Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[TexasLisa]

Bee, I jumped (skydived) twice!! I loved it!.This was back in the '80's. We got a group to go skydiving for $40.00 per person. We had 3-4 hours of training and we took our first jump. We learned how to hit the ground. We learned what to do around trees, power lines, and ponds. We jumped in pig country!

The instructors loved me--I am 5'1" and all the equipment was BIG. The helmet kept falling down over my eyes and I had to roll the pant legs up! We had to sit in the door of the plane with our feet on the step. My feet wouldn't reach the steps! I had to go ahead and stand up and hold on. This was my first airplane flight and I was going to jump out of a perfectly good plane. When the instructor yells, 'GO', you take one step backwards and start counting '1001, 1002, 1003, look up and see if parachute opened up. If it didn't (you are still counting) 1004, put hand on reserve chute, and pull. They teach you how to pull the chute back into you if it doesn't work.

It was pure heaven! I didn't feel like I was moving at all. I could look all around and it was awesome! After the jump my sister and I were leaving when we overheard the guys saying girls never come back for a second jump. Guess what we did??? Yep, we turned around and did it again.

Lisa

 

[hogster160]

For the first week I fed enough that it took them a couple of hours to get it all gone...by evening they had picked it clean and so got another big serving. By morning it was picked clean. You can play with the amounts a little so that it's never entirely picked clean but they always have just a skim in the bottom of the feeder and that way you can feel a little better about it all.

I'm not so tuned into their eating 24/7 like most folks as I see that chicks don't do that with their real mama and these CX aren't any different. As much as you feed, they will eat and that is often the problem...overfeeding when they are too little to have the ability to carry it. You'll have to play with it and see what you can manage and how they react to your feedings. Chicks take a little longer to eat than do adults, so I give them a little more leeway as to how much time it takes to clean the plate.

Thanks for the fast reply. I was a little slow on the uptake with the layers. They were eating so much they didn't want to forage. And yes, they will eat it all if you put it all out. So for the past week they have been getting 1.5 scoops, 3 cups a day of ff. I have 14 laying pullets 9 months old and 2 turkeys, 7 months old. Some of them now come out of the coop and go straight to foraging. There was actually food left this morning after about 30 min, so I will cut them back again tomorrow.

I figured I would feed the meaties close to what the layers are getting, but I didn't start feeding the ff to the layers until they were about 5 months old. But really just was not to sure. We are new to chickens, the layers being our first. So the meaties should be an experience lol. I am hoping to see them foraging like the layers. They will have a decent side yard to run in. lots of grass and bugs, one huge tree and a couple 3 apple trees.

Another question if you don't mind. How long before I switch them to grower feed? I remember reading that you put yours right on to layer crumble. I feed an all flock to my layers and turkeys, would it be ok to switch them to all flock after the non medicated chick starter?

Jeez, I think I need to go back and re read this thread again. I hate asking questions that have already been asked and answered, 100 times. lol

Thanks for the help.

Deb

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks for the fast reply. I was a little slow on the uptake with the layers. They were eating so much they didn't want to forage. And yes, they will eat it all if you put it all out. So for the past week they have been getting 1.5 scoops, 3 cups a day of ff. I have 14 laying pullets 9 months old and 2 turkeys, 7 months old. Some of them now come out of the coop and go straight to foraging. There was actually food left this morning after about 30 min, so I will cut them back again tomorrow.

I figured I would feed the meaties close to what the layers are getting, but I didn't start feeding the ff to the layers until they were about 5 months old. But really just was not to sure. We are new to chickens, the layers being our first. So the meaties should be an experience lol. I am hoping to see them foraging like the layers. They will have a decent side yard to run in. lots of grass and bugs, one huge tree and a couple 3 apple trees.

Another question if you don't mind. How long before I switch them to grower feed? I remember reading that you put yours right on to layer crumble. I feed an all flock to my layers and turkeys, would it be ok to switch them to all flock after the non medicated chick starter?

Jeez, I think I need to go back and re read this thread again. I hate asking questions that have already been asked and answered, 100 times. lol

Thanks for the help.

Deb

No worries, Deb! That's why we hang around this joint...see it as a bunch of old biddies sitting on the porch talking about everything and you can just walk up, sit down and ask.

I too have had to cut down my FF rations and I have 14 birds too....I'm down to 1.5 cups every 24 hrs so they will get out and forage. That's the first time I've ever seen my flock sit around the back door waiting for evening feeding. I think this FF is just such a good nutrition that it can sustain them for 24 hrs before they need more...so I cut them down so they would get up and get out there. It worked, just like yours did. This is a very high forage month and there is no excuse they can't find tons of food out there right now..and they have.

Sure will be okay to switch them over. It will help tremendously also if you can get them out on free range at 2 wks so they learn it early and are eager to get out there. The older chickens can teach them the danger calls and even foraging behavior. You might also give them opportunities for grit early on and a place to dust, though they won't do much of that once they learn there is food out there for the taking...they'll be too busy running their legs off to catch it.

Mine dusted when they were 2-3 wks and a little in their 4th week but I never saw them doing any dusting after that..too busy foraging.

You'll find the meaties will be needing more feed than your layers as their metabolism is a good bit higher, so be prepared to feed them more rations, particularly near the end when they can't run and forage as avidly as they did when young. They will still forage but won't catch as many things then, so they will rely a little more on grain rations.

I made the mistake of not adjusting for that and my birds had not one ounce of fat under their skin this last time...they had run all their fat off. If I did another batch I'd put more proteins and fats into my feed mix there at the end to give them just a little juicier carcass for cooking.

 

[Triple Willow]

Good mom!  That's the kind of mom I was about some things...boys just gotta do some dangerous things if they are going to be boys. 

Oh yeah, you can't baby them too much. Got to let them learn some things. lol A few cuts and bruises won't hurt a kid. And dirt makes them healthy! My mom was pretty fun most of the time but she would tear a butt up too! lol

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Ugh, sky diving, hangliding... Ya'll are getting my willies up now and not much does that! I'm horrified of heights. It come from my ice-skating years and being a massive skyscraper of a girl... Falling when you are nearly six feet onto ice and bruising your tail bone is FAR worse than falling the four feet all the other kids had to drop. I can't stand being off-balance or looking down at things from higher than normal anymore unless I'm in a secure building under four stories. I prefer being close to the ground; I will lay on a floor if there's room and cushions over a bed even.

Why, I ought to just bring my snakes and spiders and stuff to your places to get revenge! Well, not to Bee's place. Her chooks would eat all of them, even the tarantula!

 

[bbdal]

I think it is this thread where someone mentioned homemade mayo a little while ago. I am curious about the risk of salmonella, etc. from raw eggs. Please educate me

 

[Triple Willow]

Ugh, sky diving, hangliding... Ya'll are getting my willies up now and not much does that! I'm horrified of heights. It come from my ice-skating years and being a massive skyscraper of a girl... Falling when you are nearly six feet onto ice and bruising your tail bone is FAR worse than falling the four feet all the other kids had to drop. I can't stand being off-balance or looking down at things from higher than normal anymore unless I'm in a secure building under four stories. I prefer being close to the ground; I will lay on a floor if there's room and cushions over a bed even.

Why, I ought to just bring my snakes and spiders and stuff to your places to get revenge! Well, not to Bee's place. Her chooks would eat all of them, even the tarantula!

I use to want to skydive but I don't believe I could do it anymore. For some crazy reason I have developed a fear of hights too. I don't know where it came from and I don't like it! It is odd really. I never had that problem until just a few years ago. Snakes are okay in the daylight hours UNLESS they are venomous. I think all spiders should die! lol

 

[Triple Willow]

I bet every kid with a wagon has tried hooking the family pet to it. My brother and I figured that since we had a husky and they were supposed to be sled dogs (it comes natural to them right?) that we would hook our dog to a sled and go for a ride. Boy did we ever get a ride. You would be surprised how a gentle dog can turn into a crazed beast when scared. We got a ride right through the trees and pucker brush until we fell out. Then we had to find the dog... We used to make our own parachutes and either jump or ride our wagon off the barn roof. No television and active imaginations, but we managed to avoid broken bones and only a few stitches. Kids these days just don't know what they are missing without Tv.

You're right Dave. Kids these days have no idea how to have real fun.

 

[galanie]

I'm on board with you all except for sky diving. No dang way I'm jumping out of a perfectly good airplane! Kids, risks, etc. Oh hell yes. I did my share of stupid stuff and so have countless generations of kids. And yet mankind is still here. Must mean something.

 

[Triple Willow]

I'm on board with you all except for sky diving. No dang way I'm jumping out of a perfectly good airplane! Kids, risks, etc. Oh hell yes. I did my share of stupid stuff and so have countless generations of kids. And yet mankind is still here. Must mean something.

I hear you! If I didn't freak over heights I'd still be cripple soon as I hit the ground. My knees would give up the ghost! LOL But oh yeah, risk taking is fun! It was more fun when I was younger, but still fun. lol