FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[shabychkpoultry]

I think I asked this on the other one but didn't think they get sour crop when ff is done or should I say if it's done right. ???? Was curious about that to. ??

Did you ask on the Meat Bird FF thread? I thought I too read they don't get it on the FF when it is done right. Guess I will head over to the other thread! Thanks

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have been feeding ff to my mix flock since last October. I have chickens, ducks. geese, and back in the spring of this year started adding organic garlic powder and dried oregano to the ff, I have looked on line trying to find out if it's harmful to feed garlic to my waterfowl and haven't been able to find anything, so was wondering if anyone else here uses garlic and are they feeding a mixed flock? I started out using powdered garlic and brewers yeast on my dogs to control fleas, they haven't had 1 flea all season, so I thought I'd see how it would do for mites on chickens since the last 2 years we had mite infestation in the coop. so far no mites but since all my flock eats from same feeders my waterfowl are also eating the ff with garlic, no ill affects from it but someone posted on the duck thread that garlic wasn't safe to feed ducks. maybe raw garlic would be harmful but this is powdered. If anyone has any answers I'd sure appreciate it. Also I was thinking that the oregano and garlic would also be a boost to the immune system too. Thanks.

 

[Beekissed]

Hello all! I am new to FF, have been feeding it for about eight weeks, and LOVE the results so far. BUT, I have question if feeding FF helps reduce, or eliminate sour croup? Was just reading up on Sour Croup on another thread, and thought I would ask the experts here too!

I can't testify to that as I have never had sour crop in my flocks, but it would seem that if the FF promotes the growth of beneficial microbes in the digestive tract and inhibits the harmful overgrowth of the bad sort of yeasts, that it would work for sour crop.

But I can't tell you for sure...I'd be looking at how the sour crops are starting and why before figuring out if something can cure or stop them. There has to be a main or primary cause a bird would grow candida in the crop~poor immune system, etc~.and there has to be a reason some people never have that problem and some people always have that problem..some husbandry method we are not doing the same or such.

Sure would be neat to research that...think I'll look into it later on and report back what I find, okay?

I have been feeding ff to my mix flock since last October. I have chickens, ducks. geese, and back in the spring of this year started adding organic garlic powder and dried oregano to the ff, I have looked on line trying to find out if it's harmful to feed garlic to my waterfowl and haven't been able to find anything, so was wondering if anyone else here uses garlic and are they feeding a mixed flock? I started out using powdered garlic and brewers yeast on my dogs to control fleas, they haven't had 1 flea all season, so I thought I'd see how it would do for mites on chickens since the last 2 years we had mite infestation in the coop. so far no mites but since all my flock eats from same feeders my waterfowl are also eating the ff with garlic, no ill affects from it but someone posted on the duck thread that garlic wasn't safe to feed ducks. maybe raw garlic would be harmful but this is powdered. If anyone has any answers I'd sure appreciate it. Also I was thinking that the oregano and garlic would also be a boost to the immune system too. Thanks.

Not sure but on the other FF thread there are quite a few of folks with mixed flocks who are feeding FF and I'm sure some are putting garlic in the mix...might want to ask there.

 

[shabychkpoultry]

I can't testify to that as I have never had sour crop in my flocks, but it would seem that if the FF promotes the growth of beneficial microbes in the digestive tract and inhibits the harmful overgrowth of the bad sort of yeasts, that it would work for sour crop.

But I can't tell you for sure...I'd be looking at how the sour crops are starting and why before figuring out if something can cure or stop them. There has to be a main or primary cause a bird would grow candida in the crop~poor immune system, etc~.and there has to be a reason some people never have that problem and some people always have that problem..some husbandry method we are not doing the same or such.

Sure would be neat to research that...think I'll look into it later on and report back what I find, okay?

Not sure but on the other FF thread there are quite a few of folks with mixed flocks who are feeding FF and I'm sure some are putting garlic in the mix...might want to ask there.

Thanks! That would be wonderful!

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks! That would be wonderful!

I found scads of people on blogs and websites with backyard hens telling various ways to prevent it...among them was to mow the lawn short in the spring so that chickens wouldn't eat long blades of grass!

Chickens have been eating grass since the beginning of time without the benefit of a lawnmower grooming the grass beforehand, so I'm thinking this is most definitely not a cause.

About all the websites and blogs cited the long grass blades as being the primary culprit to impacted and then soured crops. They also said giving ACV would make it worse~I'm thinking it wouldn't make it "worse" per se, but it could really irritate and cause pain to the cankers in the crop, esophagus and mouth of these birds.

Now..let's see what the avian specialists say about impacted and sour crops and the root cause...it may just surprise a few people on this forum, but it didn't surprise me in the least bit. As a nurse I see this all the time:

Improving sanitation and minimizing antibiotic use in poultry help reduce the incidence of candidiasis. Candidiasis can be treated or prevented with copper sulfate at 1:2,000 dilution in the drinking water, but its effectiveness is controversial. Nystatin in the feed (220 mg/kg of diet) or drinking water (62.5–250 mg/L with sodium lauryl sulfate at 7.8–25 mg/L) for 5 days may be effective for the treatment of affected turkeys.

Once again...another wonderful reason why I don't give my flock meds of any kind and particularly antibiotics. Not only is it only crutching up a weak immune system, but antibiotics shouldn't be sold over the counter to nervous lay people who have no idea of their actions in the body. Imagine if those same levels of antibiotics were sold over the counter for humans and any parent who didn't really know what their kids had could buy them and treat their own children for any little sniffle they imagined was a potential pneumonia. Disaster.

Think they have worms....give them meds. Heard a sneeze? Give them meds. Think they have coccidiosis? Give them another med. Sour crop? By all means, don't give them grass and vinegar, it could only make it worse.

My prevention techniques all these years? Grass...and vinegar. Not freshly mowed grass...lush, long, spring grass that is so tender that the tips come off in small pieces when they take a bite.

There you have it..that's all I could find of any valid information on the malady.

 

[RoseMarie1]

I can't testify to that as I have never had sour crop in my flocks, but it would seem that if the FF promotes the growth of beneficial microbes in the digestive tract and inhibits the harmful overgrowth of the bad sort of yeasts, that it would work for sour crop.

But I can't tell you for sure...I'd be looking at how the sour crops are starting and why before figuring out if something can cure or stop them. There has to be a main or primary cause a bird would grow candida in the crop~poor immune system, etc~.and there has to be a reason some people never have that problem and some people always have that problem..some husbandry method we are not doing the same or such.

Sure would be neat to research that...think I'll look into it later on and report back what I find, okay?

Not sure but on the other FF thread there are quite a few of folks with mixed flocks who are feeding FF and I'm sure some are putting garlic in the mix...might want to ask there.

oh that would be neat Bee, I'd be interested in your findings.

 

[Beekissed]

oh that would be neat Bee, I'd be interested in your findings.

I didn't find much of any use...but you can see it in the post above yours.

 

[RoseMarie1]

I found scads of people on blogs and websites with backyard hens telling various ways to prevent it...among them was to mow the lawn short in the spring so that chickens wouldn't eat long blades of grass!

Chickens have been eating grass since the beginning of time without the benefit of a lawnmower grooming the grass beforehand, so I'm thinking this is most definitely not a cause.

About all the websites and blogs cited the long grass blades as being the primary culprit to impacted and then soured crops. They also said giving ACV would make it worse~I'm thinking it wouldn't make it "worse" per se, but it could really irritate and cause pain to the cankers in the crop, esophagus and mouth of these birds.

Now..let's see what the avian specialists say about impacted and sour crops and the root cause...it may just surprise a few people on this forum, but it didn't surprise me in the least bit. As a nurse I see this all the time:




Once again...another wonderful reason why I don't give my flock meds of any kind and particularly antibiotics. Not only is it only crutching up a weak immune system, but antibiotics shouldn't be sold over the counter to nervous lay people who have no idea of their actions in the body. Imagine if those same levels of antibiotics were sold over the counter for humans and any parent who didn't really know what their kids had could buy them and treat their own children for any little sniffle they imagined was a potential pneumonia. Disaster.

Think they have worms....give them meds. Heard a sneeze? Give them meds. Think they have coccidiosis? Give them another med. Sour crop? By all means, don't give them grass and vinegar, it could only make it worse.

My prevention techniques all these years? Grass...and vinegar. Not freshly mowed grass...lush, long, spring grass that is so tender that the tips come off in small pieces when they take a bite.

There you have it..that's all I could find of any valid information on the malady.

sounds awesome to me! Thanx Bee! After I posted it I saw yours.

 

[shabychkpoultry]

I found scads of people on blogs and websites with backyard hens telling various ways to prevent it...among them was to mow the lawn short in the spring so that chickens wouldn't eat long blades of grass!

Chickens have been eating grass since the beginning of time without the benefit of a lawnmower grooming the grass beforehand, so I'm thinking this is most definitely not a cause.

About all the websites and blogs cited the long grass blades as being the primary culprit to impacted and then soured crops. They also said giving ACV would make it worse~I'm thinking it wouldn't make it "worse" per se, but it could really irritate and cause pain to the cankers in the crop, esophagus and mouth of these birds.

Now..let's see what the avian specialists say about impacted and sour crops and the root cause...it may just surprise a few people on this forum, but it didn't surprise me in the least bit. As a nurse I see this all the time:




Once again...another wonderful reason why I don't give my flock meds of any kind and particularly antibiotics. Not only is it only crutching up a weak immune system, but antibiotics shouldn't be sold over the counter to nervous lay people who have no idea of their actions in the body. Imagine if those same levels of antibiotics were sold over the counter for humans and any parent who didn't really know what their kids had could buy them and treat their own children for any little sniffle they imagined was a potential pneumonia. Disaster.

Think they have worms....give them meds. Heard a sneeze? Give them meds. Think they have coccidiosis? Give them another med. Sour crop? By all means, don't give them grass and vinegar, it could only make it worse.

My prevention techniques all these years? Grass...and vinegar. Not freshly mowed grass...lush, long, spring grass that is so tender that the tips come off in small pieces when they take a bite.

There you have it..that's all I could find of any valid information on the malady.

Thanks Bee! Very interesting, and makes total sense about the meds! And about that grass, is that grass growing naturally, say in a pasture? Or is that grass in your backyard being treated with a weed and feed chemical ever year? Many new chicken people are backyard chicken keepers. Just wonder if by eating this treated grass it ma make them susceptible to sour croup by lowering their natural immunity???

 

[Beekissed]

Good point! I don't think most people understand how tough grass becomes when it is frequently mowed and even the types of grasses found in the typical lawn can differ widely enough that the chickens may not have premium grazing opportunities. I think most people may not even consider what you have pointed out...manicured, poisoned, and with who knows what put on it for fertilizers.