FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

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birdlady79 said:
I started using this new food, and my chickens like it dry or FF but it does not have the same consistancy as Nutrena.... It's crumbly if not enough water and watery if I add water.... It seperates during day and makes the biggest mess.....it smells funny too when the scoby forms in too... I stopped putting it in coop at night bc it makes such a mess....hopefully this will be the last bag of chick starter I have to buy... Any suggestions on layer food to FF that has a peanut butter consistency and doesn't crumble?
Click to expand...


I've fermented all kinds of Dumor. What kind is giving you issues? Add water in *very* small amounts. If it's too watery, add a wee bit more feed and see where you land. Consistency is all about tweaking. ...
 
birdlady79 said:
I started using this new food, and my chickens like it dry or FF but it does not have the same consistancy as Nutrena.... It's crumbly if not enough water and watery if I add water.... It seperates during day and makes the biggest mess.....it smells funny too when the scoby forms in too... I stopped putting it in coop at night bc it makes such a mess....hopefully this will be the last bag of chick starter I have to buy... Any suggestions on layer food to FF that has a peanut butter consistency and doesn't crumble?
Click to expand...

If I can keep mine dry enough to crumble, but still manage to stir it, I celebrate! I find it still ferments just fine.
 
Tikkijane said:
I
I've fermented all kinds of Dumor. What kind is giving you issues? Add water in *very* small amounts. If it's too watery, add a wee bit more feed and see where you land. Consistency is all about tweaking. ...
Click to expand...


I'm using Ware Milling, my local FS carries it,... I was excited about it until I started trying to Ferment it.... It reminds me of corn meal... I just can't seem to get the consistancy down......but I'll keep working at it... Lol..... I was just curious as to what brand layer pellets people are fermenting...
 
birdlady79 said:
I'm using Ware Milling, my local FS carries it,... I was excited about it until I started trying to Ferment it.... It reminds me of corn meal... I just can't seem to get the consistancy down......but I'll keep working at it... Lol..... I was just curious as to what brand layer pellets people are fermenting...
Click to expand...

I'm currently using Payback brand feeds. It is an all purpose pellet, and the pellet size is small. It "melts" into mush pretty quickly when we add water. I use as close to equal parts feed and water as I can, though it is easier to stir with more water.

I'll be switching soon to a custom feed recipe from a local mill, also pelleted.
 
I don't ferment pellets. I've tried a couple brands and wasn't happy with the results.

I'm getting the best results with Nature's Grown organics 16% chick grower. It is a coarse grind so various size particles and the consistency works perfectly.
I provide oyster shell on the side for layers, add fishmeal in a 10:1 ratio for chicks and everyone gets the protein and calcium they need.
 
ChickenCanoe said:
I don't ferment pellets. I've tried a couple brands and wasn't happy with the results.

I'm getting the best results with Nature's Grown organics 16% chick grower. It is a coarse grind so various size particles and the consistency works perfectly.
I provide oyster shell on the side for layers, add fishmeal in a 10:1 ratio for chicks and everyone gets the protein and calcium they need.
Click to expand...


The oyster shell and fish meal is what I'm going to do when we get the custom feed going.

We have found that the pellets are essential for the dry feed ... we still offer some dry feed. But the birds do enjoy it more when some of the particles in the FF are larger. I find that varies in the Payback pellet.
 
LindaB220 said:
Just something I came across:

http://www.iffo.net/es/system/files/TB03 FM in Poultry diets.PDF
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing this, LindaB.

This document wouldn't come up on my phone as it is a large PDF, so I came to my computer to check it out ...

This PDF discusses the benefits of using fish meal in poultry diets. The first page summarizes the following:

Broilers: 3.9 fish meal inclusion led to 1.9% improvement in feed conversion & 2.4 improvement in growth.

Turkey Poults: 5.0% meal inclusion led to 2,8% improvement in feed conversion; 3.6 improvement in growth.

Layers: 4.2% inclusion of fish meal led to 15.4% improvement in feed conversion, 4.2% increase in number of eggs.

In case of breeding hens and turkeys, inclusion of fish meal in the diet improved egg fertility and hatchability, though the extent of the improvement varied.

--------------

The document is 40 pages of info about using fish meal in otherwise "vegetarian" poultry diets. No, I haven't read the whole thing. Yet.

Having read the Feeding Poultry book, so many references to how much better birds do when "part of" their diet includes animal protein. Fish meal is expensive, and using too much can lead to "fishy" tasting eggs & meat, but some studies have been done to learn how much can be used for delicious poultry products.

There aren't a lot of animal proteins that make sense for inclusion in poultry diets these days (too expensive, too scary, too much work, seasonal, etc.), so it is great to know about the option of fish meal.

My custom feed mix will include a sensible amount of fish meal to produce lots of yummy tasting poultry products, and I will get bags of fish meal "on the side" to supplement the FF for the younger birds & the breeders. This will allow me to have a single type of feed for my multi-type flock.

It is also interesting that "organic" poultry feeds can include fish meal as long as it stays below a certain percentage ...
 

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