FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[OHhappychicks]

I am, yes. They didn't seem to like it when it was very wet but when it sits and drains more and becomes crusty and crumbly, they liked it just fine.

The one thing to remember about ducks....predators target them even more than they do chickens. Ducks are slow moving and not as agile as chickens when trying to escape.

Good feedback on the dogs! Now, let us know how it goes with the ducklings too...should be fun to watch.

I will ask him this evening how they liked it. He is going to build them a pen that goes out into the water so far out & fix it so predators can't get in. Thanks!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...
Does he know that the sprouted grains are more prone to develop fungus than the actual fully fermented feeds? That's one of the biggest difficulties with sprouting grains, is feeding them out before they mold.

I find that too.

I've been working with a local feed mill to develop a custom all-purpose feed system for our varied flock (chickens & ducks of both genders and all ages, plus the occasional seasonal BBB turkey). She is an animal nutritionist, and a milling pro (I'd say "expert," but I know BK doesn't like that word

). When I told her I was willing to ferment feed for the birds, and that I've actually been doing it, she was really excited. She is all for fermenting feeds for livestock in general. But specifically it means she can give us some better options for doing some of the "mixing" of the ingredients here (depending on needs) without wasting the powdery/fine additives 'cuz those just get lost in dry feeds.

AND
...
AND

I tried sprouting grains for a while. I could not control the "co crops" with them (read that as mold/mildew/fungus/whatever). No amount of soaking things in bleach water first produced "just" sprouts. Reading through the Feeding Poultry book, there is some explanation of the nutritional value of "spent grains" from the brewing industry, but also lots of concern about how to keep that resource from spoiling. There are commercial sprouting systems out there, large scale, for making fodder for grazing animals in drought areas, etc., but even those are tricky to keep healthy. I couldn't manage it here. Other people seem to be able to do it.

It's been very difficult for me to get grains to a fodder stage without fungus.
I haven't had any issues with feeding with a little of the white stuff and I'll continue to try to perfect the system next winter when I need to find new sources of green feed.

You'd be surprised about how many old farmers out there who have had chickens their whole life and never took the time to learn anything about them at all. On some farms, chickens are just the women's stuff and are barely considered livestock. They don't care if they die, get preyed upon or anything...they just go out and get more. That fella I left the Gnarly Bunch was 74 yrs old and had had chickens his whole life...had even had commercial poultry barns for some time. Didn't know a ding diddly dang about chickens at all, come to find out.

X2 on all points.
It seems that chickens continue to be "women's work" in a lot of cases.
In my case, I have to beg the wife to even lock the chickens up at night when I can't get home. I do everything outside, she does almost everything inside. She owns one house plant she's kept alive since before we were married -decades ago. Outdoor gardening - not gonna happen.

I've heard some of the craziest things from "experienced" poultry people. It's the lack of desire to learn and stick with some anecdotal info from 40 years ago that stuck in the brain.
A lady runs a local produce market and had chickens a long time in younger years. She insists that brown eggs have darker yolks than white eggs. I tried to explain the dark yolk comes from the chickens food. I told her I would bring her a white egg and a dark brown egg from my flocks and they would have the same colored yolk. They would be lighter at the end of winter and darker mid summer. She didn't want her long held belief debunked.

Are you SURE it was mold? I threw out a lot of sprouts because of white "mold" that I later learned were root hairs. It's a really common mistake.

It's common and hard to tell, especially with fodder.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I am, yes.  They didn't seem to like it when it was very wet but when it sits and drains more and becomes crusty and crumbly, they liked it just fine. 

The one thing to remember about ducks....predators target them even more than they do chickens.  Ducks are slow moving and not as agile as chickens when trying to escape. 

Good feedback on the dogs!  Now, let us know how it goes with the ducklings too...should be fun to watch. 

I've been wanting to ask you about the ducks!!! when you get a minute please tell me about your decision to get them and how you are liking them.

Ducklings do seem to have texture issues with feed. The Feeding Poultry book suggests their feed should be closer to moist than wet ... still crumbly enough to not be sticky, but moist enough to clump when compressed.

I had a few ducklings choke to death on dry crumbles. It happens in an instant. So sad! They always show ducklings with chick waterers, but those didn't work for my ducklings. My ducklings needed deep water dishes so they could get enough water to swallow their feed. I like those black feed bowls, though the ducklings do swim in them.

 

[Beekissed]

I've been wanting to ask you about the ducks!!!

when you get a minute please tell me about your decision to get them and how you are liking them.

Ducklings do seem to have texture issues with feed. The Feeding Poultry book suggests their feed should be closer to moist than wet ... still crumbly enough to not be sticky, but moist enough to clump when compressed.

I had a few ducklings choke to death on dry crumbles. It happens in an instant. So sad! They always show ducklings with chick waterers, but those didn't work for my ducklings. My ducklings needed deep water dishes so they could get enough water to swallow their feed. I like those black feed bowls, though the ducklings do swim in them.

I researched KCs years ago but never really had a place for them but have always wanted to try the breed. They are not common around here at all...most people who get ducks promptly lose them to predators and that's all she wrote. I was going to put in a water feature at my last place so I could get some but never got around to it. The more I read about them, it says they do not need swimming water to stay healthy so that added to their charm. They lay up to 320 eggs per year, they are excellent foragers and they breed well, from what I can gather.

I'm using the nipple bucket with this brooder and the ducks were working the nipples just fine...when I bought these nipples they were listed for ducks, so they must be common for use with ducks.

When I saw these at TSC I couldn't believe my eyes!! I just couldn't keep from watching them and I knew I just had to have a few, though I never buy or get animals on impulse....but seeing as how I had already researched the breed way back, I felt I could forgive myself this one indulgence.

A plan started forming in my head that I could flock breed my WRs for a few years if I could eliminate all my other breeds and, in doing so, be able to hatch all WR eggs without mistakenly getting other breed's eggs in the incubator. I could use the ducks for my utility layers until I get a WR flock built up. And, if I could breed the ducks, I could maybe start to develop that breed as well. Both flocks in a small way, of course. I would want to keep small, good flocks of both and cull hard each year.

One of the ducklings got killed last night...crushed by that ten ton meaty chick that I was trying to salvage. I've since culled the meaty. So, I'm ordering 5 more KCs, one male and 4 females, and they will ship out May 5th. They will be behind this lonely duck but not too much and it won't matter too much when they all get a little bigger.

I'm going to sell all these chicks I just hatched except for 2 and am also going to sell the Cochin, two BAs, one Del. In June I'll butcher the meaties and my old mama WR. In this way I can make way for the ducks and any chicks I will hatch out of the WRs in May or June.

So...that's the rundown on the KCs...the most beautiful ducklings I think I've ever seen. Their coloring just makes you want to melt and their shape is so svelte...I am starting to feel about them the way I feel about the WR breed and that doesn't happen to me very often.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Just wanted to share some pics of 2 of my roos.

Mainly the copper maran as he just glows when the sun hits him. The top pic is my buckeye roo. He is also beautiful! They are the sweetest boys! Takes care of their ladies!! I attribute their shiny-ness to ff. I don't think these pics really show how shiny and healthy they are. My DH just threw out a little scratch in this pic. They are free-rangers, but he likes to give them an afternoon snack. I just read him the post where they said how fat their hen was from to much scratch!!! He doesn't give them much, but I think we will cut back on it some.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Just wanted to share some pics of 2 of my roos.

Mainly the copper maran as he just glows when the sun hits him. The top pic is my buckeye roo. He is also beautiful! They are the sweetest boys! Takes care of their ladies!! I attribute their shiny-ness to ff. I don't think these pics really show how shiny and healthy they are. My DH just threw out a little scratch in this pic. They are free-rangers, but he likes to give them an afternoon snack. I just read him the post where they said how fat their hen was from to much scratch!!! He doesn't give them much, but I think we will cut back on it some.

Your roos are so beautiful!

 

[Beekissed]

Those are some nice looking birds!! I like their shape and they do shine, don't they?

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I researched KCs years ago but never really had a place for them but have always wanted to try the breed.  They are not common around here at all...most people who get ducks promptly lose them to predators and that's all she wrote.  I was going to put in a water feature at my last place so I could get some but never got around to it.  The more I read about them, it says they do not need swimming water to stay healthy so that added to their charm.  They lay up to 320 eggs per year, they are excellent foragers and they breed well, from what I can gather. 

I'm using the nipple bucket with this brooder and the ducks were working the nipples just fine...when I bought these nipples they were listed for ducks, so they must be common for use with ducks. 

When I saw these at TSC I couldn't believe my eyes!!  I just couldn't keep from watching them and I knew I just had to have a few, though I never buy or get animals on impulse....but seeing as how I had already researched the breed way back, I felt I could forgive myself this one indulgence.  

A plan started forming in my head that I could flock breed my WRs for a few years if I could eliminate all my other breeds and, in doing so, be able to hatch all WR eggs without mistakenly getting other breed's eggs in the incubator.  I could use the ducks for my utility layers until I get a WR flock built up.  And, if I could breed the ducks, I could maybe start to develop that breed as well.  Both flocks in a small way, of course.  I would want to keep small, good flocks of both and cull hard each year. 

One of the ducklings got killed last night...crushed by that ten ton meaty chick that I was trying to salvage.  I've since culled the meaty.  So, I'm ordering 5 more KCs, one male and 4 females, and they will ship out May 5th.  They will be behind this lonely duck but not too much and it won't matter too much when they all get a little bigger. 

I'm going to sell all these chicks I just hatched except for 2 and am also going to sell the Cochin, two BAs, one Del.  In June I'll butcher the meaties and my old mama WR.  In this way I can make way for the ducks and any chicks I will hatch out of the WRs in May or June. 

So...that's the rundown on the KCs...the most beautiful ducklings I think I've ever seen.  Their coloring just makes you want to melt and their shape is so svelte...I am starting to feel about them the way I feel about the WR breed and that doesn't happen to me very often. 

Awwww. That makes me happy! It sounds like a great plan.

I think you'll like your duck eggs. HUGE yolks! Our KC male is a pretty bird, and they are all decently calm, good foragers. We don't have slugs here any more, and that's an accomplishment in Oregon. When I was trying to get rid of the Runners that I don't like so much and lay smaller eggs, Dad let himself get flattered into selling some of my KCs instead. Ratz.

I don't know about the nipples for supplying all the water for the ducks ... I keep reading ducks need to get their whole head wet so they don't go blind. Also, they have swallowing issues. But if nipples work they would sure be less messy than open waterers that get filthy in an instant.

This summer I hope to set up a better water play park for my ducks. I have a couple ideas ...

I didn't know about your one meaty ... I'm sorry your duckling got crushed.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Thank you Tumbleweed Farm

 

[OHhappychicks]

Those are some nice looking birds!! I like their shape and they do shine, don't they?

Thanks Bee!