Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

Which of the two grains would have the least amount of protein, barley or oats, any idea ?

Barley, depending on who you ask...has 6-13% protein and oats has, depending on who you ask or your source, 11.5-24%. Whenever I want to really cut protein, I usually reach for the barley...it has an incredible amount of lysine in it and has wonderful crude fiber.

That's the trouble with trying to find out the protein amounts of different cereal grains because every source has a different amount and every time I read an article or study, they list different protein amounts for each grain as well.

I'll tell you how ol' country folk do it..the cheapest grain at the feed store usually has the lowest protein. I used to think corn was the cheapest but have found that barley is even cheaper...and it does have less protein, on average, than corn. The birds really like it, much more than oats or the GMO corn they sell now and way more than wheat. It ferments well and is a soft grain with a good smell.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Barley, depending on who you ask...has 6-13% protein and oats has, depending on who you ask or your source, 11.5-24%. Whenever I want to really cut protein, I usually reach for the barley...it has an incredible amount of lysine in it and has wonderful crude fiber.

That's the trouble with trying to find out the protein amounts of different cereal grains because every source has a different amount and every time I read an article or study, they list different protein amounts for each grain as well.

I'll tell you how ol' country folk do it..the cheapest grain at the feed store usually has the lowest protein. I used to think corn was the cheapest but have found that barley is even cheaper...and it does have less protein, on average, than corn. The birds really like it, much more than oats or the GMO corn they sell now and way more than wheat. It ferments well and is a soft grain with a good smell.

Hmm, that is interesting that your chickens like barley so much. When I was researching grains for our homemade feed, I read several places that barley was not as good as wheat for chickens because they needed an extra enzyme or something to digest it well. But obviously it works for you - maybe because you are fermenting the feed! Not sure why your chickens don't like wheat though - ours seem to LOVE it, and definitely prefer it over Oats or Barley in their feed. Now, it might be partly because the oats and barley are harder to hull, and the ones we get are from an Organic Grain cleaning facility, and are extra or small seed grains mostly, so they still have the hulls on.

Oh well. We can get the wheat really cheap right now though, so I am glad our chickens like it.

 

[Beekissed]

The barley I buy is steamed barley...looks like oats you'd find in a box, sort of, but a darker color. I'll try to get a pic on here tomorrow if I can. The wheat around here has very hard hulls that aren't penetrated much by the fermentation process...as a result you have these very hard grains and I'm wondering if they just sit in their crop for awhile until the gizzard can get them ground up, which would take a lot of effort.

When meat birds leave them behind and pick around them in the trough, I know they must not be too palatable.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

The barley I buy is steamed barley...looks like oats you'd find in a box, sort of, but a darker color. I'll try to get a pic on here tomorrow if I can. The wheat around here has very hard hulls that aren't penetrated much by the fermentation process...as a result you have these very hard grains and I'm wondering if they just sit in their crop for awhile until the gizzard can get them ground up, which would take a lot of effort.

When meat birds leave them behind and pick around them in the trough, I know they must not be too palatable.

Ahh, STEAMED barley, now that would make a big difference! I wish I could find Organic Rolled Oats around here at a cheaper price, I am sure the chickens would like them much better than the whole ones!

 

[foreverlearning]

My FF spoiled today. I think I need to drill bigger holes. Last night I noticed that the holes got clogged and it wouldn't drain so I tried to clear them. This morning it looked great and drained like usual, but when I just checked on it it had a white film over it with lots of trapped air bubbles. I went to stir it to check but the color, texture, and smell wasn't right so I am going to throw out this batch and try another. Also, it looked to be boiling after I stirred, not just bubbles rising but a full simmer. Can FF get too hot? Any ideas on what went wrong? This was my first batch of FF, so I expect some trial and error here. 9 days with an ongoing batch, better than I expected for my first try.

 

[Beekissed]

My FF spoiled today. I think I need to drill bigger holes. Last night I noticed that the holes got clogged and it wouldn't drain so I tried to clear them. This morning it looked great and drained like usual, but when I just checked on it it had a white film over it with lots of trapped air bubbles. I went to stir it to check but the color, texture, and smell wasn't right so I am going to throw out this batch and try another. Also, it looked to be boiling after I stirred, not just bubbles rising but a full simmer. Can FF get too hot? Any ideas on what went wrong? This was my first batch of FF, so I expect some trial and error here. 9 days with an ongoing batch, better than I expected for my first try.

Please don't throw it out. Your FF didn't spoil and the bubbles you are seeing is the fermentation...those are gas bubbles rising to the surface. The white film is just a collection of "mother" on top and you can stir it right in and feed it to the birds. It sounds as if you are having fantastic fermentation and that's the goal!

The deeper the fermentation, the more it smells sort of like vomit..and that's okay.

I've had an ongoing batch since last fall..it really can't go bad if you are stirring it now and again and adding fresh feed every now and again( I refill my bucket about once a week when it gets almost to the bottom and add fresh water...which mixes with the same ferment water that has been in there since last fall!).

I know that sounds contrary to everything you have learned about food and chicken feeds..that if it smells bad and looks bad that it must be bad, but this is the world of fermentation~and it often smells unpleasant~ and it's time to take a fresh look at an old way of preserving and improving grains.

 

[Triple Willow]

The barley I buy is steamed barley...looks like oats you'd find in a box, sort of, but a darker color.  I'll try to get a pic on here tomorrow if I can.  The wheat around here has very hard hulls that aren't penetrated much by the fermentation process...as a result you have these very hard grains and I'm wondering if they just sit in their crop for awhile until the gizzard can get them ground up, which would take a lot of effort. 

When meat birds leave them behind and pick around them in the trough, I know they must not be too palatable. 

I was reading a thread the other day where a guy's hen died from an impacted crop from wheat. Somebody was taking care of his birds for him and they thought they needed some more feed and gave them extra wheat. I guess the bird ate way too much wheat. I bet the poor folks taking care of the birds felt like crap, thought they were doing a good thing and the guy's hens ends up dead.

When what feed I have is gone I believe I am going to go to maybe a flock raiser, oats and whole flax seed mix.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Please don't throw it out. Your FF didn't spoil and the bubbles you are seeing is the fermentation...those are gas bubbles rising to the surface. The white film is just a collection of "mother" on top and you can stir it right in and feed it to the birds. It sounds as if you are having fantastic fermentation and that's the goal!

The deeper the fermentation, the more it smells sort of like vomit..and that's okay.

I've had an ongoing batch since last fall..it really can't go bad if you are stirring it now and again and adding fresh feed every now and again( I refill my bucket about once a week when it gets almost to the bottom and add fresh water...which mixes with the same ferment water that has been in there since last fall!).

I know that sounds contrary to everything you have learned about food and chicken feeds..that if it smells bad and looks bad that it must be bad, but this is the world of fermentation~and it often smells unpleasant~ and it's time to take a fresh look at an old way of preserving and improving grains.

yep mines bubbling away to AND smells to high heavens now.....lol but they're loving the stuff. Feeding it about once a week now to. Got the gray film on top of mine every day that I go to get feed out and I stir it all back in and cover it with the towel for the next days feeding.

 

[RoseMarie1]

I was reading a thread the other day where a guy's hen died from an impacted crop from wheat. Somebody was taking care of his birds for him and they thought they needed some more feed and gave them extra wheat. I guess the bird ate way too much wheat. I bet the poor folks taking care of the birds felt like crap, thought they were doing a good thing and the guy's hens ends up dead.

When what feed I have is gone I believe I am going to go to maybe a flock raiser, oats and whole flax seed mix.

wondering IF he was fermenting his food? Didn't think they could get sour crop from it being fermented.That is very sad he lost his hens!
NOW I see where Bee said what she did about it being hard. (the wheat) Didn't read that before I typed the above.

 

[foreverlearning]

Please don't throw it out. Your FF didn't spoil and the bubbles you are seeing is the fermentation...those are gas bubbles rising to the surface. The white film is just a collection of "mother" on top and you can stir it right in and feed it to the birds. It sounds as if you are having fantastic fermentation and that's the goal!

The deeper the fermentation, the more it smells sort of like vomit..and that's okay.

I've had an ongoing batch since last fall..it really can't go bad if you are stirring it now and again and adding fresh feed every now and again( I refill my bucket about once a week when it gets almost to the bottom and add fresh water...which mixes with the same ferment water that has been in there since last fall!).

I know that sounds contrary to everything you have learned about food and chicken feeds..that if it smells bad and looks bad that it must be bad, but this is the world of fermentation~and it often smells unpleasant~ and it's time to take a fresh look at an old way of preserving and improving grains.

I haven't thrown it out yet. The feed itself looks lighter and brighter, the fluid looks a little watery like when milk spoils, and well the smell is sort of a light vomit smell. Come to think of it I did have to add water yesterday. I fed them dry feed today to be safe. I guess I got used to light bubbles, when I saw that film, simmering, and how much it changed I thought I messed it up. Thank you.