Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[yinepu]

Quote:
mine is thick.. as I am mixing it it does have water over the surface of the feed.. but it absorbs all of that.. it still bubbles and gets the white film on top

this is what it looks like after 24 hours (you can see the craters in it where it has bubbled)




edited to add:

this is just one of the buckets.. I have several going.. one is just fermenting grains which does have several inches of liquid on the top.... the others are the fermented feed like this one

 

[kaisabaijai]

How about shutting the door lol!

Tried that. They all just sit by the door and wait. I even tried getting them to follow me out to the field 3 or 4 times a day to see if they would stay and scavenge.

At this point the only thing I can think of is cull them but considering how much they cost me I am reluctant to do that.

 

[kaisabaijai]

You could start a second bucket. That's what I do. I have one for morning and one for evening. That way it has a chance to ferment for almost 24 hours.


That was going to be my suggestion too. If there is shade outside and food and water, shut the barn door and force them to stay out for a few hours at a time. I realize the other birds will need to get in to lay their eggs, unless you want to start a massive egg hunt so I'd only do it for a short time to begin with.

Have you gone into the barn to see what they are doing in there and what the attraction might be? Most birds, I imagine, prefer to be out in the sunshine and grass and bugs.

Yep. I have gone in the barn to count how many are staying in the barn. Well it isn't exactly a barn. It is a 3 meter high roof with bamboo fencing around it on the bottom and shade screen on the top so they can get some sunshine inside the enclosure. When i go look some of them are sitting on the top of the nesting boxes, and some on the roost. Most of them are either just sitting on the ground or scratching and pecking a the ground. As soon as they notice me they all come running to gather around my legs and start cooing. I call it whining for food instead of cooing though.

I have no idea why they want to sit in the coop with the bare dirt "floor" when they have green grass mixed with dried rice right outside.



I also can't understand why they would want to drink the water I have in the coop when they have 4 ponds to go drink from like the free ranging chickens and ducks do do.




My 12 year old son says they just stupid and I should cull them so I don't waste money feeding them.

 

[SunnySkies]

Good to know about the mash... And I put it in the garage to ferment because I can't get to the label on the bottom of the bag to read it, lol. But I'll go see if their website says what is in it.

Hope it works. I like the idea of CO feeds, but the cost and waste was irritating me. If I can make it go farther and reduce waste, I can make the jump. Of course, it will help that soon they will find more food on their own as they free range; not much out there right now.

I am not sure why mine wouldn't eat it before....I added their favorite things and they stared at it like it was death on a plate. Weirdos. I left it and nobody ever ate it.


.

"dusty" = mash.  It ferments very well. 

There are three types of feed - mash, crumbles and pellets.  All ferment well.  And, they eat every bite of the mash when it's fermented.  Definitely less waste.  

I use a mash feed.  Check the label - if it's like mine, it may have fish meal in it.  If it does - be prepared...the odour is not pleasant.  Fermenting meats/meat meals is a nasty smelling process.  I keep mine outside the house because of it.  

Once they realize it's food, they go for it pretty well.  You can entice them to it by putting some of their favourite treats in it...for my girls that meant bananas and grapes.

ETA: YES, Countryside has fish meal, and, interestingly enough, a lot oferried fermentation products of many bacteria and yeasts in it already. This should be good.

 

[Ashdoes]

The iPad has been rock'n the double posts lately. Making me crazy.

 

[Ashdoes]

I finally decided to have two FF buckets, both 5 gallon, and that way one ferments for about three days while I'm feeding out of the other. If you're keeping it drier, then make sure you stir really well. The liquid always moves down, and after that first day if you mix that super moist stuff at the bottom up to the top, it'll get cook'n even better and your consistency evens out. Otherwise you'll have dry at the top, and slop like at the bottom.

 

[yinepu]

I finally decided to have two FF buckets, both 5 gallon, and that way one ferments for about three days while I'm feeding out of the other. If you're keeping it drier, then make sure you stir really well. The liquid always moves down, and after that first day if you mix that super moist stuff at the bottom up to the top, it'll get cook'n even better and your consistency evens out. Otherwise you'll have dry at the top, and slop like at the bottom.

Yeah.. it is sloppier at the bottom..

Since I have alot of birds.. I feed most of all the buckets every day (only leaving a bit in the bottom as starter for the next batch).. so I don't worry about mixing it well before feeding since it gets mixed as it's scooped into buckets and and then mixed with fermented grain anyway

 

[Kilsharion]

Good to know about the mash... And I put it in the garage to ferment because I can't get to the label on the bottom of the bag to read it, lol. But I'll go see if their website says what is in it.

Hope it works. I like the idea of CO feeds, but the cost and waste was irritating me. If I can make it go farther and reduce waste, I can make the jump. Of course, it will help that soon they will find more food on their own as they free range; not much out there right now.

I am not sure why mine wouldn't eat it before....I added their favorite things and they stared at it like it was death on a plate. Weirdos. I left it and nobody ever ate it.


.
ETA: YES, Countryside has fish meal, and, interestingly enough, a lot oferried fermentation products of many bacteria and yeasts in it already. This should be good.

You should get a really nice fermentation going with that mix, then. Mine tends to get very nicely cooking even after just 24 hours - lots of carbonation going. Snap crackle pop in the morning makes me smile Mine has molasses in it, too - which really kicks things off nicely. I just upgraded to a 10 gallon duo. Had been doing fives but have too many birds now to do that....I was running right up to the very top of the bucket with feed after it had expanded. Figured if I was going to get another bucket or two, might as well get them bigger since I have even more birds in the 'bator It's Yinepu's fault...she's totally my enabler....

 

[bbsnooks]

I finally decided to have two FF buckets, both 5 gallon, and that way one ferments for about three days while I'm feeding out of the other. If you're keeping it drier, then make sure you stir really well. The liquid always moves down, and after that first day if you mix that super moist stuff at the bottom up to the top, it'll get cook'n even better and your consistency evens out. Otherwise you'll have dry at the top, and slop like at the bottom.

Hello.. all .. I'm just starting on the 3 rd month.. of FF. I started off small.. so that i could train my dog <not to eat chicken!> so i have a very small flock of 2 Jersey Giants
My 2 roosters.. now 5&6 mo old, began FF in January ( i got the breading stock before the hens.. who are coming in 2 wks)

My experience was that the first day.. they were not sure.. of the FF compared to the crumbles. The Crumbles was the feed they were familiar with.
By Day 2.. they were eating like linebackers in fall training camp , 2 and some times 3x/ day. I was trying to make friends.. ; )
This kept up for over a month.. and then suddenly.. they were eating a lot less - so much that I got worried that i had let a batch go bad < since I'm new to FF for chickens.. so I made a new batch from the beginning>

While fermenting the #2 batch, i would leave a dry feed out.. along with the FF - to see if they would eat that..
They did peck at the dry .. but they still preferred the FF. I was not taking measurements but it was a noticeable difference. I had read this might happen.
Maybe they go thru growth spurts.. ?? when the demand for growth is higher that other times ( little humans do.. maybe the heritage chickens do too.)


I'm now doing the 2 set's of bucket soak. (like Ashdoes). with plenty of liquid to cover the feed -- then to let the feed soak for at least 3 days - maybe less when summer comes. Then using the filtered water to start the new batch to soak.

It seems there are some difference of opinion.. on what method is best regarding time to soak / ferment .. and how much water to use.. to cover or not to cover
( its a good discussion to have.. I especially like when i can see the reasons why.. someone chooses one method over another ) If you decide to explain which method you like ... would you mind saying.. I choose this method .... because.... it ....________ does this that .. and .... the other..

For my self I chose the longer ferment time. Because it was closer to what i use to ferment cabbage. When i let the feed get above the water line i had some fuzzy growth. I think this is why some folks recommend keeping plenty of water on the feed to keep the mold from forming.. <and this is also what i learned to do with sour kraut for personal use>. It appears that for those folks doing fewer hours in their soak that they are feeding before any mold can form.. so keeping it submerged is not as important for that method.

I can imagine that its easier with such a small # of chicken to keep 2 batches going. but that's what I'll try when the other 20 chicks get here.

I have been using fermented foods for my self for over 15 years.. it just seemed like a great thing to do for the chickens too.
I'm glad that there are so many folks sharing their methods for making this kind of feed work. and helping those of us who want to make FF work find a way. For me its not just the Lowest Cost on feed.. I too noticed an improvement in the stool's and smell - tho they do still have an occasional watery stool.
I'm sure I'll keep watching over the next few months.. to keep learning.
Thanks .. for sharing your idea's.
Debra..

 

[Lacy Blues]

Tried that. They all just sit by the door and wait. I even tried getting them to follow me out to the field 3 or 4 times a day to see if they would stay and scavenge.

At this point the only thing I can think of is cull them but considering how much they cost me I am reluctant to do that.

How long (days) did you leave that door closed? Perhaps when they've been camping out by the door for a couple hours, you could go out and throw some scratch in the grass to get them going. Are they a different breed from the ones that free range?

If you do cull them, make sure they have enough weight on them that you can put them in your freezer. If you just toss 'em, that would be a big waste.