Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[BCMaraniac]

Still bow season here and you can't really wing an arrow at a deer on the fly like you can a bullet...bow hunting is a stealth situation.

If he's still rutting around here next week, the boys will stitch his hide with an arrow so quick it'll make his horns spin. Today was a work day, not a hunting day...more's the pity. Next week deerslayers #1 and #2 will be hunting in stealth mode while the bucks chase every doe in heat they can find around here....if they get one in their sights we'll have more deer in the jar real quick and in a hurry.

Ol' Jake is still cleaning up all the bones and skulls from the last 4 deer taken here...I've got one whole carcass still preserved in a tree for him because he can't keep up.

He's one lucky dog, I tell ya....

Baking good cookies definitely has its upside. One of my husband's coworkers that I make cookies for is bringing me a deer, field dressed, and is staying to skin and quarter it!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Hey Bee......Can you make a little detour down to East Tennessee to get my house before you take care of TW????PLeeeease!!!

Wouldn't that be a cool job? Cross country maid!

Baking good cookies definitely has its upside. One of my husband's coworkers that I make cookies for is bringing me a deer!!!

What a score! Cookies for a deer? You win.

 

[Triple Willow]

Yep!  And it's apple season too and he is a fool for apples, so he's in hog heaven right now.  He don't know whether to wind his butt or scratch his watch, he's got to many good things to gnaw on! 

LOL My dog drug up (the remains of) a deer carcass last year and scattered the bones all over creation. Had to pick them up in the spring before I could mow.

 

[Triple Willow]

Hey Bee......Can you make a little detour down to East Tennessee to get my house before you take care of TW????PLeeeease!!!

If I was rich, cleaning lady would definitely be close to the top of my list of things to have!

(Edited to add a comma after "rich". lol)

 

[ChickenManTN]

If I was rich cleaning lady would definitely be close to the top of my list of things to have!

I want a rich cleaning lady.

 

[ChickenManTN]

Sorry, that last comment was off-topic. If you know any rich cleaning lady breeders please pm me, otherwise please ignore.

 

[Triple Willow]

Sorry, that last comment was off-topic. If you know any rich cleaning lady breeders please pm me, otherwise please ignore.

I think "a rich cleaning lady" might be an oxymoron. If one exists she might be a little on the crazy side. LOL

 

[ChickenManTN]

Okay, back on track... I started 3 jars of fermented seven-grain scratch feed. Tomorrow is day three. They will be on a three day cycle, dumping the water from the day three jar into the new jar with fresh grain each day. Have yet to see results this early, but I will be looking for a change in chicken poop soon! (Seriously, I will.) I had to put a paper towel and rubber band over the top of one jar to keep out gnats. The other two jars aren't attracting gnats. They were all started with unpasteurized ACV on the same day. Now I'm wondering if the gnat-attractant-jar is better or worse than the others. I'm assuming that the ones that are not attracting gnats are producing vinegar bacteria and the other is producing alcohol yeasts (which attract vinegar-bacteria-carrying gnats). I'm also assuming that the non-gnat attracting jars are going to be better for my chickens. How far off am I, and does yeast-colonized grain have any benefit?

 

[Triple Willow]

@ChickenManTN... That is over my head. You might have to wait until the experts wake up for an answer. lol I use feed and buttermilk as a starter and gnats are all over my feed when it's warm out too. Sounds like you are on the right track though. It just takes different amounts of time to get the ferment going. I don't like waiting so I use buttermilk. lol

 

[MEMama3]

A question for you all. I have been doing FF since early last spring. I always offer dry in a small feeder as well, but between the FF and free ranging, it often goes untouched. They have always gone to the FF like it's candy.

Over the last month the girls are eating less and less FF. Today I went to give them their morning FF and saw the dry feed was empty so I filled that too. They completely ignored the FF and dove into the dry. I'm not sure why this would be happening. I've always made it the same way. I always use the same brand of pellets and I don't think the company has changed the formula. Plus, if they did, I'd think the birds wouldn't eat the dry either.

Any thoughts?