Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Loghousemom]

I suppose tomorrow's project should be to make a trough feeder for my FF. I have been slacking on getting that done.

 

[Triple Willow]

I treat it just like dry feed and dish out what they would normally eat per day x how many days I'll be gone.  My feed trough will hold 4-5 days worth of feed, dry or wet.  It doesn't change the feed any, whether it is sitting in a bucket for those days or if it's sitting in a feed trough for the same number of days.  It tends to darken a little, much like it does on the top of the feed each night before one stirs it. 

The chickens keep this top part picked off as they eat it, so it's no problem about it drying out.  The feed is always cleaned up when I come back and the birds have had the same nutrition amounts as I would have fed if I had been here and fed it out each day. 

 

Bee, do they not hog out and eat it up too quick? I have done this with dogs before but some would eat what they normally did and make it last and some will sit and eat and eat and eat... Do you keep them up in a coop or coop/run while doing this or are they also free ranging? I like this idea, hope I can get it to work too. Thanks!

 

[Triple Willow]

I have been fermenting about a week now.  It is going well.  All ages seem to like it.  My little chicks seem to go crazy over it.  When I put it out they come running.  I am using the one bucket method and was using a stick to stir it.  I found out the perfect thing to use.  I have a cheap forked hoe.  The one that has two tines on one side and hoe blade on the other.   It fits into the 5 gallon bucket perfectly.  By plunging it up and down it works  like a churn.  You can put it on the bottom and turn it and it lifts any solid up so you mix it.  Works really well when you add new stuff.  They are several dollars most places, but mine it the cheap 2 or 3 dollar one you get at the places like a Dollar Store or other discount store.  Sure beats a stick or paddle. 

I use a big stainless steel ladle with holes in it I took out of my kitchen. My ff is on the thicker side like dough. I just mix some more in and add water before it's all gone - no water covering it. It is pretty much just like Bees setup except I only use one bucket.

Ya know what would be cool would be one of those long auger like things that is put in a drill and used to mix up paint! ZIP!...ZIP! and it is mixed! lol

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, do they not hog out and eat it up too quick? I have done this with dogs before but some would eat what they normally did and make it last and some will sit and eat and eat and eat... Do you keep them up in a coop or coop/run while doing this or are they also free ranging? I like this idea, hope I can get it to work too. Thanks!

My dog does that..eats it all up the first day and then has nothing to eat after that. I'm assuming the birds do the same..and yes, they are free ranging during that time also. What I figure is this..they are getting the same nutrition for the same number of days, whether they eat it the first day or the second or the last day. It's all the same.

The dog probably looks like a sausage that first day but will lay around and sleep it off for the next couple of days and eliminate it all by the time I get back home. No one seems inordinately hungry when I come back home, no more than usual.

If they go hungry after a couple of days of over eating, it's probably the best thing for them to go without and work that overage out of their systems! I've been doing it this way for years with trough style feeders and dry feed, and it's no different than someone hanging up a continuous feeder of dry feed and leaving for the same number of days. Only this feed is wet.

 

[Triple Willow]

My dog does that..eats it all up the first day and then has nothing to eat after that.  I'm assuming the birds do the same..and yes, they are free ranging during that time also. What I figure is this..they are getting the same nutrition for the same number of days, whether they eat it the first day or the second or the last day.  It's all the same. 

The dog probably looks like a sausage that first day but will lay around and sleep it off for the next couple of days and eliminate it all by the time I get back home.  No one seems inordinately hungry when I come back home, no more than usual. 

If they go hungry after a couple of days of over eating, it's probably the best thing for them to go without and work that overage out of their systems!   I've been doing it this way for years with trough style feeders and dry feed, and it's no different than someone hanging up a continuous feeder of dry feed and leaving for the same number of days.  Only this feed is wet. 

Sounds great to me! Do you think this would work just as well for birds that are not allowed out to free range during that time?

I have one dog that eats like an elephant and might kill herself eating free choice and I have one that eats every little - UNLESS it is some practically rotton scraps or something dead I want him to leave alone. The pig-dog eats 1 to 1 1/2 times more dry feed than the other dog every day. I feed her and it is all gone in a few minutes, the other will leave it laying for days a lot of times. I have to watch the pig or she will get skinny on me. I also try to fatten her up a little before winter because she is a short haired dog. The other one has so much hair it is hard to find his skin! He layes out in the rain and snow a lot of times and couldn't care less. I've seen him rise up out of the snow when you couldn't even tell he was laying there! LOL The finicky eater stays plump and there is ony 10 ibs difference between the two of them (50 & 60 ibs)! I'm thinking about starting them on some ff to mix in their dry feed and see what happens. Hopefully it would level off the big eater. The difference in them is so odd.

 

[Triple Willow]

Do any of you use sand I keep hearing people using sand?

Hi Chubbiechicken. I have read about some using sand in their coop as well as their brooders. It sounded like a good idea to me until I was reading Storey's Guide and the author talked about sand sometimes causing a problem (death) in chicks because of them eating it. I believe I will pass on the sand.

 

[Triple Willow]

We were not fermenting our feed with our first baby chicks. I now mix and soak/ferment whole grains for our hens. We have baby chicks arriving in three days plus two broody hens. Can day old chicks eat fermented whole grains? Thanks!

Hi bbdal. I didn't see anybody else answer this, maybe somebody with more experience will help you out. MY THOUGHT is that you really need to be careful with the whole grains with the chicks because you might cause them to develope an impacted crop. And they don't have the grit to grind the grains up even if it did make it to their gizzard. If possible I would use non-medicated starter and ferment it. If you have a problem with pasty butt I mix 1/2 corn meal and 1/2 oat bran and some yogurt or buttermilk until it clears up. Never done it but you could even ferment that. I have read that pasty butt is caused by constipation - sometimes cause by shipping stress, certain feeds, or who knows what. I believe I read in Storey's Guide that being sure that each chick drinks plenty of water before it ever eats will help prevent pasty butt.

Sorry if you already knew all of that. Maybe some greenhorn like me can use the info if you couldn't. Bottom line on your question, personally I would not try feeding them the grains until they are several weeks old, probably 4-6 weeks is my guess. Good luck with your new batch of chicks!

 

[Triple Willow]

they free range about 1-2 hours a day. would the protein content increase if I add BOSS? I have a 25 lb bag and they're crazy for it.

Thanks for your help!!!!

Nab58, a few days ago I was fiddling around with various mixes of starter/grower or layer and oats, scratch, or flax seeds. I have a feeling that whole flax seeds (up to 10%) fermented in the mix would be a really good thing for the birds and for whoever eats those birds and especially the eggs.

Here is an interesting article I found about omega-6 and omega-3 in eggs: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/11/omega-3-eggs.html?m=1

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

I have noticed since yesterday that my FF has a kind of yeasty beer type smell. About the same kind of odour you would have if you were making a home brew - sort of sweet/yeasty. Is this ok to feed the chickens or is there something going wrong with the FF ?

 

[nab58]

Nab58, a few days ago I was fiddling around with various mixes of starter/grower or layer and oats, scratch, or flax seeds. I have a feeling that whole flax seeds (up to 10%) fermented in the mix would be a really good thing for the birds and for whoever eats those birds and especially the eggs.

Here is an interesting article I found about omega-6 and omega-3 in eggs: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/11/omega-3-eggs.html?m=1

Interesting! Can you get animal grade flax or do you buy it in the grocery store? I had bought a bag of flax and wheat germ and was mixing it in with my FF until I ran out. I fed the flax whole but have heard its hard for humans to digest and you should grind it. I wonder if that applies to birds or if they have their own internal grinders.