hard worker! Maybe a little self harming by jumping in with 100 meat birds  

You will feel much better doing 25 I know it.

You have a big group to care for over there as well. Sorry to hear about your hawk problem but glad that you were able to save the broiler. Sounds like mine may be going out at 6 weeks if our weather keeps this up.

 

[kuntrygirl]

on a posotive note... after taking care of 100 CX you'll be able to handle any other amount easy peasy.

claudia

Let's hope.