Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Impress]

Awesome, thank you! I will go top it off now. I am really excited about this, as all of my chickens and ducks are gigantic pigs! I really feel they are not getting enough out of their food, and fermenting sounds like the perfect way to make sure they can get everything they need. Top that off with the fodder that I am starting to grow from wheat, and I have a feeling I am going to have some really happy, healthy birds!

 

[opalwednesday]

Heck yes! I'm growing a crop for my geese too. So exciting tl be a farmer in spring! Fermented feed is the best step that I've ever taken in my farm, its such an amazing and fun benefit to give the real workers. Congratulations on starting the journey.

 

[sapphireblu76]

I started feeding fermented to my chicks last night. They DEVOURED the amount I gave them, so I gave them more. They devoured that as well. An hour later they were cheeping as if they were starving, so I gave them more. Now they are finally content

for 18 chicks who would normally consume a chick feeder full of starter twice a day, that really isn't bad! They are eating about the same measure of wet as dry, but the wet would've been 1/3 of the size when dry...did that make sense? So over all, in this very first experiment for me, they are consuming 1/3 of the the feed that they would've!

 

[Impress]

Is it bad that this morning, when I checked it and stirred it, I wanted to crawl into the bucket and eat it all because it smelled so good?

 

[opalwednesday]

lol, I tasted mine the first day. it's kind of good.

 

[Bleenie]

Thank you Impress, I was wondering the same thing! I did have 2 buckets going but one swelled so much (we have a wood stove so it got pretty warm) that I had to dump it into a 5gal bucket. I fed today out of the second bucket then dumped the remainder in the big bucket. Now I am down to the single 5 gal bucket, heavier to carry but nice only having 1 in the house!

I like being able to scoop and not have to drain it much but the birds like it oatmealy or sloppy, lol.

 

[Mingming]

Is it bad that this morning, when I checked it and stirred it, I wanted to crawl into the bucket and eat it all because it smelled so good? 

I agree!! I've been feeding FF to my chicks for 2 weeks now, and each morning I think ... I need to start making sour dough bread again

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

Quote: Funny you should mention this Mary, I had a male with similar symptoms. A big crop , not full of food full but more like an enlarged water balloon, scary big. He acted fine: ate drank, ran around. I culled him when all went to the butcher. I do wish I could have had a look to see what was going on, but I was too squeamish to hold on to him and do a necropsy myself. So I'm sorry I don't have any good information, other than mine was a BCM too.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Nothing like the aroma of sour dough fresh out of the oven!!

 

[sapphireblu76]

I may have missed it somewhere, since I had to skip ahead. BUT, I think I shall do an experiment! The next batch of meaties (CX's) I get, I am going to buy the a bag of each feed for each group. I will ferment one group's and not the others. Then, I will share my findings with you all here I'm a scientist at heart and it seems like there is really no such straight forward experiment with simple to understand findings. Maybe there is and I'm just not finding it, but I still want to do it for my own knowledge anyway!