FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

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Wandercreek said:
Yay! I'm not alone and we both deserve a cookie!! (Oatmeal Raisin is my favorite, if anyone feels like baking....)

Cookies=good, stirring the pot=bad.
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I have to say that I was in this camp too, until reading this thread and seeing it mentioned several times that Bee has fed straight layer to chicks with no ill effects. I believe that any ill effects (if there would be any at all) were probably mitigated by the fact that she free-ranges on high-quality forage. This is my situation as well, so I'm not terribly concerned about layer vs starter vs grower etc. When the feed becomes the supplement rather than the bulk of the nutrition, all bets are off on those labels and 'traditional wisdom'.

I don't have a maggot bucket, but I do farm BSF in a bucket-ish system.

I'm about 2 or 3 weeks from completing training for my permaculture design certificate. Now THAT (permaculture) is a truly fascinating subject.

As for fodder, I don't fiddle with sprouting and such. I tried it once and it's just too much extra work for my taste. I do, however, cultivate fodder worthy plants and trees on the farm. With carefully planned guilds, judicial use of cover cropping, and smart water management all geared towards building the soils, even the smallest yards can provide a variety of healthy fresh fodder. That said, I live in a semi-tropical region, so I thankfully do not have to deal with the difficulties of harsh winters.
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We completely free range, too. I have had boys develop gout, which changed once I went back to split feed {instead of all layer}; fwiw. Although, I think the boys may be older than Bee's birds, because she rotates her older stock out.
 
I was making a set amount of FF and my nine girls were eating it all by the end of the day. Since spring has spring & they have a better buffet they've gone to eating only half of what I'd been making. They free range pretty much all day (from noon until dark). I guess what I'm asking, is that normal?To be expected? This is my first season of FF. My birds are all about 10 months old.
 
Tikkijane said:
Are y'all still getting emails on the threads you're subbing to? I am not, and don't even see the option? I'm on mobile.
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TexasLisa said:
I am getting e-mails. You might want to let the mods know so they can help.

I am still getting use to this new site. A bit confusing at times.
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Same here, I haven't looked for an "off switch" for this feature yet.
 
pioneerchick816 said:
I was making a set amount of FF and my nine girls were eating it all by the end of the day. Since spring has spring & they have a better buffet they've gone to eating only half of what I'd been making. They free range pretty much all day (from noon until dark). I guess what I'm asking, is that normal?To be expected? This is my first season of FF. My birds are all about 10 months old.
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Yes, that's normal. How old is the FF when you feed it out? You may simply need to scoop less into their feeder per day. But, if it's getting pretty gamey by the time you get towards the bottom of the FF bucket, you might want to ferment less at a time. consider yourself blessed that you can free range. Within 10 minutes of letting my flock out, they are in the garden, or the hawks show up. I'm racing against time to get deer netting up around the garden. Working in 90* heat trenching out the sod, then planning to lay a lawn edging to help prevent sod creep... then I can put up the deer netting, and guard the girls for some free range time.
 

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