Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Island Roo]

Like I said earlier, my meaties would eat all the fermented grains I put in front of them. They're not exactly finicky eaters.

I went out to survey the preferences of the heritage gang with a bowl of fermented gains (actually soaked - its only been cooking for 2 days). They picked thru it like mother cherry picks a bowl of mixed nuts:
- Corn first - no doubt about that,
- Oats
- wheat last

I didn't have any barley this time.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

ha ha good visual description

 

[psittacinekane]

This may sound like a naive question ... but here goes:

As background, I've been consistently feeding FF to my meaties and heritage breed LS flock & their chicks. Everyone crowds me to get first pick-over of breakfast, lunch and dinner. No problems there, whatsoever. However, I'm wondering if my meat birds are going to taste like beer? I realize some people like beer-can chicken, etc. but, just as garlic and onions transfer their flavour to the eggs, is this going to occur with the FF as well?

(Sorry if this has been asked before in this thread, but I haven't read all 76 pages.)

 

[WalkingWolf1]

The distinct beer flavor comes primarily from the hops (the bitterness). Without the hops you essentially have grain based wine. There will be no more additional flavor than what would be there from a grain based diet.

 

[BlackBart]

Duh you already answered my question. Perils of the late night shift at work.

What about using beer mash? the leftovers from making beer.
Would that be good for meat chickens? its free from all of the micro breweries around my area.
I know the layer hens love it. I was told it is high in the B Vitamins.

 

[WalkingWolf1]

Not sure as the only beer I've made have been kit beers that are all inclusive. If you have a source I'd say get some and give it a try. Be sure to post your results.

 

[Costa Rica Art]

I would love to get beer mash for all of my chickens. If it were to add flavor then you would already be tasting it in your eggs. Folks have been feeding all kinds of beer and booze mash for years to their live stock, chickens included. I have been adding a small amount of yeast and sugar to my FF to keep it working fast as I am still learning how much to make each day for my small flock. I am looking to find oats in the same price range as my store bought chicken feed as it contains 29 different things in it. If I find the oats reasonable then I will just add them to cracked corn and ferment the two together to feed to the flock. I'll have to add calcium and such to the FF but that is no problem as it is easy to obtain here in Costa Rica, some things are not. Oh, the main things in the store bought feed is corn and soy beans. I want to get away from the soy beans if I can.

 

[BlackBart]

The Micro Breweries around here tend to keep to organic as much as possible.
Ask a local Micro Brewery if you can get their beer mash. Sometimes it comes steaming hot right out of the process. The downside is, when they call for pick-up you have to go or they get ticked off. You would also need quite a few sturdy garbage cans to transport it.
Pigs and Cows love it too

 

[psittacinekane]

Fortunately, I live really close to Sleeman's Brewery in Ontario. I've contacted them to see if they'll supply me with some beer mash. This would be so much faster than fermenting my own.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Is there really much nutrional value to the left over mash from beer? I'd guess most of the good stuff went into the beer and the leftover mash be depleted. And do food tastes transfer over to eggs/ova? Or the actual flesh of the bird kinda doubt that too. Some foods transfer to milk in animals, but can't see that process in the reproductive system. Now, if you want a great marinade for smoked or BBQ chicken, add a bottle of beer to your marinade...works wonders.