Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Tivona]

I am feeding both dry layer pellets and the fermented waterfowl feed. For the first few days my ducks and geese only picked a bit at the ff, eating basically only the dry pellets. Then the next week it was mostly dry but some fermented then going to about equal parts fermented and dry. Now they are definitely eating the ff first leaving most of the dry pellets till all the fermented is gone . Still need another bucket to get the layer pellets going... By the way I saw in this tread that some also tossed in a handful of alfalfa pellets now and then. Seemed like a great idea as I have a new goose that could probably use some extra nutrients so I threw a handful in yesterday. Everyone still seems happy and the stuff still bubbles.

I plan to keep adding a handful on a weekly basis now.

 

[JNB]

Hi Everyone..... So cool this thread is still active.. I thought I d pop back in and update everyone on my FF progress with my Cornish X

They are 5 weeks old now and I have a very healthy bunch of chickens. I am feeding a blend of Oats, BOSS, Scratch, alfalfa blocks and pellets at 20 % protien. They get a large feeding of FF at night when I put them in. Then in the morning when I turn them into the run I set out another dish with FF. This time I have to keep them in a run so i cant let them on green grass. So what I do is add cut grass and hay that is left over from our cattle to the run each day.. then I scatter Game Bird Chow around. to encourage them to move around the run.

Problems I had:

1. The crumble and pellet feed breaks down so much that alot of it just washes out of the strainer bucket or just clogs the whole system up. So I made a second seperate bucket just for pellets. I use less water and just pretty much let the pellets soak up the mix.

Thats my only problem so far. I love the rest.

Now I have never had Meat birds before so I cant say they are growing better or faster. I can say they are Healthy looking critters . For the most part thier feathers are in great shape. No leg issues. They are definatly active birds. More than I thought they would be based on all I read prior to trying this. They run around and play fight with each other and dig all over the run. Again since I havent raised them before I cant be sure but I do not think they will be ready to process at 8 weeks. However if they keep going at this rate Im thinking 9 or 10 weeks top. ( Maybe I should post Pics and see what you all think

Positives:

Everyone told me they were gonna be nasty stinky birds and I d be sorry.. So far I havent had to many issues with that. I dont consider them that much worse than raising my laying flock. I use the DLM for the most part and have had to change the coop out 2 times in the 5 weeks.. Simply because they birds knocked over the waterer and flooded it out. A better watering system is on my list for next time Ive kinda been making notes on what I think a good pen for fall meaties would be. Im leaning towords a tractor set up for next time.


So I also have been feeding the fermented grains to my laying flock.. So far they LOVE IT. In the 5 weeks Ive been doing this I have seen much nicer looking feathers. Harder egg shells for sure. I had some hens that had been picked at so much they have lost most of their tail feathers.. I was surprised at how much faster they are growing the feather s back AND not sure if it has anything to do with the FF but the other girls are leaving them alone. They are just happy birds

Now for a SURPRISING benefit.... W e have a 3 year old Heifer that has been giving us a trouble for 2 years.. Twice she has just stopped eating and drinking and lost tons of weight. The first time I hand fed her grains, special feeds, hays etc and it took me a Year to get her back to looking healthy. We put her back with the herd this spring and she was great until August. She went down again refusing food or water. So again I seperated her and tried all I had done before. She just wasnt having it.. Nothing. Call the Vet.... he explained that it was ( VERY LONG NAME) I cant remember or attempt to spell it correctly. Basically her stomachs and gut dont work properly. there is a twisting in the intestines causes her pain and she doesnt absorb nutrients.. thats the gist. He told me to continue feeding her small meals several times a day and gave me a medicine to add to her water. Well it wasnt working and we had basically decided to put her down. Now mind you I have been spending alot of time with this critter and even though its not like me I have gotten attached to her. She follows me all over the barnyard and leans over my shoulders when Im working with the chickens.. She even chases the nasty Rooster I have away from me when he decides to attack...
Sooooo about 3 weeks ago she snuck into the barn where I keep the feeds. She got into the bucket of FF.... AND ate almost half of it and drank the mix.. before I caught her... I had no idea what this was gonna do to her but just waited and watched.. Well geuss what SHE IS FINALLY ON THE MEND!!!! She is gaining weight.. Eating FF grains each day. She has Normal looking cow poop. She is drinking water on her own.. I do add a bit of ACV or Apple juice to it still. I ferment Oats, Corn, and Alfalfa for her and I am thinking of adding Barley tot he mix. She still wont touch dry feeds or Hay.. But is eating green grass and a really good sign.. Chewing her Cudd each night. Its been a very surprising result.

Now if she keeps doing well.. my biggest problem will be getting from the barn to the chicken coops each day with out her knocking me down for the FF

SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT I AM SO TICKLED OVER ALL THESE RESULTS I JUST WANTED TO SHARE!!!

 

[Lacy Blues]

That is WONDERFUL NEWS!

As far as your problem... maybe feed her first?

 

[Beekissed]

WOW! You really do need to call your vet and let him know so that he can pass that along to anyone else having this problem with cattle. It makes perfect sense to me but may not be in his wheelhouse of experience and it could make him look really good one day if he passes it along and the other clients get the benefit of your happy accident.

LOVE this feedback on the FF!

 

[Tivona]

Gotta love that as a benefit, and thanks for the very informative post JNB

. No need to apologize for it being so long.

 

[Ashdoes]

Goodness! Ten pages were added in the time it took me to read through this WHOLE thread. I love it. It's simple, makes sense, and those dang chickens won't be able to use their feathered feet as freak'n paddles. I swear, if I give them three scoops of dry, at least one is flung all over. I got to the point where i didn't put food out every day because they had so much on the ground.
The Cochins have got to be the worst though.
So, started yesterday and they all love it. 14, 9 and 8 week olds and all 15 ate. I have a mixed group and not one didn't eat this morning. Now that I know they're eating it, I'll be moving to a bigger bucket system.
Thank you to all who contributed, not much wasted advice in these pages.

 

[bruceh]

anybody ever use pidgeon feed for chickens. it is very costly.i wonder if it worth adding to layer mash and ferment.

 

[Miss Lydia]

anybody ever use pidgeon feed for chickens. it is very costly.i wonder if it worth adding to layer mash and ferment.

Nope, why do you have some extra and want to get rid of it? never heard of feeding pidgeon feed to chickens.

 

[Taniamax]

I am so excited to see this thread. I have some hens who I think would benefit from fermented food. I have about 25 hens and a few roosters on 1 acre with some llamas. I think they've picked up something because some of them have developed diarrhea in the last month. I've had chickens for the past three years and have had no issues until this year. I'm wondering if I have too many birds on too little land, or what. Anyhow, I am going to try some ideas presented here. Thank you all for the great information!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Nah...that's not too many birds per acre. Could be they have some overgrowth of cocci from wet coop or pasture conditions? This will certainly help, as will putting some mother vinegar in their water each day. Can't have too many probiotics...