FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[enola]

Young chicks should have feed all the time.

 

[MandalaMaMa]

Young chicks should have feed all the time.

Mine are almost 6 weeks old and are little piggies. I figured they needed food all the time since they are growing to fast. I can't believe how easy they took to fermented food. How old do they need to be before changing over to growth food? I believe that's what it called. Plus its my understand that when I let them out with my 4 two year old hens that I need to put them all including my 4 older hens on this type of fermented food. Correct. And then have oyster shells available for the older hens.

 

[LowerBamaMama]

Young chicks should have feed all the time.

So at what point do y'all swap to meal feeding?

 

[enola]

I watch to see if any feed is left from the day before. If there is feed left, I feed a little less than the day before. The feed dish is a big plastic Christmas tree stand. The hens clean the feed up every day.

 

[Beekissed]

I know y'all talked about feeding meal portions one or two times a day, but I'm wondering if that applies to week old chicks. I have been leaving food out for them constantly. I have been thinking of them as like a newborn that has to eat every few hours. Is this different if I'm feeding fermented feed?

That's a matter of preference. Most do. I don't. I feed them enough in the morning to keep them for a few hours or so, then I feed again in the evening...when I do that their dish is usually licked clean. Then I feed them the same as I did that morning. By morning that trough is once again clean. My chicks sleep all night, so they are not eating at night, much like they would not eat at night if they were under a broody.

 

[ak rain]

Lowerbamamama your right babies need feed more often even ff. I weened to Lower levels as they got older. I gave no feed at night. Ak rain

 

[cutipatooti]

Wondering if anyone who feeds fermented feed uses the recycled tires " rubber bowls". I always thought that tires were "toxic" now they use them as feed bowls for livestock. Then again PVC is not healthy and people use that too.

 

[enola]

I use the big green christmas tree stands. I have been feeding horses and dogs out of those black tubs since they started making them YEARS ago.

 

[beverly evans]

Hi Bee, So nice to see you on here when I can say hello. Every time there were horrible storms in your area this winter I worried about you and wondered how you were doing. I don't get on here too much because when I do the day gets away from me and I get nothing done. I don't know how others manage. Anyway, this spring it seems like everybody wants to go broody! I have 15 grown hens with 9 laying. Out of those 5 went broody. I was able to discourage two, but had to lock 2 up in separate housing without nesting, only a roost, and the 5th one got to sit on 12 fertile eggs I got for he : )r. In a week we'll see how she did. What do you do to "unbroody" your hens? I remember reading somewhere about sitting them in a basin of ice water? Is that right?

 

[Beekissed]

Hi Bee, So nice to see you on here when I can say hello. Every time there were horrible storms in your area this winter I worried about you and wondered how you were doing. I don't get on here too much because when I do the day gets away from me and I get nothing done. I don't know how others manage. Anyway, this spring it seems like everybody wants to go broody! I have 15 grown hens with 9 laying. Out of those 5 went broody. I was able to discourage two, but had to lock 2 up in separate housing without nesting, only a roost, and the 5th one got to sit on 12 fertile eggs I got for he : )r. In a week we'll see how she did. What do you do to "unbroody" your hens? I remember reading somewhere about sitting them in a basin of ice water? Is that right?

Nothing so planned as that...most often I just held them by the feet and dunked them in the dog bucket a couple of times and tossed them brusquely out of the coop. It works pretty well for all but the incredibly determined broody...those I'll just pen with the rooster and don't offer a nest. He will usually take the broody right out of them.