FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Tikkijane]

What's the problem with being low? Mine are on the ground. Chickens get bugs from the ground.......

 

[ashleymroles]

I've been fermenting my chicken's feed for about a week now. I fill their bowl in the morning and pick it up to clean it at night. My problem is: the chickens seem to be starving in the morning! Do y'all leave food down overnight or is it okay for them to go all night without eating??

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Chickens don't eat at night unless there is a light.
You need to make sure they have enough food to fill their crop before they go to bed.
What time of the day do they finish off the FF you put out?

 

[ashleymroles]

Chickens don't eat at night unless there is a light.
You need to make sure they have enough food to fill their crop before they go to bed.
What time of the day do they finish off the FF you put out?

They put themselves to bed around 8 when the sun goes down and I make sure they have enough so that they finish around that time. If there's still a good amount of food in the bowl I'll move it from their run to the coop.
If I find their bowl empty during the day I'll give them more.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That should be good. You don't want them going to bed hungry unless you plan on butchering in the morning.

 

[paneubert]

They put themselves to bed around 8 when the sun goes down and I make sure they have enough so that they finish around that time. If there's still a good amount of food in the bowl I'll move it from their run to the coop.
If I find their bowl empty during the day I'll give them more.

It can be really tough sometimes since they can greatly increase or decrease their consumption day to day. Weather..level of egg production....rolling a pair of dice that morning....they saw a hawk 3 days ago.....who knows. I am dealing with quail, which seem to be equally fickle. I have had to do as little as fill a small feeder once in the morning, all the way up to filling two feeders twice a day in order to get them enough FF to last the entire day/until they go to sleep. Using a 5 gallon bucket of crumbles that lasts a few days or a week of of 24/7 consumption is the easy way out if you ask me! Doing FF is really work, but I think it is worth it!

 

[redsix]

They put themselves to bed around 8 when the sun goes down and I make sure they have enough so that they finish around that time. If there's still a good amount of food in the bowl I'll move it from their run to the coop.
If I find their bowl empty during the day I'll give them more.

Mine seem to load up on the last bit of food that is left just before they go to roost.

 

[Mosey2003]

Hi there!

I've been fermenting feed for a little over two weeks, my band of 9 (hopefully pullets) is a little over 8 weeks old. Just using chick starter crumbles in a five gallon bucket, it's going great.

My question is, I have a bunch of leftover alfalfa pellets from my horse that passed, so I am wanting to include those once the girls start laying. I'll be soaking them in very hot water before adding to the ferment so that they're thoroughly broken down. Now, would I still want to use a layer feed since the alfalfa is going to contribute protein and calcium? Or would I want to use something like an all-flock feed? Also, what sort of ratio could I safely add these as, 20%?

Hoping to enjoy the pretty, dark yolks and I know that greenery is supposed to contribute to that. They'll have a decent size run next week when the coop and run is finished, but I know they'll use up the grass fairly quickly. Free ranging really isn't an option where I live, it's hawk/coyote/weasel central. Maybe short supervised outings in the fall once the garden is done, so they can dig through it.

Thanks!

 

[Leigti]

Hi there!

I've been fermenting feed for a little over two weeks, my band of 9 (hopefully pullets) is a little over 8 weeks old.  Just using chick starter crumbles in a five gallon bucket, it's going great.

My question is, I have a bunch of leftover alfalfa pellets from my horse that passed, so I am wanting to include those once the girls start laying.  I'll be soaking them in very hot water before adding to the ferment so that they're thoroughly broken down.  Now, would I still want to use a layer feed since the alfalfa is going to contribute protein and calcium?  Or would I want to use something like an all-flock feed?  Also, what sort of ratio could I safely add these as, 20%?

Hoping to enjoy the pretty, dark yolks and I know that greenery is supposed to contribute to that.  They'll have a decent size run next week when the coop and run is finished, but I know they'll use up the grass fairly quickly.  Free ranging really isn't an option where I live, it's hawk/coyote/weasel central.  Maybe short supervised outings in the fall once the garden is done, so they can dig through it.

Thanks!

I added some alfalfa to their feed when they were chicks. So I don't think you have to wait that long. Are the pellets huge? If so just break them up and add a little water. You can add it to the ferment or not. I think they'll like it either way.

 

[Mosey2003]

I added some alfalfa to their feed when they were chicks. So I don't think you have to wait that long. Are the pellets huge? If so just break them up and add a little water. You can add it to the ferment or not. I think they'll like it either way.

They're not huge, but they're the standard horse-size pellets. I know from soaking for the horse that they take hot water to truly break down. I have some crossbeaks, so everything gets soaked/softened. I just know I read that it was important that they not have too much calcium before they started laying, so that's why I was thinking of waiting. I might add just a little cup at a time and get them used to the taste, then.