FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

I believe that article was addressing the dietary habits of prairie chickens in relation to the field crop availability. I'm assuming those birds are outdoors all winter long. That they list the corn as only a "fair" source of available energy as opposed to soy or millet would seem like they feel that corn has less value in that respect but it just so happened to be the most consumed grain due to their being more corn fields in the area studied.

Quote:
Nowhere do these reports or articles state directly that increased corn ration is needed to increase warmth to a backyard chicken flock. Corn just happens to be the most prevalent grain grown for livestock feeding and is relied upon heavily for this and for winter feeding due to being cheaper than soybeans or millet, but I've never seen anything stating that one must give corn to animals to keep them warm in the winter. Many, many cattlemen rely only on hay for winter feeding of cattle and find it provides sufficient energy to keep the cattle warm.

In my own flock down through the years I've used cracked corn at various times of the year to supplement feed and have never noted any distress from heat from feeding it in the summer months, and never saw any changes in feed consumption or signs of increased stress in the flock during winter cold when not using corn supplementation. I go by what I see in my own backyard more than what I see in an article written by a desk jockey, so for now I'm sticking to the premise that adding corn to the regular, formulated feed diet doesn't keep chickens any more warm than if it were not added. I see no visual proof of that out back in the coops.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...
but I've never seen anything stating that one must give corn to animals to keep them warm in the winter.
...

I don't recall anyone saying one must give corn to keep them warm either, just that the energy supply is helpful, especially during the long winter nights.
I've never spoken to a poultry nutritionist that denied the carbohydrate content of corn and it's effect on producing heat during digestion.
I joined this thread to contribute information.
Anecdotal evidence is good but science is better.
Anecdotally, I never saw a chicken eat a frog so I didn't imagine they did. Having a pond nearby, I now see chickens eat frogs regularly.
Just sayin'.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

... inhibits the overgrowth of bacteria like coccidiosis, salmonella, e.coli, etc. ...
...

And by the way, coccidia is a parasitic protozoa, not bacteria. If it were a bacteria, an antibiotic would work. That's why the prescribed method of control is a thiamine blocker.
Protozoa are similar to bacteria however are more advanced; they have an intracellular nucleus like animal cells. For these advancements, protozoa belongs to a different Kingdom of Life from animals and bacteria.

 

[Beekissed]

You are correct, Chickencanoe, and I apologize for being pedantic on wanting real results in the flock. Please feel free to share information you find to be of great value to backyard flock keeping. I tend to be too keyed in on what I can apply to the actual bird.

My apologies!

 

[Beekissed]

And by the way, coccidia is a parasitic protozoa, not bacteria. If it were a bacteria, an antibiotic would work. That's why the prescribed method of control is a thiamine blocker.
Protozoa are similar to bacteria however are more advanced; they have an intracellular nucleus like animal cells. For these advancements, protozoa belongs to a different Kingdom of Life from animals and bacteria.

Thank you for that clarification!

 

[fosterson]

Bee, remember how I asked if it was okay if my hen ate herself stupid when she found she had the FF all to herself?

Little stinker. I CAUGHT her today...she jumped up on the pop up door and knocked it closed before the others could get out! Then stood there and STARED at me like 'so, where's the FF?'

 

[Beekissed]

Guess she survived to gorge another day! Smart bird.

 

[fosterson]

Guess she survived to gorge another day! Smart bird.

If she wasn't my roo's favorite hen....

 

[LindaB220]

They don't need corn to stay warm in the winter. I know that's a story that is often told on these forums but it's simply not true...I've seen no evidence of this in all my years and I've read no studies done to that effect either. Most formulated feeds have corn as the primary grain used, so the addition of even more corn isn't going to stoke the "fire" inside the bird like one would a wood stove. No more than it makes us hotter when we eat corn on the cob, so I wouldn't put much stock in the whole corn keeping them warm in the winter thingy no more than I would avoid feeding corn in the summer to avoid over heating the birds.

I'm sure you're right. The info I got was an old book that said that southerners use sorgum the way that northerners use corn. The heat element is not as bad in sorgum in the summer. But this was an oooold book so I don't have an opinion.

 

[Tikkijane]

Heading into town to get my cooler so I can get this going. I have a feed shed which I think will be fine for the cooler most of the time, but I'll probably start it indoors at first because it's cold! We're moving coops; finishing the interior today and I don't know if I'll have a spot inside or not. I might get one with wheels to move in and out of the feed shed, since I'll be feeding outside unless it's raining. Right now, they can get under the coop to stay dry, but the new one is a pre-fabbed shed/barn deal so while it's not on the ground, it's not as high up as the other. Even though the FF is wet anyhow, I try to give them space to stay dry while eating if they want to.

I assume pellets will break down just as well as crumble? I use a combo (because the higher protein I use only comes as crumble). I watched the videos and noticed it was the two-bucket method- is there a difference in time for one bucket or two?

I may have to feed the guineas later in the evening because they like to wait until later to eat and then head to bed. Either way, it's going to be interesting moving them and changing their feed pretty much at the same time, lol.