Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[ChocolateMouse]

Bee, that sure is a lovely looking cow of yours! Super nice! Some day I hope to have a cow that nice! Sooooome daaaaay!

 

[Beekissed]

The reason I asked about Holstein was the rather prominent hip bones. If I was going to have a milk cow.....Jersey would be it. The poundage of milk is less, but it is a richer milk.

Yeah...I didn't have enough time to flesh her out properly and she was an 8 yr old cow. When I got her she had grass scours and was very thin. I was afraid she had Johnes but decided to try to get her conditioned anyway. I sold her to a really nice guy with a great place who was going to use her to feed bum beef calves.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Hey guys! I'd like to wish you all a happy solstice this evening! Even if it means nothing else to you, it's such an important day for us chicken keepers! It's the longest night of the year and after this our girls will start coming out more, will start laying more, and will start greeting the sun earlier and earlier! So celebrate with your chickens tonight!

 

[BCMaraniac]

Hey guys! I'd like to wish you all a happy solstice this evening! Even if it means nothing else to you, it's such an important day for us chicken keepers! It's the longest night of the year and after this our girls will start coming out more, will start laying more, and will start greeting the sun earlier and earlier! So celebrate with your chickens tonight!

Same to you CM.....bring on the eggs.....properly fertilized, of course!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Not that I own any roosters, mind you! XD So that sure would be crazy for m to get properly fertilized eggs! But I sure hope you get them!

So I've got an on-topic inquiry as I cook my solstice dinner of imported Australlian lamb (Mmmmm!)...

With modern hays you can get some really impressive nutrient levels out of them. Timothy tends to run around 13% protein, orchard around 15%, alfalfa can be anywhere from 16% on the low end to 22% on the high end... Has anyone thought of trying to feed chopped, fermented hay as a major part of their chicken's ration? It seems like the right general nutrients (lower on the fat, higher in fiber but still pretty good, and really nice calcium levels) to make up the bulk of a chicken's diet... Mix in some sprouts for diversity, fat and trace minerals... It seems like it would be a GREAT and cheap way to feed your chickens!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Hey guys! I'd like to wish you all a happy solstice this evening! Even if it means nothing else to you, it's such an important day for us chicken keepers! It's the longest night of the year and after this our girls will start coming out more, will start laying more, and will start greeting the sun earlier and earlier! So celebrate with your chickens tonight!

I'll be up bright and early for church tomorrow morning. Sundays are the only days that I'm up before the chickens. I'll tell them it's supposed to start getting warmer now and they can start laying me some eggs again! We'll see if they listen.

So I've got an on-topic inquiry as I cook my solstice dinner of imported Australlian lamb (Mmmmm!)...

With modern hays you can get some really impressive nutrient levels out of them. Timothy tends to run around 13% protein, orchard around 15%, alfalfa can be anywhere from 16% on the low end to 22% on the high end... Has anyone thought of trying to feed chopped, fermented hay as a major part of their chicken's ration? It seems like the right general nutrients (lower on the fat, higher in fiber but still pretty good, and really nice calcium levels) to make up the bulk of a chicken's diet... Mix in some sprouts for diversity, fat and trace minerals... It seems like it would be a GREAT and cheap way to feed your chickens!

I don't ferment alfalfa, but I do use the dried and cubed alfalfa in my chickens feed. First I take a jack knife to it and chip the cubes into a dish. When I get enough, I soak them in hot water to soften them. I'm trying something on these cold nights... only soaking the alfalfa for about 10-15 minutes before draining it and mixing it into their fermented feed rations. It's a little harder and I'm hoping it will make their digestive systems work harder, thereby warming them up some on these cold winter nights. I'm also working on some sprouts right now too. That should make them nice and happy once they're ready.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I ferment my alfalfa cubes into my chicken feed... But aside from the disparity in fat and fiber the base nutrients seem ideal for chickens, if a bit high in protein. Mix in some other hays and just a BIT of grain and I think it might be ideal. Just wondering if anyone's tried it before.

 

[BCMaraniac]

I would do this for my daughter, but since her cell phone croaked last night, it might be a little too unforgettable.......phones are a touchy subject right now......

 

[ChocolateMouse]

LOL, sounds like my family! A couple years ago we got my sister a black Wii... But we also had a black Wii box lying around from our own black wii. So we wrapped a sweater in it and gave it to her much to her dismay. Then we gave her the Wii. XD It was priceless.

This year I re-boxed and wrapped most of my beau's prezzies in strange things and shapes. He has NO idea what he's getting!

 

[Shellz]

Ha, ha! Excellent!