Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[knjinnm]

So, if they are outside in the tractor that is on dirt will they find their own grit? I live in a rural community and you can't buy grit here. Any suggestions because I moved my first 100 broiler chicks outside today and my grain is fermenting nicely so I was wanting to start feeding them that also beings we are going through a 50# bag in a couple of days right now. That is feeding 160 chicks just to clarify.

If the dirt is to hard give the chicks a shove of dirt to scratch in, they will get enough grit. You can also give them some crushed or pulverized egg shells to pick through.

 

[Kilsharion]

If the dirt is to hard give the chicks a shove of dirt to scratch in, they will get enough grit. You can also give them some crushed or pulverized egg shells to pick through.

Yes, it depends on the type of "dirt" the birds are on. If it's soft soil, it's not going to be what the birds need.

Southeast Idaho seems to be made up of mostly fine, loamy soils. This type of soil generally does not have enough solid bits of stone in it for grit to be found easily. There are some areas there that show mesic and skeletal type soils; but, again - it depends on the soil and what is present in it. If there are not pieces of insoluble material in the soil of an appropriate size, it's not going to do any good. If you can take one of those wire mesh sink strainers out in the field and shake the soil through it and have bits of rock left behind...then you're looking ok. If you can't...then invest the $30 and get a year's supply of grit delivered.

I'm not one who likes to use eggshells as a grit replacement, so my opinion differs from others in that regard.

All statements herein are solely my opinion and only worth the time it takes to read.

 

[oldrooster]

So, if they are outside in the tractor that is on dirt will they find their own grit? I live in a rural community and you can't buy grit here. Any suggestions because I moved my first 100 broiler chicks outside today and my grain is fermenting nicely so I was wanting to start feeding them that also beings we are going through a 50# bag in a couple of days right now. That is feeding 160 chicks just to clarify.

is there a tractor supply or rural king or some other chain type farm store that possibly transfer the grit to your store? also I knew someone whom sold feed (and this may apply to seed dealers also who possibly can sell both but choose not to or can get their sister side to help out) and the feed guy ordered from a warehouse type distributor and he could order somany bags of this that or the other on his order to sell through his store (some farmers use this as a side line buisness too)

 

[SunnysMama]

Unfortunately, well maybe not, we live in a very small rural community. We don't have any of the farm stores here. We do have a feed and grain store but she doesn't have grit. If we were later into the summer I could go out to my pasture and raid ant hills but they are just starting to come out. Maybe I'll sneak into the county road and bridge and see if they have any smaller crushed rock. Thank you for all the help.

 

[Kilsharion]

Unfortunately, well maybe not, we live in a very small rural community. We don't have any of the farm stores here. We do have a feed and grain store but she doesn't have grit. If we were later into the summer I could go out to my pasture and raid ant hills but they are just starting to come out. Maybe I'll sneak into the county road and bridge and see if they have any smaller crushed rock. Thank you for all the help.

If you do that....well asphalt + chickens = bad idea. Oil + rock + chickens = bad idea. If there are roads that are not tamped with oil or asphalt, go for it.

And, even though this is for model trains, he's talking about using chicken grit and actually shows the measurements for the various types - so, it's a great reference for grit sizes based on the size of your poultry. http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/149637.aspx?sort=DESC Scroll down the page to see the photos.

 

[SunnysMama]

If you do that....well asphalt + chickens = bad idea. Oil + rock + chickens = bad idea. If there are roads that are not tamped with oil or asphalt, go for it.

And, even though this is for model trains, he's talking about using chicken grit and actually shows the measurements for the various types - so, it's a great reference for grit sizes based on the size of your poultry. http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/149637.aspx?sort=DESC Scroll down the page to see the photos.

LOL...I'm not a chicken newbie!! I do know that asphalt and chickens are a bad idea. They have a rock crusher and they take the rock right out of the mountain. The reason I even asked is because I read somewhere that if the grains were soaked that they didn't need grit.

 

[MNickoloff]

Hmmm.... I don't know where your post went, but anyhow... I get that pine crumble at our local feed store but I've heard others on here say they recognize the brand across the country. I would just check into feed/ranch/pet stores and see if they carry it.

  When my husband and I first started dating, I found out he didn't care for any reptiles. I could kind of understand the snakes, but he was scared of lizards! Even cute little baby lizards! So, I caught one in the backyard one day and put it on the front of his chest. I just hung there on his shirt. Boy was that fun! At least he still married me - LOL. However, I was eventually able to help him overcome his fear of lizards and to a certain degree, snakes. I still usually rescue the king snakes from my dogs on occasion and he still lets me.

Here is the best video, in my opinion, on how to make LAB. Toward the end of the video, he lists all the great uses for it. One of my favorites so far is spraying it on my deep litter for no coop/run smell.

I purposely add some LAB to my ff, even though I started it with ACV because I felt it could use a nice balance.

thanks for the link!

 

[mstricer]

So I picked up so LAB today. How much would I add to a 5 gallon bucket of chick starter for chicks and how much to a 5 gallon of layer crumbles, woodland game bird blend and scratch. The directions say to give 1/2 teaspoon per bird of 1 - 10 lbs. so do I add 1/2 teaspoon in the bucket per each bird?

 

[SunnysMama]

So I picked up so LAB today. How much would I add to a 5 gallon bucket of chick starter for chicks and how much to a 5 gallon of layer crumbles, woodland game bird blend and scratch. The directions say to give 1/2 teaspoon per bird of 1 - 10 lbs. so do I add 1/2 teaspoon in the bucket per each bird?

Are you using it to start your ferment? I only used 1 tsp for a 5 gallon bucket not per bird. I made my LAB though so I'm not sure on yours.

 

[mstricer]

mine is called probios it's a powder