Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Taniamax]

Question: Anyone else noticing the gigantic yolks in their eggs on this FF? Down through the years I've had certain hens that always put out big yolks and noticeably bigger than the other hen's eggs...but every egg I've cracked since feeding FF has had enormous yolks. It doesn't matter what size the egg looks on the outside~as in the shell~ or which hen has laid the egg, the yolks are all supersized!

Now, think of how much extra nutrition chicks would be receiving from that bigger yolk. I hope I get to to have a broody that hatches some of these eggs because I really want to see if the chicks are bigger, healthier and grow faster from that better nutrition while incubating.

So, how bout it? Anyone else notice an increase in yolk size? I know the studies say the actual egg weighs more than layers fed standard feeds, so maybe all that extra weight is the increased yolks?

I've only been doing this for two weeks now, but I noticed that the other day when I made an egg sandwich. The yolks were very large. And then again this morning when we made breakfast, our egg yolks were extra large. I'm glad that you mentioned this because I was wondering if it was an anomaly.

 

[Taniamax]

Just wanted to suggest giving sage to your geese (posted a few pages back). Sage goes really well with a goose dinner!

 

[Taniamax]

I wanted to add my FF success story to the scores of others on this thread.

I have 31 chickens. This is my fourth year with chickens. Each year, I have added a few chicks. I live on one acre and I let a few of my chickens free range all day long while a larger group of them stay in a fenced area with only late afternoon free ranging (I am trying to spare my landscaping). All of the birds have been quite healthy until this spring, when several birds started having watery poops (which I assume was probably coccidiosis).

When I finished reading this thread, I started a batch of fermented feed (2 weeks ago). My hens and four roosters all ate the FF immediately. The ones who are fenced most of the day ate every bit of it even though I left their normal dry mash out for them to eat as well. The birds who free range all day at most of their FF, too.

Now, two weeks later, only a couple of birds have watery poops. Their poo smells WAY better. They are firm and have a form. The birds continue to love the FF - the fenced birds prefer it to their dry; though the free-ranging birds go for both dry and FF. As I mentioned above, even though my girls aren't laying as many eggs this time of the year, I have noticed larger yolks. Also, a couple of my older hens who were looking a little worn out seem to have a lighter step and just seem perkier than they had been.

Of course this is subjective, yet I can't help but see a connection between the FF and the health of my flock. I intend to keep on using it through the winter and since I live in Washington State, I am hoping that I won't have to worry too much about the FF freezing (though it does get down in to the low teens for short stretches of time occasionally). I will keep it inside the house if I have to.

The food that I use is Cascade Organic Layer. It is a high quality mash that my birds love, but waste when they fling it here and there. Now, I am not having the wasted food issue and my birds seem to be healthier. So, I want to give my heartfelt thanks to all who have been contributing to this post, but in particular to Bee, who has patiently answered so many of our newbie questions.

When I hatch a new batch of chicks from my current hen's eggs, I am excited to see if there is a difference compared to the last two years' hatches.

 

[pigeonguy]

Oh my goodness, pigeonguy, thank you SOOOOO much!

What a sweet thing to do; I really REALLY appreciate your analysis!! I think I will do exactly as you suggest and adjust my feed then use only the bone mean in the FF! Lord knows we have enough trouble with critters in the garden and I never heard of using blood meal that way, no sense in taking a chance on ruining a whole batch of feed!

And you are right; I thought that the BOSS had a lot more protein in it than it apparently does!

Again, thank you SOOOOOO much; what a nice thing to do for a total stranger!

Blood meal is quite effective for me. with rabbits and ground hogs. Here is something from the reading at this link.
http://www.howtodothings.com/home-and-garden/a3214-how-to-get-rid-of-rabbits.html

Quote:
Dried blood meal. It sounds a little gruesome, but this gardening tip is quite effective. Dried blood meal is a by-product of the meat-packing industry and can be found in any gardening center. Sprinkle some around each of the plants in your yard or around the entire border of your garden, if you like. Rabbits don't like the smell and will usually stay away. The dried blood meal will have to be reapplied after you water or after every rain shower.

UNQUOTE

Another tip is sweat 16 its for cows mix it 50/50 with a bag of scratch grains. Don't worry about the protein value in this it is about the vitamins and minerals. I feed 1 to 2 quarts a day to 31 chickens. In my experience it really tightens the stools. Makes it look healthy. 1 bag sweet 16 $16.00 1 bag scratch $11.00 = $27.00 same price as a bag of calf manna but you get twice as much. I feel it gives the same or better results as calf manna for half the price. Pretty much same vitamins and minerals. I have been using it for many, many years. Don't mix it in the ferment though unless you do it like I do and get out of the ferment bucket today what you will use tomorrow and mix sweet 16 to soak up extra juice. That is explained here post #1636. Just in place of the adding dry mash into bucket 2 add sweet 16. It is a double ferment process.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/1630#post_9755259

 

[jeapa]

Gorgeous birds! I forgot to add the quotes, but this is referring to the birds pictured about 10 pages back. They look so beautiful.

 

Thanks, I think you are referring to my birds. I think their diet has a lot to do with how they look . The FF and free ranging some everyday. I can't compare yolk sizes because mine weren't laying before I started feeding FF, but I think my hens are laying big colorful yolks. They are super thick also and they taste awesome

 

[MyGardenHelper]

Could be your ACV doesn't have an active mother culture...can you see the mother in the bottle and not just the sediment in the bottom? Even without that, your grains should ferment in a certain amount of time. Give it a stir now and again and make sure it's in a dark place or in a dark bucket....yeast likes the dark.

I'm still weeding through this thread and only on page 30-something...so much to learn and I'm loving it!

I've noticed that raw ACV are not created equal. I ordered 4 glass bottles of ACV (I usually buy by the gallon at azurestandard.com since we use a lot of it), but vitacost.com had free shipping with items over $49. I added 4 bottles to make the cut. I just shook all 4 bottles and watched it settle. 1 out of 4 had the swirly tidbits of the mother. The other 3 got cloudy and settled without swirls. The gallons that I typically get from azure...it's hard to tell (it comes in plastic and I transfer into half gallon amber bottles). It's very dark and cloudy prior to transferring. Vitacost brand is not so dark, but you can see the swirly bits on one of them. I'm thinking that they dip into big vats and what you get is what you get. I'll be using the one swirly one for FF.

Just switched to a new feed and the chickens are wasting it like crazy! I know...you should mix their old feed with the new with a transition. Cut it too close and I was almost out of the feed they were used to. So much for the discount of buying from the farm I work at (it is a nice feed...but they are not used to it). I'm looking forward to getting the FF started so there is no waste. The holes I have drilled in the buckets are too large. I was hoping to use my sprouting buckets that I've been using for 'just sprouting grains'.

Question: I've been sprouting grains for our chickens for about 3 years now. Our 2 llamas (guard animals) love the sprouts too (one will jump over the fence if I feed the chickens first). Anyone have any experience with giving llamas...or any ruminet animal fermented feed? They chew their cud and I don't want to upset the balance of their system. It might be good for them...but wanted to post this question now while I'm catching up with this thread if someone has some experience with goats/llamas). If I dive in...I need to consider our 'humming piggies'. They hum when they see that I'm ready to feed the sprouts about 2 hours before dark....well...they hum when I walk to the garden...their treat bucket is green and they used to recognize it for alfalfa pellets. Now they hum with the white 5 gallon buckets that the sprouts are in. Might have to change colors of buckets for the FF so that they stop jumping the fence...or breaking the fence.

 

[texasmomma]

I started some feed fermenting last week. I used Cascade Grower, with a little bit of H and H soy free starter in. The H and H is very powdery and I am trying to get rid of it. I put some feed into an empty cat food plastic container that was left over from the former owners of the house. I added filtered water from our Berkey and a couple of glugs of ACV. Then, the temps dipped. We are in Texas and I'm not used to cooler temps this time of year. It was 39 F the second night and didn't get to much over 50 for three days. The following day was in the 70's but cloudy. I keep the food in a shed. Then, we had two days of 80's. I was feeding from the container, even though it wasn't bubbling. I'm ok with just soaked food. It has to be easier to digest than the food that is not soaked. They don't really like the peas in the Cascade food, anyway, and soaking makes them a bit more manageable.

I added some more water and ACV as needed. One or two days, I added a small bit of food. Finally, today, I have decent bubbling. So, it took a week to get some fermenting going on. They are eating it. I am giving it to my 4 teenager pullets (12-13 weeks old, approximately) and I am also giving a tad to my 3 chicks (4-5 weeks old). The chicks are also getting dry starter and it is getting everywhere.

They all eat it, though the chicks don't eat as much of it. Once I get some starter in the next few weeks and use up the H and H, it will be a lot easier.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't think they would need it...they ferment their own way better than we could do it for them.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Another tip is sweat 16 its for cows mix it 50/50 with a bag of scratch grains. Don't worry about the protein value in this it is about the vitamins and minerals. I feed 1 to 2 quarts a day to 31 chickens. In my experience it really tightens the stools. Makes it look healthy. 1 bag sweet 16 $16.00 1 bag scratch $11.00 = $27.00 same price as a bag of calf manna but you get twice as much. I feel it gives the same or better results as calf manna for half the price. Pretty much same vitamins and minerals. I have been using it for many, many years. Don't mix it in the ferment though unless you do it like I do and get out of the ferment bucket today what you will use tomorrow and mix sweet 16 to soak up extra juice. That is explained here post #1636. Just in place of the adding dry mash into bucket 2 add sweet 16. It is a double ferment process.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/1630#post_9755259

I was trying to find ingredients for the sweet 16 with no luck. Can you tell us what's in it? I don't use soy so I won't use the calf manna. Was just wondering if the sweet 16 has soy.

 

[pigeonguy]

The holes I have drilled in the buckets are too large. I was hoping to use my sprouting buckets that I've been using for 'just sprouting grains'.

Just my opinion. I think buckets with holes in them are a waste of a good bucket. 1 bucket to ferment and 1 to feed from. Use a scoop with holes in it to scoop don't worry about liquid not draining. After scooping from main bucket add dry feed to soak up liquid. Leave it a little sloppy and leave set till the next feed time should be 24 hours later the liquid will soak in and also ferment the new dry feed. next day you will have moist not wet fermented feed stir in the mother and feed.
Experiment a little to see how many wet scoops to how many dry for your needs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/1630#post_9755259