Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

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I think it does. My birds have very glossy feathers, very silky feeling. They've been getting FF for about 2 1/2 months now. I have baby chicks that have been getting it since I got them at one week, so it will be interesting to see how their feathers are.
 
I was wondering if anyone has raised chicks on fermented whole grains? I am trying to find a way to raise my birds non-GMO start to finish, and of course that means no commercial chick starter. I am worried about the protein levels.
 
KatieBugg said:
What are the temps you guys are fermenting in? I got my buckets today and will drill them tomorrow but trying to decide where to locate them as we are still pretty darn cold here and I do not heat coops. I have a smaller batch started in the kitchen for when I pick up chicks Thursday.
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I keep mine in my house. I am really looking forward to warm weather though, since the five gallon buckets in my kitchen are a nuisance! LOL
 
a couple questions: right now I feed my layers a mixture that I make myself of corn, wheat, oats, millet, coarsely ground field peas and ground flax with kelp and fish meal...I'd like to start fermenting this mixture, do you think the fine items (ground flax, fishmeal & kelp) would stay in the mixture or get washed out of the bucket through the holes? Do I need to continue to grind the flax if I ferment or would the fermenting make the flax nutrients available..
Also what's the lowest temperatures you've been able to ferment? In the summer I know I can keep the buckets in the coop before I need to bring them in the house/basement or rather how soon can I move them outside so I don't have to haul feed out with me? I'm planning on getting some meaties in the spring and feed them FF so I want to do some trials before hand with my layers
 
ash10383 said:
a couple questions: right now I feed my layers a mixture that I make myself of corn, wheat, oats, millet, coarsely ground field peas and ground flax with kelp and fish meal...I'd like to start fermenting this mixture, do you think the fine items (ground flax, fishmeal & kelp) would stay in the mixture or get washed out of the bucket through the holes? Do I need to continue to grind the flax if I ferment or would the fermenting make the flax nutrients available..
Also what's the lowest temperatures you've been able to ferment? In the summer I know I can keep the buckets in the coop before I need to bring them in the house/basement or rather how soon can I move them outside so I don't have to haul feed out with me? I'm planning on getting some meaties in the spring and feed them FF so I want to do some trials before hand with my layers
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I started reading the beginning of this thread and read about 26 pages before posting but I guess I should have read the last few pages also and seen someone just asked about temps....oops
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cutechick2010 said:
I was wondering if anyone has raised chicks on fermented whole grains? I am trying to find a way to raise my birds non-GMO start to finish, and of course that means no commercial chick starter. I am worried about the protein levels.
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Hi cutechick2010! We feed all of our chickens an Organic and/or Non-GMO feed made of whole and cracked grains that we mix ourselves. We are also trying to avoid Soy, so we use alternative beans for protein, such as Lentils, Adzuki Beans, and Garbanzos/Chick Peas. But you can get Organic Soy if you are ok with soy. We get most of our grains from a local Organic Grain processing and sorting facility. We can usually get the splits or smalls/tailings for a cheaper price. We just started using Fermented Feed last summer, and my brother and I raised 64 Cornish broilers from new chicks to processing on ONLY our homemade fermented feed. We just ground the grains a bit smaller when the chicks were little, and added more Organic Fishmeal for extra protein. They grew GREAT, and we had ZERO chick deaths with this batch, which was unheard of in our previous batches!

So to answer your question, YES, it is possible to raise chicks on FF. If you are ok with, and able to get Organic Soybeans, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting a 18%-20% protein feed, though you will probably still have to add a little Fishmeal, and the animal protein is good for them anyway. Of course, fermenting the feed will make the protein more available to the chicks too, so you may not need to worry about having as high of a protein level as you would with dry feed.

Hope this helps a little!
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