FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

As I'm not sure about how much your spoon is dishing out, I can't really answer that one well. If they seem well conditioned and it seems to keep them that way, it's more than likely enough. In the fall and winter months when bugs have moved more into hibernation, I start feeding in the morning instead of the evening. That season changes the amounts being fed as well because they aren't getting much out on range except the occasional bug and some greens. In that manner, you can get your feeding over with in the morning and they can find what they can find the rest of the day.

Don't be tempted to see their eating in "meals" like you would a human and think oh, no! they are going all day with just the one meal and must be hungry! I've processed birds who ate a full 18 hrs previously as their last meal and their crops were still full of feed, as was the mid-crop and gizzard. They do not digest as quickly as a dog or cat or even us humans as they have no teeth for grinding their foods, so they take a good bit longer in the gizzard to work it into a digestible form. If you are feeding them in the evening, they still are digesting last night's meal clear up until late morning hours and beyond, depending upon what you are feeding~any whole grains take longer. They really are only going without food for a very brief time until it's feeding time once again...and in that time they are foraging out on range.

Sounds to me like your birds are and will be getting plenty of nutrition with what you are feeding. You might want to move towards a scoop type serving to lessen your time and work and it also lets you get a better idea of what you are feeding as the scoops generally have cup measurements. The standard scoop is a 2 cup scoop. They also make a more sturdy stirring tool when you mix feeds a little thicker.

 

[OHhappychicks]

As I'm not sure about how much your spoon is dishing out, I can't really answer that one well. If they seem well conditioned and it seems to keep them that way, it's more than likely enough. In the fall and winter months when bugs have moved more into hibernation, I start feeding in the morning instead of the evening. That season changes the amounts being fed as well because they aren't getting much out on range except the occasional bug and some greens. In that manner, you can get your feeding over with in the morning and they can find what they can find the rest of the day.

Don't be tempted to see their eating in "meals" like you would a human and think oh, no! they are going all day with just the one meal and must be hungry! I've processed birds who ate a full 18 hrs previously as their last meal and their crops were still full of feed, as was the mid-crop and gizzard. They do not digest as quickly as a dog or cat or even us humans as they have no teeth for grinding their foods, so they take a good bit longer in the gizzard to work it into a digestible form. If you are feeding them in the evening, they still are digesting last night's meal clear up until late morning hours and beyond, depending upon what you are feeding~any whole grains take longer. They really are only going without food for a very brief time until it's feeding time once again...and in that time they are foraging out on range.

Sounds to me like your birds are and will be getting plenty of nutrition with what you are feeding. You might want to move towards a scoop type serving to lessen your time and work and it also lets you get a better idea of what you are feeding as the scoops generally have cup measurements. The standard scoop is a 2 cup scoop. They also make a more sturdy stirring tool when you mix feeds a little thicker.

Thank you! I will feed with a 2-cup measure this evening. I will let you know how much I'm feeding. I picked up one of my 1 1/2 year old marans a little bit ago and her breastbone was just bone. I didn't feel any meat on it. I'm going out tonight and check the others. I don't handle them very often, but I will check them this evening. I think they are alright though. I'm feeding them layer mash, boss, whole oats, and scratch. Half mash, everything else in the other half.

 

[Beekissed]

I have 11 birds and transitioned from feeding them 1 1/2 c. in August and up into Sept, to feeding 2 1/2 c. in Sept and into around 5 cups here at the end of Oct. and into Nov. When they stop moving and grooving so much this winter due to snow on the ground, I'll have to reevaluate how much I'm giving. I'm doing a half layer mash, half whole grain and a little BOSS like you. My birds are probably a little on the too fat side right now, so I'll be watching how they go as they find less and less on their foraging. Right now they are foraging just as much but finding a lot less, so they are still getting the exercise without as much energy being consumed in the way of bugs.

 

[OHhappychicks]

I have 11 birds and transitioned from feeding them 1 1/2 c. in August and up into Sept, to feeding 2 1/2 c. in Sept and into around 5 cups here at the end of Oct. and into Nov. When they stop moving and grooving so much this winter due to snow on the ground, I'll have to reevaluate how much I'm giving. I'm doing a half layer mash, half whole grain and a little BOSS like you. My birds are probably a little on the too fat side right now, so I'll be watching how they go as they find less and less on their foraging. Right now they are foraging just as much but finding a lot less, so they are still getting the exercise without as much energy being consumed in the way of bugs.

Ok. After reading your post, I may be feeding to much!

I just fed them and measured out 20-21 cups for 36 birds! The way I spoon it out is I see one adult eating about half of a spoonful. There are 3 spoonfuls (large spoon!) to a 2 cup measure. Enough for 6 birds. So you are feeding right now 5 cups for 11 birds. I have 36, so 3x's yours is 15 cups plus enough for my other 3 birds. Now that I think about it, I may not be to far off. Maybe a cup or two. Am I making sense?!!! Does that sound about right to you? We have had warm temps here until yesterday and a lot of rain also. They have been finding night crawlers and we still have green grass. They are in the garden everyday as we haven't cleaned it from the summer. I think they are still getting some stuff from foraging.

 

[Beekissed]

Yes, you are making perfect sense and that figures out about right. But what about your gal with the bony chest? Is it just her or other birds in the flock as well? If just her, then adjust the feed and just treat it as a bird problem. If you find several birds with prominent breast bones then it's a flock problem and I'd just continue to feed what you are doing and see how they come along.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Yes, you are making perfect sense and that figures out about right. But what about your gal with the bony chest? Is it just her or other birds in the flock as well? If just her, then adjust the feed and just treat it as a bird problem. If you find several birds with prominent breast bones then it's a flock problem and I'd just continue to feed what you are doing and see how they come along.

I didn't get a chance to go check them. We forgot about a get together, and we went to that, but I picked up another one, about 9-10 weeks old and could feel her breast bone, but it was "underneath"?? I'm not sure what they are supposed to feel like. They all look and act healthy. Never had any health issues and the one with the bony chest is laying. Although the egg I got from her today was a little rough and felt thin. I can see their crops are full, but I don't see any difference in their body weight. I will definitely check them tomorrow. I really want to know if something is wrong!!! We are going to start to feed them in the morning instead of evening. I will let you know what I find out. How would I adjust the feed for the one hen?

 

[Beekissed]

A 10 wk old chicken will have a bony chest anyway...they won't have developed much of a breast yet, so the keel will be prominent on them.

I don't try to feed up one hen, I treat it like a bird problem.

If you have one bird that is thin, though the rest are well fed and conditioned, it's likely she might be carrying a parasite load. At that point, you make a choice...do you keep a bird prone to heavy parasite loads in the flock, try to deworm her and hope she stays clear of parasites in the future...or..do you cull the problem and thereby eliminate this bird for lack of thrift, possible parasite vector, etc.

Another option is to just wait it out, feed your flock as per usual and see how this bird goes...she might just be thinner because she is older and laying and not fighting for her rights at the feeder. Who knows? But I wouldn't get too upset over it...just watch her and make a decision on your flock management methods~will you be the kind to try to manage every single bird in a separate manner with stop gap measures like deworming, trying to feed her up, etc. or will you be the kind to eliminate any birds who do not thrive on your livestock methods, leaving only those who have a natural ability to thrive on good feed, good soils, and good management?

It's all up to you.

 

[kpgoldstar]

Thanks Bee for your advice of a thicker mash to feed, as my girls were flinging their ff all over their heads, backs and chests. I was using a slotted spoon to gather the ff out of my plastic bin and noticed when it got low that the black heavy portions were not making it into their ration. If you recall, I have 4 RIR chicks that will be 6 wks on Tuesday. I am only using chick starter and water for my ff. It was close to 90 here today and my room temp in the house over a 24 hr period is between 70 & 80. So certainly no starter needed! This afternoon I had bubbly bubbly going after just filling with a large portion on Thursday night. Anyway, I switched to a super fine mesh sieve. I shake all the water out of the feed and it plops into their feeder much drier than before. It has significantly reduced the amount of spew and my girls are not as crusty! It takes a little more time, but worth it.
I am feeding about 1 cup in the morning and it seems they eat on this for about 4 hours. Then in the evening when they get to come out and free-range they get about 1/2 cup total to share as a snack. They are growing leaps and bounds and of course act absolutely starved to death both times they are getting feed. They still will not touch kitchen scraps but got to forage a little farther out today now that they are getting a little older. They were happy to peck at my rogue wild asparagus whisps and they found a new area to dust bath that was pretty moist soil. Must have cooled them off a tad.

 

[Beekissed]

Why not go a little thicker than that, even? You don't have to keep water over the mix, so just mix it to a peanut butter consistency so you won't have to sieve it at all. No straining..just plopping a dollop in the feeder and you are done. If you want to drain it even further than that, you can drill holes in the bottom of your feeder to let it drain any excess so you won't have to do it yourself. It works, it's fast and it's cleaner on the chooks.

Take a gander at these clean chicks eating thicker mash...

 

[kpgoldstar]

Please tell more! I don't have to have water over the top? The whole slop is like peanut butter? How do I know it is fermenting? Will I still get bubbles or that sour smell without the water layer? The feed I am seeing in your troughs is much like the new dry formula I am getting with my sieve.