Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Linlou]

Talk to your local farmers. If you can find one growing what you want, and you have the packaging to easily get some from him, you can get some great prices. I just picked up 2 tons of hard red winter wheat for $8/bushel. A bushel of wheat is about 60lbs.

I don't know if this will work but I am going to try looking for grains at the local Sprouts store. Who knows, they might have them.

 

[Linlou]

Especially now, during the hot months, water consumption is up and so is urine excretion. Add to that the wet feeds and more moisture is consumed. I've noticed the more wet my mix, the more soft the stool...but mine only had more liquid in the stool for the hottest part of the summer, maybe 2-3 weeks, and are now back to cleaner butts. Only 4 of the gals had the messy butts, so it wasn't a flock thing but more of an individual bird fluid intake.

Time and patience...and maybe tweaking your mix so that it isn't very soupy. If you are feeding high proteins(anything above 15%-18%), this fermenting will increase the absorbed proteins and this too can cause loose stools...animals can only stand high pro feeds for so long before they start to have their guts burned out.

Thanks for the information. And yes, I know I am heading to Heaven, thanks to Jesus. I just pray others will find the way before it is to late.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Especially now, during the hot months, water consumption is up and so is urine excretion.  Add to that the wet feeds and more moisture is consumed.  I've noticed the more wet my mix, the more soft the stool...but mine only had more liquid in the stool for the hottest part of the summer, maybe 2-3 weeks, and are now back to cleaner butts.  Only 4 of the gals had the messy butts, so it wasn't a flock thing but more of an individual bird fluid intake. 

Time and patience...and maybe tweaking your mix so that it isn't very soupy.  If you are feeding high proteins(anything above 15%-18%), this fermenting will increase the absorbed proteins and this too can cause loose stools...animals can only stand high pro feeds for so long before they start to have their guts burned out. 

Currently I am fermenting a meat builder/grower feed as they are not at laying stage and won't be until about the beginning of August. The feed is 18% protein; should I be looking at feeding them something else until it's time to switch them to a layer feed in October ?

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Currently I am fermenting a meat builder/grower feed as they are not at laying stage and won't be until about the beginning of August. The feed is 18% protein; should I be looking at feeding them something else until it's time to switch them to a layer feed in October ?

Oops, I meant to say the beginning of October.

 

[Beekissed]

Currently I am fermenting a meat builder/grower feed as they are not at laying stage and won't be until about the beginning of August. The feed is 18% protein; should I be looking at feeding them something else until it's time to switch them to a layer feed in October ?

It sounds just fine! Just don't be tempted to go higher on protein...my sister is dealing with the fall out of that kind of feeding for the past few years with the liver and heart failure of some of her birds right now. High pro feeds are for temporary situations and shouldn't be given past a couple of weeks to recondition a bird or get one in condition for show.

 

[Triple Willow]

One of my pullets isn't acting right and I have no idea what is wrong with her. She looks fine but she is acting kind of stand off-ish and not eating much. But, they all seem to be slacking off on the feed a little. Yesterday there was egg yolk on the bedding underneath the roost where she was standing. I don't know but I figured one layed one from the roost and it broke. There wasn't any egg shell to be found. I put some greens in and she ate that. She acts a little dazed or depressed or something. Any ideas?

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

It sounds just fine!  Just don't be tempted to go higher on protein...my sister is dealing with the fall out of that kind of feeding for the past few years with the liver  and heart failure of some of her birds right now.  High pro feeds are for temporary situations and shouldn't be given past a couple of weeks to recondition a bird or get one in condition for show. 

Thanks, Bee ! I'll continue feeding them the grower for the next month or so then switch them around laying time to a layer feed. Is it best to switch them to the layer feed just before they are supposed to start laying or should it be switched when they start laying ?

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks, Bee ! I'll continue feeding them the grower for the next month or so then switch them around laying time to a layer feed. Is it best to switch them to the layer feed just before they are supposed to start laying or should it be switched when they start laying ?

I start mine out on laying feed at about 2 wks, so I'm not one to ask about switching feeds. I've never really subscribed to the whole "calcium is bad for young growing birds"...and have the healthy flocks to prove it.

 

[Demosthine]

Soaking premixed feeds is nasty in my opinion. It's sticky and smelly.

I'm sure it depends on brand, but I have to disagree with this statement on the premixed feeds. I've used two types of the feed and both worked extremely well. Neither of them smelled nasty and they definitely weren't sticky. First, I used the Purina Start & Grow pellets. The smell was the standard slightly pungent fermenting smell everyone talks about. I hate sourdough bread, so I can't say it smelled like that. This was a pleasant smell. I did that for probably nine months. Then, I recently switched to the Big Sky Organic Start and Grow Mash. It also works very well, although there is a lot more of the fine powder that settles in the second bucket of scoby and a slightly stronger smell due to the fishmeal that it contains. I just empty the powder out for the clan about once a month and they eat the dickens out of that, too. And as the scoby become more potent, the smell from the fishmeal has disappeared as well.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree...I see no difference in smell between chick starter, laying mash and whole grains. Difference in texture, maybe, but no difference in smell. All my feed seems to have a corn meal mash texture as the end result, with whole grains adding texture.