Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

The plastic would hold heat and moisture...some folks store in plastic but I never do. I don't know about freezing.

If wanting to get alfalfa into the diet and not wanting to waste the pellets, one can either split this stuff with someone who feeds to horses, sheep, etc. or just use a hay net or something similar and hang some real alfalfa hay in the coop.

I used to put some alfalfa into my winter feed mix but found the birds will pick around it(to me, this means they don't want or need that much of that kind of greens) and the bulk of the stored feed would mold and go to waste. After that, I just made sure they had access to hay and they could sample as they wish. And they did.

 

[unkadan]

Alfalfa meal is cheaper than any of the pellets, some pellets contain salt, none of the alfalfa products will be cheap this year with the midwest drought. Rabbit feed has gone up over 40% here in the last 6 weeks

If you garden the meal is an excellent soil/compost additive (google it) might be a way of using excess before it molds

just sayin'

 

[Maggiesdad]

I managed to read the first three pages of this thread...now there are 153 pages and there is no way I can read them all!

My questions:

1 - where do you keep your ferment in the winter? My buckets are currently outside but they will freeze solid come winter. I certainly don't want to bring them inside.

2 - I tried to feed my critters as 'natural' as possible. I loved what I read about the fermenting (increases protein, healthier birds, easier digestion), but I wonder how/where birds in the wild would get such a thing as fermented grains...

Thoughts?

Karen in WA with 34 layers; oldest 2-1/2 yrs

They wouldn't...but they would also not be eating highly processed GMO seed grains either. Fermenting the available feed sources is one way of gaining more and better nutrition out of the poor substitute for what they would glean in the wild. Unless you have a tropical paradise all year long in which your birds can forage, feeding something to supplement their diet with grain based feeds is what they get.

We've had several discussions in the past several days on the pros and cons of winter FF and how each plans to do it or what they plan to try, so maybe you could back it up a little and read from this end of the thread to see what everyone has already said.

Barnyard birds picking up grains that had already traversed the gut of cows and or horses would most certainly be getting similar benefits.
Pre-plumped grains already subjected to the very same bacteria and yeasts we are putting in the bucket.

 

[Beekissed]

Sure thing...but that's hardly "in the wild" now, is it? That's in a barnyard setting, which many people here do not have nor will ever have. So, when comparing fermented grain feeds to how a bird would eat "in the wild" is like comparing apples and oranges.

Therefore, if you cannot feed your chickens what they would normally eat "in the wild", then fermenting the grains for this monogastric animal is a good effort to provide healthy nutrition if you are relying on grain based feeds. Now, if not relying on grain based feeds and are feeding totally raw, all natural diet of bugs, worms, grasses, grass seeds, etc., it would still be very hard to compare to the actual nutrition they could pick up "in the wild" when they are doing their own foraging and would live in tropical climates.

 

[armorfirelady]

Alfalfa meal is cheaper than any of the pellets, some pellets contain salt, none of the alfalfa products will be cheap this year with the midwest drought. Rabbit feed has gone up over 40% here in the last 6 weeks

If you garden the meal is an excellent soil/compost additive (google it) might be a way of using excess before it molds

just sayin'

Thanks I will see if they carry that at the feed supply store

 

[Lacy Blues]

Take note of the ability of alfalfa to absorb water...and be wary of storing large amounts of this stuff. It molds like crazy, no matter how good you store it. I always store my feeds in large, galvanized trash cans and usually inside a building, but my alfalfa pellets molded long before I could use them up.

Do you think storing them in plastic tubs in the garage would help stop the mold? I only ask because I can only get the pellets in 50# bags & with only 4 hens its going to last a long time. I use the heacy duty tubs now for their feed to keep out the squirrels, chipmunks & mice. Everything is dry in them with no growth or bad smells & I have had the food for over a month already.

Or do you think the pellets would freeze ok? I have a chest freezer that I am going to use for veggies for the hens for the winter and I can put the alfalfa pellets in there as well.

The plastic would hold heat and moisture...some folks store in plastic but I never do. I don't know about freezing.

If wanting to get alfalfa into the diet and not wanting to waste the pellets, one can either split this stuff with someone who feeds to horses, sheep, etc. or just use a hay net or something similar and hang some real alfalfa hay in the coop.

I used to put some alfalfa into my winter feed mix but found the birds will pick around it(to me, this means they don't want or need that much of that kind of greens) and the bulk of the stored feed would mold and go to waste. After that, I just made sure they had access to hay and they could sample as they wish. And they did.

Ok, just so I don't tick anybody off, I'm going to start by saying IN MY EXPERIENCE...

galvanized cans will mold your feed because it sweats... on the inside. I store my feed in large plastic trash cans and they never mold the feed, they're even out in full sun. Of course that presents a problem when the sun dries the lids and they get cracks in them, then when it rains... you guessed it. The feed gets wet and I scoop every bit of that feed out first. I'm working on building a "feed barn." Need more money!

I use alfalfa pellets. I also use a lot of yogurt and have empty quart containers which I use as feed scoops. For the alfalfa, I put about 1/4 of a container of pellets and then fill that up with water. I then put the whole thing into the microwave for about 2 minutes which causes the pellets to break up and begin the process of absorbing all that water. I let it rest all day after that. By the end of the day the entire quart is full of nice and small alfalfa leaves. I add this to my water when making up my ff. They cannot pick around it. I realize they don't really like the alfalfa but I don't have a lot of choice around here for greens. So, they get alfalfa, like it or not, and the yolks of their eggs are the proof in the pudding.

Edited to add: You have to use the entire batch of moistened alfalfa that you make because as Beekissed said, it molds incredibly fast!

 

[Beekissed]

Now, just who would get ticked off on this thread?

Haven't seen anything like that here yet....

Makes sense to me! I've never had any condensation in my metal cans and never had food mold before..prior to keeping the alfalfa there. Could be you are right and the right high moisture feed in the right receptacle could cause that molding.

 

[Bossroo]

To stop the condensation causing the molding issue, I use a 1/8" x 1/8" x 6" wire mesh between the inside part of the lid and inside @2" inside the metal can and all around as an opening of 2" vent. I have never had anything mold in one in over 20 years. Of cource, the cans have to be stored inside a room, barn, shed, etc. or moisture from rain /fog /dew/condensation will get through the mesh and mold will grow.

 

[bruceh]

just a progress for where i am at. tonight i started a new mixture of milled alfalfa and layer mash. the meat birds went after it like gang busters. the laying hens i will have to check in the morning to see if they ate it up. i did try i test run by putting some on the grass. they ate it up. the mixture is a 1 to 3 ratio . the alfalfa is the 1 scoop. will be interesting to see if this helps. all feed is fermented.

 

[pigeonguy]

To stop the condensation causing the molding issue, I use a 1/8" x 1/8" x 6" wire mesh between the inside part of the lid and inside @2" inside the metal can and all around as an opening of 2" vent. I have never had anything mold in one in over 20 years. Of cource, the cans have to be stored inside a room, barn, shed, etc. or moisture from rain /fog /dew/condensation will get through the mesh and mold will grow.

Thats a good idea.