Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[cajun backwoods]

wow im loving this thread i just got some little cornish x chicks 3 days ago and am gonna try this i have a green house i can fermit it in so thanx

 

[Leahs Mom]

If you won't use use calf manna you probably won't use sweet 16 because the recipe starts grain products and anything that starts that way has probably got some soy. As I mentioned above sweet 16 has almost everything calf manna does.

Thanks for the info!

In actuality...soy isn't a grain but a legume. (But I also know that folks often use the word "grain" when they describe legumes.)
'I hate it when they try to hide things by using generalized terms!

 

[Pozees]

Bee please read this to the end both parts don't paraphrase.
It's not the expense of the bucket. I get them free. I just always look at what is best for me and if I stop fermenting I have no use for a bucket with holes in it. Plus it did not fit my coop design. I just needed to figure out what worked for me and I know that is what you would want and nothing less. If I didn't and you were here you'd give me a bunch of crap for it. You do what is best for you and I love it because it fits your needs if I implied anything else forgive me. I also value time so little of it. That is another reason for my method. 1st day it took me 25 min to feed the birds scoop new feed and add dry and stir. That was to long. So I thought you need to do things in order and be more organized. I now have it down to 10 and 15 minutes. Fed and watered.
I feed 31 and I don't let it drain just scoop and add dry to feed bucket at same time I add dry to my ferment bucket. I have been thinking about using a scoop without holes at all so I can get a little extra juice to mix other things I don't want in my main ferment bucket (sweet 16 and boss) I know they could go in main ferment just preference. the other thing I like about this way is I get a layer of mother or yeast or something in that 2nd bucket that is thick. I stir it in on the way to the feeder. I should mention I do like mine with no juice dripping out and pretty thick when fed. I think the chickens like it too. They gobble it up like mad.
I am so glad Bee convinced me to do this she doesn't know she did but yes it was her. For that I say thank you Bee. This does not mean I won't disagree with you like your current flock would have culled and started over. Glad you didn't though I learned a lot from it.


Well you all have an alternative method now. Try both ways and figure out what works best for you and go with it. Both accomplish the same thing just different ways of getting the same end result Or give us another alternative. Like the ones about pouring it off and then back slopping another good idea. Just try different things till it matches your life style. If that means drilling a bucket drill a bucket just because I find it a waste doesn't mean you should.
If you find something takes to long get a piece of paper and map out your steps and then decide what steps you can eliminate by moving something or just if I went here before here I'd get done faster. An example would be I put on the coffee in the morning and fill my milk jugs with water and set them by the door while it is brewing. Then when it is time to feed and water. all I have to do is grab the jugs and feed bucket. Easy 15 min I'm done the only thing is right now I just hang out and watch them and study feeding habits. I have also put wet feed in one end of the feeder and sloppy feed in the other. They eat the dryer stuff first so that is what works for me right now. I will keep experimenting till I get it right. The old gal down the road when I was a kid gave chores and times to get it done and if you were not finished you got a crack from the bull whip not a beating just a crack on your hind end but it was enough to make you figure out better ways to do things and there was no help figuring. Can't tell you how much I loved her. Like a second mom. I didn't have to go there but I did because I learned about things I liked. (animals)
Rambled again didn't I sorry. Just so y'all know I might not check in often tomorrow having my moms wake. She passed September 22, 2012 been waiting on family to get here. Please don't go on with a bunch of mushy stuff. I'm a big boy and I will miss her but she suffered for ten years really 37 but 10 real bad ones (muscular dystrophy) and I'm glad the lord took her so she can walk with me and see all the wonders of the world again. You may not understand but this fills me with so much joy. I have not cried once don't really understand that. I lived next door my whole adult life to take care of her always thought it would feel different. She always was an angel and now she has wings. Again no mushy stuff.

Good point, and advice well heeded - what works for me at high altitude and low humidity isn't the same even for someone else in the same conditions due to other details, including things like physical condition, hours away from home, size, type, and location of property, family obligations and composition, etc. - to say nothing of the preferences unique to each flock

Happy your Mom is out of pain.

 

[galanie]

Here's what I use to scoop out the FF:

Not that brand or look exactly, mine has a cheap plastic handle, but you get the idea.

 

[pigeonguy]

Here's what I use to scoop out the FF:

Not that brand or look exactly, mine has a cheap plastic handle, but you get the idea.

Yep that's it. Thanks for that.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here's what I use to scoop out the FF:

Not that brand or look exactly, mine has a cheap plastic handle, but you get the idea.

I'll be looking for one of those since it has the 2 thingys I'll be able to hand it across my bucket for drainage.

 

[galanie]

Got mine at the grocery store. I'm sure I'd have found one cheaper somewhere else but they don't cost much and I'm not about to look all over town for one hehe.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Got mine at the grocery store. I'm sure I'd have found one cheaper somewhere else but they don't cost much and I'm not about to look all over town for one hehe.

Will look then since I am at the grocery store more than anywhere else. I was actually thinking thrift store but I don't go that often so grocery store it is.

 

[Taniamax]

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

Their feather color is so vibrant! It looks like you are doing the right things for them. Very nice!!

 

[Maven]

Pozees - thanks for the head's up on the bone meal; I'll definitely research that before going any further with it, lots to think about.

pigeonguy, again, thanks for all the good information! It is much appreciated and won't be ignored!

And no mushy stuff here, but I am happy for your mother just as you are - no more pain, and on to better things!