Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[curious chickee]

My daughter has her first fair coming up and is getting market birds. The handbook says the birds must be younger than 12 weeks, no max weight and from what I have been told the biggest bird that can still walk usually wins. What would be the best age to enter 8 or 9 weeks?

 

[Em Ty]

Hi, I am wondering if you all use store bought feed to use for ff, or do you make your own? I have had 25 layers for a year now and will be doing 50 meatiest for the 1st time in about 2 weeks! I would like to feed them organic feed, but it is shockingly expensive! I have tried looking through byc but haven't found a ff recipe for meaties... Of course it is QUITE possible that I have just missed it due to the masses of info to sort through! I have just been eating it up!!! I'm so excited to try out all of my new knowledge on my birds!

Around here we also have an option for non-GMO feed, which is typically from farms transitioning to organic. It costs me about $.50 more per bag than regular feed and doesn't contain any GMOs or non-organic sprays. The organic feed is almost twice as much, which is why I chose this feed. For the difference in cost, I don't know if I'd ever buy organic feed over the non-GMO. Ask around and you may be able to find something like that.

 

[Hiltonizer]

Hi, I am wondering if you all use store bought feed to use for ff, or do you make your own? I have had 25 layers for a year now and will be doing 50 meatiest for the 1st time in about 2 weeks! I would like to feed them organic feed, but it is shockingly expensive! I have tried looking through byc but haven't found a ff recipe for meaties... Of course it is QUITE possible that I have just missed it due to the masses of info to sort through! I have just been eating it up!!! I'm so excited to try out all of my new knowledge on my birds!

http://www.lionsgrip.com/recipes.html

 

[Beekissed]

My daughter has her first fair coming up and is getting market birds. The handbook says the birds must be younger than 12 weeks, no max weight and from what I have been told the biggest bird that can still walk usually wins. What would be the best age to enter 8 or 9 weeks?

12 weeks.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I agree, 12 weeks. If your birds can still walk at that age (and many FF meaties can) enter them then. I've never had a 12 week old bird that couldn't walk... Let me rephrase that. I have never had ANY bird of any age that couldn't walk.

 

[curious chickee]

12 weeks. 

Unfortunately next week is the earliest I can get them, our poultry leader just informed me, so I will order them for ASAP which will make them 9 weeks st fair, next fair I will order them sooner.

 

[Em Ty]

I was thinking I should figure out how to make my own apple cider vinegar, but figuring it would be a pain in the ***. A few weeks ago I racked off 3/4 of a jug of hard cider that I made and left the rest to settle so I could rack it off. I forgot about it and just remembered today. I went to siphon it off and found that it was well on it's way to ACV.

As George W. would say, Mission Accomplished!

I guess it's not too hard after all.

 

[Beekissed]

One great benefit from this FF is that I don't have to feed ACV to the flock any longer, as the FF has all they were getting from the ACV, even the benefit of cleaning up the taste of the eggs and meat.

 

[curious chickee]

My daughter her birds for the fair

 

[Beekissed]

Awwwwwww.....so clean and fluffy!!!

Not for long....