ALABAMA!!

[Orps]

So we finished up the chick brooder this weekend! Well mostly my boyfriend, but I'm so proud of it! Here's it under construction:

Nice!!

 

[Orps]

Found some old pictures of my birds. These were the orps I had. Those hens weigh about 10lbs each. They were bigger than my yorkies and taller than my border collie. Miss them.

 

[bamadude]

Do any of u ferment ur feed? I have been reading about it. If so how do u ferment urs? What type of feed? Etc. My brahmas are almost 15 weeks old. They are on purina flock raiser now. I also give them a little scratch grains

 

[Dragonfly216]

Nice!!

Thank you!

 

[RedneckGurl]

Do any of u ferment ur feed? I have been reading about it. If so how do u ferment urs? What type of feed? Etc. My brahmas are almost 15 weeks old. They are on purina flock raiser now. I also give them a little scratch grains

Bamadude - I have been fermenting my feed since last summer. It is so very easy and my birds love it. I use a 2:1 ratio of layer crumbles and 3 grain scratch, sprinkle in some BOSS, add water and a healthy splash of UACV. Stir it all up and let it sit for a couple of days until you see it bubble. I like to keep mine about the consistency of mortar - moist but not too wet. Some people keep theirs more the consistency of a thick soup but my birds seem to prefer it a bit drier. Either way is fine - just experiment to see which your flock prefers. Once you get a good ferment going, you can use what is left over (about 1" in the bottom of the container) to inoculate a new batch and the fermentation doesn't take as long as when you start from scratch. I make up two batches in two separate containers so that I can feed out of them on different days - that way one is always percolating to keep the fermentation going.

The mixture will also grow a greyish white film on the top - don't panic. This is a GOOD thing so don't throw it away because you think it's moldy. The white is called the scoby and indicates your fermentation is working properly. In warmer weather I use two 5 gallon icing buckets from the Wal-Mart bakery (purchased for one cent each and food grade plastic) that I keep in my storage room of my coop...but over the winter, I took a tip from someone on the "Fermented Feed" thread here on BYC (very good reading if you have the time - tons of good info) and started making mine in two flip top Igloo coolers. Because I have to store the mixture outside in my coop which isn't heated, the coolers keep it from freezing and I mix my batches with very hot water from inside the house to keep the fermentation going despite the record lows we've had this winter. If the temp falls below around 50 the fermentation will go dormant so you want the mixture to remain warm. Of course, during the Alabama summers that is SO not a problem and I just use water from the hose.

The one thing you do NOT want to do is ferment in a glass jar unless you plan to leave the lid off because when the feed ferments it expands and if the glass jar has the lid screwed down the jar will explode, ruining the feed and making a mess. I leave about 3" expansion room in the top of my buckets and/or coolers. I got one a bit too full one morning and it had expanded over the top lip of the cooler and onto the coop floor by the next morning. Not a total tragedy and my girls enjoyed helping me clean it up - right down their little pie holes.

If you have any other questions, I can try to answer them or as I stated above, the Fermented Feeds thread on here is an excellent source for information on what others are doing. There is a member that goes by the name Beekissed who is VERY knowledgeable and posts there regularly. Her philosophy is essentially this - if anything you are doing regarding raising your chickens is hard, you aren't doing it properly. I try to ascribe to that as well. Good luck!!!

 

[Orps]

Day 21. None of my quail eggs hatched

. I think it's because I couldn't keep the humidity up for the last few days. Homemade incubator was a failure.

 

[huntinwidow]

Day 21.  None of my quail eggs hatched:/ .  I think it's because I couldn't keep the humidity up for the last few days.  Homemade incubator was a failure.

. What type of quail. Mine take 25 days.

 

[Tomtommom]

I lacto-fermented my feed for a while, worked really well. Emptied the bucket after two weeks and could not get a good new batch going

D'oh. First batch smelled like yogurt, second batch like sewage, third batch like kraut..... The chickens at the first and the last with no ill effect, the second batch went on the compost pile. I've not tried it again. It seemed like the girls were eating a lot less though. Guess because the food swells up two to three times in size.

I really need to get back to doing it.

I used a bit of buttermilk and a capsule of Culturelle (lacto probiotic) to get that first batch started... guess that made a real difference. From the guide I was going by they said ACV wasn't the proper starter for lacto fermentation. No clue if it matters which route you go *laugh*

 

[Orps]

. What type of quail. Mine take 25 days.

coturnix quail

 

[huntinwidow]

. What type of quail. Mine take 25 days.

coturnix quail

Oh, ok. Those take 18 don't they? :/