Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Chaneys Ranch]

Don't know if it was from my post 4 weeks ago that you got the idea. Just wanted to say that is the image that I was going for in that post. Except I do not put drainage in mine the chickens eat and drink all. Below is the original post.
I like the way yours came out. These are so easy to build.


Fermented chicken feeder. Take a 4 inch piece of PVC pipe glue end caps on it then cut it in half length ways. mount half to the stand trough side up at the height you want the chickens to eat (I prefer the tops of there backs as the height) Then put the other half piece trough side down above it with about a 6 to 8 inch gap between the top and bottom half. Make the top half so it can be removed to fill the feeder. This makes a trough that the chickens can get there head into to eat but can not get in the food to scratch. They also can not roost on top of the feeder because PVC pipe is slippery so with the dome side up they just slide off.
Mine is like this except suspended by chains from the ceiling with adjustable height no 2x4 stand. Mine is also 5 feet long because I go by the rule of 4 inches of feeder per chicken 5 ft = 60 inches per side times 2 sides = 120 inches + 4 = 30 chickens. The real bottom line is my 31 feed there comfortably.
For those that don't know. To draw a straight line on PVC pipe take a piece of angle iron lay it on the pipe so it looks like an upside down V. That will create a straight edge to draw the line.

Thanks for posting, I was just looking for this, I found a 6 foot piece in the barn i can use

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Those who are looking at FF for dogs and cats, it does take it 2 days or more to ferment. With the animal proteins in it i only keep a day ahead. So far its going very well for both my pug and all the barn cats (6). They don't leave hardly any and i am only feeding about 2/3 the portion i was feeding. Decreasing a little each day just to see where it leaves me.

 

[aoxa]

Thank you!!

We're completely thrilled about our eggs!

I'm just doing the same thing with the dog food that I do with the feed. I put the dog food, dry generic, in a bucket, covered with water, added a glug of ACV, and covered with my daugher's old tights. I just put it in the garage to sit. My kids are ready to feed it to the dog now, but I explained that we had to let it sit to do the fermenting. I will let you know how it looks tomorrow...I told my DH that we need to get a rubber or plastic bowl for the dog. She has a metal bowl now....

Most dog bowls are stainless steel, and that is not a worry with ACV.

 

[leenie]

Making a test sample of FF dog food today. I'll see how my pooch takes to it. We use a dehydrated real veggie/meat dog food as is.

I'll pass along her reaction to it in the next day or two.
She is always hanging out when I dish out the chickens FF. She certainly likes the smell of it

 

[flyinchicks]

So, the question is - has anyone else noticed the difference in smell of their birds since the grass has died back, even though they are using FF? Also curious as to what others are giving their birds in the way of greens.

I did my first and only batch of meat bird at the end of Oct. I feed FF from day 1. When I put them in the pen there was little rye but it was gone within a week other than that they did not free range at all. The were stinky. Not as bad as I thought it would be but still smelled. I butchered Dec 1 and I went in the pen this weekend to plant some rye for the next batch and the dirt/poo was thick. It was almost like a mat from them trampling it down. My laying pen is not like that I guess because they scrach more for bugs. I had 20 birds in a pen approximately 20'x 8' which seemed big enough. Anyway stinky dirt is now turned and replanted. It smells much better now.

 

[B J Hopkins]

Don't know if it was from my post 4 weeks ago that you got the idea. Just wanted to say that is the image that I was going for in that post. Except I do not put drainage in mine the chickens eat and drink all. Below is the original post.
I like the way yours came out. These are so easy to build.


Fermented chicken feeder. Take a 4 inch piece of PVC pipe glue end caps on it then cut it in half length ways. mount half to the stand trough side up at the height you want the chickens to eat (I prefer the tops of there backs as the height) Then put the other half piece trough side down above it with about a 6 to 8 inch gap between the top and bottom half. Make the top half so it can be removed to fill the feeder. This makes a trough that the chickens can get there head into to eat but can not get in the food to scratch. They also can not roost on top of the feeder because PVC pipe is slippery so with the dome side up they just slide off.
Mine is like this except suspended by chains from the ceiling with adjustable height no 2x4 stand. Mine is also 5 feet long because I go by the rule of 4 inches of feeder per chicken 5 ft = 60 inches per side times 2 sides = 120 inches + 4 = 30 chickens. The real bottom line is my 31 feed there comfortably.
For those that don't know. To draw a straight line on PVC pipe take a piece of angle iron lay it on the pipe so it looks like an upside down V. That will create a straight edge to draw the line.

Thank you very much! It is really working out well for me, and wasn't hard at all for my husband to build. We already had everything we needed on the property except the glue. (ours had dried out)

 

[3 NH reds]

How do you make your own?

I just took some apple juice in a jug and added Bragg's. It is slow starting in our cool house but its going and it has the mother right on top.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Making a test sample of FF dog food today. I'll see how my pooch takes to it. We use a dehydrated real veggie/meat dog food as is.

I'll pass along her reaction to it in the next day or two.
She is always hanging out when I dish out the chickens FF. She certainly likes the smell of it

 

[ChickChickChicky]

I am contemplating raising a few meat birds (CornishX) this spring. I've had laying hens for just over a year now and have soaked up TONS of knowledge from the old-timers on this and a couple other threads (which are now sadly closed). I plan on feeding the meaties ff from day 1 but am wondering if the space requirements are the same for meaties as for layers??? The coop they'd be in is 6' x 4' and the attached covered run is 6' x 12', it will hold 6 layers just fine.

I actually have two coops, the other coop w/ covered run will comfortably hold 12 layers. I'm going to start off small with the meaties to see how I like it and how things work out, but MIGHT in the future decide to reduce the laying flock and put them in the smaller coop and raise meaties in the bigger coop. None of my birds free range (due to microscopic city lot and huge overabundance of predators) but are confined to their coops/covered runs 24/7 (pop door always open; pine shavings deep-litter method in coop; sand, dirt and wood ashes in runs; absolutely predator-proof; and they get fresh greens and ff every day and meat scraps maybe every 2-3 days).

Another thing I wonder about is how well meat birds could navigate the ramp (plywood with cleats about every 5-6") to get in and out of the coop. It's a little steep, but of course my hens have no problems with it. Ideas and suggestions appreciated!

 

[mrsamplias]

Most dog bowls are stainless steel, and that is not a worry with ACV.

Thanks! I thought that I had to stay away from any metal!