FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[cutipatooti]

I only feed whole grains.  And I ferment them. Sometimes i sprout them.   I don't feed prepared feeds.  Meat scraps, veggie scraps, fermented wheat, barley, and oats.  Sunflower heads sometimes.  This is for mature birds.  Chicks, I grind grains as needed and ferment.
Carol

Most of mine are around 10 weeks. How do you know how much of each to feed? I have a bag of mixed whole grains. Right now my chicks are penned as we have a fox problem and also bears. I need to protect my breeding stock but all my extra cockerels are free range. My kids dig worms and pick grass and weeds every day for the chickens but I know it's not enough. My feed is a local organic mash. I try to avoid crumble. Is there a site I can go to with good info on feeding whole grains. Thanks. I'm going to start fermenting my whole grains now.

 

[carolb5]

I feed enough for them to have a full crop. It's an observation. I want everyone to be full and some feed still left in the feeder. My feeds are probably equal amounts of each. I don't calculate all the numbers of proteins, etc. They are health and productive. We have predators also, so my flock is always penned.

Carol

 

[Chris09]

I feed enough for them to have a full crop. It's an observation. I want everyone to be full and some feed still left in the feeder. My feeds are probably equal amounts of each. I don't calculate all the numbers of proteins, etc. They are health and productive. We have predators also, so my flock is always penned.

Carol

Full crops don't tell you if a chicken is full or getting enough to eat.
Chickens eat to fill a caloric need (around 2,900 kcal ME/kg diet) and with in that 2,900 kcal they need to get there proper nutrition.
If that kcal is to high they stop eating before they get there proper nutritional amount, too low and you have a bunch of fat over weight birds that are eating way more feed than they need..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I feed enough for them to have a full crop. It's an observation. I want everyone to be full and some feed still left in the feeder. My feeds are probably equal amounts of each. I don't calculate all the numbers of proteins, etc. They are health and productive. We have predators also, so my flock is always penned.

Carol

If you don't mind, I'm curious how long you've been feeding this way, how many birds and do you breed and hatch eggs?

 

[carolb5]

Well, probably 20 plus years. I only have 45 leghorns. I hatch out about that many each spring, keep some for replacements, sell what I can of the rest.

Chris09. I don't know if I explain my feeding practices very well. They are healthy, productive. That's all I need.

Carol

 

[jerrey]

Well, probably 20 plus years. I only have 45 leghorns. I hatch out about that many each spring, keep some for replacements, sell what I can of the rest.

Chris09. I don't know if I explain my feeding practices very well. They are healthy, productive. That's all I need.

Carol

I just wanted to know if anyone gives there chickens Tetroxy HCA-280 and if so why
Jerey Mae

 

[islandgirl82]

Last night I began my first attempt at fermentation. I woke this morning to find the feed had expanded so much it exploded all over my kitchen floor, including covering my newfoundland (who didn't seem to even notice). I had no idea it would expand SO much! I fed some to the flock, which they ate quite happily, to make more room in the bucket and scooped some into additional containers. I placed all containers/bucket outside in the sun while I cleaned up the mess and left it out for the day. I'm very pleased to see it's already bubbling and it's not even been 24 hours.

In hindsight, as amusing as the morning's mishap was, I should have tried this with a much smaller batch but I'm also kicking myself for not have done this much MUCH sooner. I've had chickens for several years and only started reading about FF recently. The difference in volume alone is worth it and I'm eager to see the other benefits in time.

 

[Audio51]

Last night I began my first attempt at fermentation. I woke this morning to find the feed had expanded so much it exploded all over my kitchen floor, including covering my newfoundland (who didn't seem to even notice). I had no idea it would expand SO much! I fed some to the flock, which they ate quite happily, to make more room in the bucket and scooped some into additional containers. I placed all containers/bucket outside in the sun while I cleaned up the mess and left it out for the day. I'm very pleased to see it's already bubbling and it's not even been 24 hours.

In hindsight, as amusing as the morning's mishap was, I should have tried this with a much smaller batch but I'm also kicking myself for not have done this much MUCH sooner. I've had chickens for several years and only started reading about FF recently. The difference in volume alone is worth it and I'm eager to see the other benefits in time.

You have a much better sense of humor about it than I would have! I have heard of others having this happen too. I never fill mine more than 1/2 full. Glad your birds are liking it so quickly. Some take a week or so to become enthusiastic about it.

 

[islandgirl82]

You have a much better sense of humor about it than I would have! I have heard of others having this happen too. I never fill mine more than 1/2 full. Glad your birds are liking it so quickly. Some take a week or so to become enthusiastic about it.

After my jaw dropped when I saw it, I laughed but lesson learned! Mine was about 2/3 full but that was obviously too much. It's funny how finicky chickens can be about food, especially considering what they actually will eat. I've fed the same brand since day one with my starter flock several years ago. There was only one time I bought a different brand and my birds wouldn't touch it. I was more concerned about whether they'd go for the texture of the mash-soon-to-be-fermented but my two oldest girls went for it immediately (even with a feeder already full of dry crumbles that they have around the clock access to) and the younger birds followed suit. I've read about people having to really coax their flocks into eating FF and it makes me thankful that mine don't seem to need any persuading but we shall see if that continues once they have the final product. Fingers crossed.

 

[kpgoldstar]

After my jaw dropped when I saw it, I laughed but lesson learned! Mine was about 2/3 full but that was obviously too much. It's funny how finicky chickens can be about food, especially considering what they actually will eat. I've fed the same brand since day one with my starter flock several years ago. There was only one time I bought a different brand and my birds wouldn't touch it. I was more concerned about whether they'd go for the texture of the mash-soon-to-be-fermented but my two oldest girls went for it immediately (even with a feeder already full of dry crumbles that they have around the clock access to) and the younger birds followed suit. I've read about people having to really coax their flocks into eating FF and it makes me thankful that mine don't seem to need any persuading but we shall see if that continues once they have the final product. Fingers crossed.

Mine exploded when I first started too. Some feeds will expand more than others and it probably also has something to do with environmental conditions. Glad your birds are liking it so well already. Mine have been on it since 2 weeks old, they are just over a year now and do not have any access to dry.