Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Triple Willow]

This is so true, and I still insist on doing things myself, then complain later when the hip and knee want to go in opposite directions

Take it from somebody that use to do it all, if a man offers his muscles use them and appreciate them - and him.

 

[Triple Willow]

  Exactly!  And I have been told countless times that I intimidate men, though I never set out to do that at all.  I am just living my life and doing what needs to be done but a lot of fellas feel threatened by an independent woman.  That's THEIR problem, not mine. If they would step up, I could step down...or step to one side and work side by side as a partner.  

Amen!

 

[chubbiechicken]

Thank you

 

[Triple Willow]

Can anyone answer this question on BOSS when you ferment your feed does it all float to the top?

You can make your ff thicker (less water) and it will be like cookie dough and the BOSS like chocolate chips in it. LOL Seriously, I like the thicker consistency much better, easier to handle.

 

[NotAFarm]

I ferment for 24 hours and my BOSS does not sink in that amount of time. Since I use a colander to strain my FF (mostly whole grains), the BOSS is fed each day and never has a chance to absorb enough liquid to be heavy enough to sink. Just stir it a time or two each day and it will be fine!

 

[chubbiechicken]

Great advice thank you

 

[Triple Willow]

Amen and absolutely! I like to encourage that behavior in men because it is a dying and rare thing, common courtesy. My own boys are taught to do the same behavior and were taught that women are to be cherished and treated with respect and deference. That's been hard to instill in them when they have a mother~and a grandmother~ they have seen doing all the rough stuff with ease and so they take it for granted that women don't need help nor should they expect it...that's been a hard thing to drill into their heads that my situation is not normal and that I, too, would have loved to have been shown respect and consideration in that manner if I had a man around all those years.

Call me old fashioned but I still value gender roles, not as an absolute, but as a privilege.

I sure do identify with this. I have a nephew that is like my own. He has grown up with no dad in his life the majority of the time. He has seen me do all the man stuff. It is indeed hard to teach them their roll as a man when they had no example to look at! It has got to be very confusing to them to try to teach them to do the man things (that you do) for a woman while you are a woman doing it yourself. That is even confusing to try to say!

 

[JoyfulPromise]

JP, That seems like a lot to me too. We feed 60 layers, plus a couple cocks, 1.5 gallons/day of FF. I think we're feeding about 1 bag every 2 weeks, or ~3.5lbs/day. Now that you've brought this up, I'll try to keep a couple of records and actually record how much we're feeding. I'll post results in a few weeks.

Thanks colburg, I would be interested to hear exactly how much you use. Part of the reason we were asking about decreasing the feed now, is that we are actually fermenting/feeding out TWICE that amount of FF currently because the other half is going to feed 36 juvenile pullets/cockerels that are all around 3-4 months old now and eating a TON! So 6lbs per day for the laying flock, and 6lbs for the grow-out pens, the only difference being that the juvies don't get as much scratch in the evening, just a token 1lb or so as a treat, because I don't want to cut their protein as much since they are still growing. Oh, and I also have a small flock of 6 adult Bantams & 3 bantam pullets that are just sharing a small scoop of feed from the Layers bucket. Fermented, I would say the total volume is about 2 gallons per feeding for both groups together, so 4 gallons per day total. But that would be a little less than 2 gallons/day for the Layers and Bantams alone.

I guess I am going on the understanding that adult layers should eat about 1/4 lb of feed each per day, and chicks and juveniles should be allowed as much as they will eat, since they are growing. Now, the layers ARE going through less than 1/4lb each of dry food per day, but I have pretty much calculated the amount of FF to give them by how much they will clean up before the next feeding. But perhaps they don't even NEED that much, they are just eating it because it is there? It is hard to figure, since some in my family think it too much trouble to do the 2 (or 3 if you count the Scratch) feedings each day, because most people just fill up a large dry feeder and leave it and refill when needed. It does make it harder to go places, unless you can double up on feedings or have someone come and do it for you. We actually read an old (1800's) chicken book a few years ago where the author recommended moistening the feed into a mash, and only feeding as much as they would clean up in 15 minutes!!! He did still do 3 feedings a day though, with one being more scraps and produce, and another being scratch grains. I believe this was for confined birds though. We did try some of his method and still do just moisten the feed in the winter time, because it is too cold to ferment in the garage, and we don't have space indoors. So I will just warm up some water, or milk or whey if we have it, and make a nice warm mash for the cold chickies during snow time. They sure seem to love it!

Well, I think I will definitely try and reduce the feed a little at least, and see how they do. I need to get that 1/4lb per bird thing out of my head I guess. It is hard to know though because as someone said, they will ACT hungry all the time when you offer food. Just thinking out loud here...

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. It is nice to have a group like this that I can bounce questions and ideas off of you all!

 

[Triple Willow]

this subject is sensitive to women of all ages. why i don't know. a gentleman should and always will ask a woman if she needs help. it is not about can i get in your pants type of behavior. it is a respectful gesture. 
a true gentleman of a younger stature will also ask an older gentleman if they can help.
i do this all the time. i do it at the mill , tsc, and the grocery store.

I agree and I for one do appreciate it.

 

[Beekissed]

Triple Willow~ It is! When first I started to train them, they were quite skeptical as to why they should lift the feed and hay while I was standing there and had been doing it all along. It was a battle at first, though now that I have spine problems they are starting to come around and want to help me more with lifting chores.

And what's worse is my boys are looking for women that will act like us, my mother and I, and will gut deer, kill and process animals, run the chainsaw, carry firewood, build fence, do construction, and all the other homesteading things. They are having some level of difficulty with that and are giving up hope of finding it. I feel bad for them as they were presented with a picture of women that is just not realistic in this present world.