FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[ak rain]

Wow bee that's amazing I was just asked this recently no food all day just a morning and evening feed. I did invite them to see my chickens they are not skinny. It did start me thinking so I asked. Thank you.

 

[Beekissed]

YW! I feed once a day and have been feeding in that manner for years now and my chickens are incredibly healthy and well fed on it, even in the winter when there is no forage to speak of. I've killed chickens whose last meal was 17 hrs earlier and found food in the crops..quite a bit, actually...and food in the gizzards, etc. We people don't have crops to store our food for later digestion, so we think when the meal is gone it's digested and gone, but for chickens it's stored in the crop and digested little by little all day long until the next time they eat.

 

[LindaB220]

Oh so you can use milk grains too?


I have some milk kefir sitting in the fridge that's not the tastiest I've made and was wondering what to do with it. I can culture from them since they are active too maybe I can actually do something useful with them. Could you PM me specifics on the best method to make this feed?

From what I understand (hadn't done it yet) you fill 5 gal half way full of feed. Cover it with water by 1 ". Then add a couple of Tbs of kefir or whey. Let it sit a while and then stir. Add more water and stir. Let sit for 3 or so days inside 70 degrees or above if poss. If not it will just take longer to finish. Stir daily. Start feeding when you can see bubbles. If you need to start smaller just use smaller bowl or container and less grain and water and 1 T kefir. You can't really fail on this. AND the bonus is you can feed kefir in a small bowl with diced fruit, veggies or dried oatmeal. They adore it. Do a search at the top. Feeding kefir to chickens. I bet a lot will pop up. I saw one woman that gives 1 qt a day of kefir to her 50 chickens. Good luck.

Edited: most unusual I thought I was sending a PM to Lonelypageturner. How did it end up here?

 

[chickengirl1193]

Mine come off the roost while it's still dark.  Dark for us is not dark for them...they can manage to see adequately in dim lighting.  I've seen mine out of the coop and foraging while I still have to use a flashlight to see. 

Dishing out their normal allotment of food and feeding it to them all at once is not restricting feed.....it's the exact and same amount of feed they normally eat in that time, so they are having no restrictions at all.  I've done this for up to 5 days at a time and the birds were still in the same condition as per normal and as if they had been fed their usual amounts daily.  Been doing it that way for years and it's all six of one, half dozen of the other.  Same thing with the dog and cat...they all get X amount of days rations to hold them over until we return and all fat and sassy when we get home. 

I dont have even a years worth of experience with chickens but I had thought they had good night vision but then one morning I checked their feed and opened the door before I left for school and it was still dark enough that I needed a flashlight and I remember that one chicken got scared and jumped off the roost then ran into a wall to get away from me, instead of out the door. Thats how I knew that chickens dont see well in the dark...
I also have another question, my girls desperately need some free ranging time because they keep rushing the gate but how can they possibly free range? We are still under 2 ft of snow and I dont want them just wondering on the driveway and road.... what does everyone else here do during the winter? (I have deep litter and sprouted grains and various boredom busters)

 

[Beekissed]

I dont have even a years worth of experience with chickens but I had thought they had good night vision but then one morning I checked their feed and opened the door before I left for school and it was still dark enough that I needed a flashlight and I remember that one chicken got scared and jumped off the roost then ran into a wall to get away from me, instead of out the door. Thats how I knew that chickens dont see well in the dark...
I also have another question, my girls desperately need some free ranging time because they keep rushing the gate but how can they possibly free range? We are still under 2 ft of snow and I dont want them just wondering on the driveway and road.... what does everyone else here do during the winter? (I have deep litter and sprouted grains and various boredom busters)

No, they don't see well in the dark..but they can see some. To what degree, who knows?

Mine have a dog breaking trail for them to other areas, but when the snow is too deep they have to stay in the dog trails and on the porch of the outbuilding. When the snow melts they make hay while the sun shines....the last few days they've foraged all over 3 acres, ranging farther out than they've ever ranged. Then it snowed again, so back to the coop and dog trails once again.

 

[Searsmom]

I dont have even a years worth of experience with chickens but I had thought they had good night vision but then one morning I checked their feed and opened the door before I left for school and it was still dark enough that I needed a flashlight and I remember that one chicken got scared and jumped off the roost then ran into a wall to get away from me, instead of out the door. Thats how I knew that chickens dont see well in the dark...
I also have another question, my girls desperately need some free ranging time because they keep rushing the gate but how can they possibly free range? We are still under 2 ft of snow and I dont want them just wondering on the driveway and road.... what does everyone else here do during the winter? (I have deep litter and sprouted grains and various boredom busters)

If you're feeling ambitious, shovel some snow for them.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Well they do have paths but there isn't anything but mud showing and the snow is frozen solid at this point. 2 ft high and I walk on top without breaking through. I guess it's the deep litter for a few more weeks

 

[ak rain]

Well they do have paths but there isn't anything but mud showing and the snow is frozen solid at this point. 2 ft high and I walk on top without breaking through. I guess it's the deep litter for a few more weeks

Same thing going on here. Maybe a month more it'll come ak rain

 

[kpgoldstar]

Look what appeared in the nest box today! Our first day with all 4 girls laying was Saturday. We had 2 normal small eggs on Sunday, then this! I wonder if it is a double yolker? Quite the shiver to get the rest of it out at the end!

 

[luvblues7]

Look what appeared in the nest box today! Our first day with all 4 girls laying was Saturday. We had 2 normal small eggs on Sunday, then this! I wonder if it is a double yolker? Quite the shiver to get the rest of it out at the end!





Looks like a Rose on the end of that egg.