Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[LOVEIGEE]

It's just for a little while, then it's gone. It wasn't the only cut of the day, which is just the hazard of home processing, but it was the deepest. My poor ol' ma has been cut so deeply and so many times, I wonder she has any fingers at all.

Good to see you, Sis!!!

Always good to read your words......I think you know that!

Wish I could contribute to the thread as you....I just need my daughter to hurry and tell me WHEN she can come animal sit so I can get to the country and do some learning. Better late than never.......I envy all of you that have been raised like this.......I've missed so much and didn't even know it......It's where my heart is though.....that's a fact....

 

[LOVEIGEE]

Got to get back to work....ya'll have fun.............

 

[waltandlori]

I don't get sewn up...just did the nursing thing, as usual, big bandage that will splint the joint and keep those wound edges closed so they can seal. I'm not one to run to the doc for things.

Sounds like you know all about getting cut, so you understand the ol' bleach it, ointment, bandage does more than most trips to the surgery can do.

Yeah and you don't catch anything by going to the hospital. Ya wanna get sick just go to the ER. Also what do you think about the gamebird feed for the hens I'm guessing it won't do a bit of harm, but I know enough to be dangerous....

Walt

Tire tape and shop rag lol...

 

[ChocolateMouse]

HEY MOUSE>>> ya get any chocolate chicks from them chocolate easter eggs yet????

Walt

Not quite yet... I candled last night and found another dud (eight eggs left in the nest) and couldn't really see through most of the shells with my wimpy little LED hand cranked survival flashlight...

BUT THEN TODAY OMG! I was out there and broody Copper Chicken left the nest while I was out... I looked in on the eggs and some of them were shaking and peeping at me! I should be getting new chicks in just about a day!

For me this is really incredible and special. With the rabbits you NEVER see them give birth (they always do it when you're not looking, even if you just leave the room for five minutes and come back they will do it while you're gone) and I have never hatched out eggs before. It's kind of amazing to be going through the whole process. Keep in mind; I was born and raised in a suburb so all this is super new to me (even if I do take to it like a duck to water) and really incredible. :3

Definitely spent like twenty minutes straight outside doing nothing but watching the eggs wiggle and chirp.

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah and you don't catch anything by going to the hospital. Ya wanna get sick just go to the ER. Also what do you think about the gamebird feed for the hens I'm guessing it won't do a bit of harm, but I know enough to be dangerous....

Walt

Tire tape and shop rag lol...

Some use it for show birds but it's a little on the rich side for just laying hens. I like to keep protein intake to 16% for peak laying months and lower than that in the slow down times and winter months. If you wait a bit I'll show you some hens on less than 16% proteins and how much fat they have on and in their carcass. Not a good thing, BTW, as it hinders the process of the egg through the oviduct and fat encasing all the organs inhibits the health of all of them.

 

[TexasLisa]

Here's a question: At what age do you process roosters? I just got a straight run of dual purpose chicks and any males that don't toe the line will be culled. I just don't know how old they should be...

You haven't seen your babies yet and here you are planning on culling them!!! tch tch tch

Bee and Walt: My DH uses black electrical tape. Works every time!

Sorry about Bertha, Bee. That had to have been tough for you!

Lisa

 

[Chad Cool]

Is it safe to feed "game Bird Feed Starter" to Day old chicks the crude protein is 28%.

 

[BCMaraniac]

@ Bee congrats, nice days work all in all...

Now, as I said I put a little FF in the little chick trough and put it in with the meatys, not a big hit, but to be fair they had dry food available. If it ferments (I'm sure it will), they won't have an option. FF in sun outside, temps headed for mid 80's figure maybe sun shining on it might give it a kick in the .. well get it going. The hens had no such problem with it they gobbled it, I had them all outside while I clean their pen. I wonder if it's ok to give the hens gamebird feed fermented, that's what I got for the meatys it's 22% protien. Has calcium of some sort in it and I give oyster shell free choice, which they seldom eat.

When I started my birds on FF, I place a small layer of their dry food on top of the FF for a couple of days, which seemed to help them adjust.

 

[Beekissed]

I wouldn't...I'm sure some do. High protein on new kidneys is not my idea of a good start. I'm not sure about game bird metabolism, but I'm sure that chickens don't ever need that much protein and particularly when they are so young. I've never fed more than 18-20% for chicks and even then I only fed that percentage for 2 wks, max.

I'm thinking that folks are thinking that high pro feed=best nutrition? Chickens can only metabolize so much protein, for so long a time before it starts to put a strain on their organs and their health. My sister just went through this with feeding game bird and wild bird feeds to her chickens because she was wanting to feed less GMO seed. Then her older birds started dying, all with the same symptoms...congestive heart failure, ascites in the abdomen from fluid collecting around the liver, etc. Another person on another forum was going through the exact same symptoms with her young pullets, same type of feeds.

I've seen a trend on these forums for the past two years of folks wanting to mix their own feeds, so they take the most high pro components they can possibly get and put them all together and think that's the best nutrition. Imagine feeding your own children, dogs, horses or cats the most high protein rich foods you can pack into them and the fall out when their health starts to show it in obesity, organ changes, digestive changes, skin changes, etc.

A chicken's dietary nutrients shouldn't vary too far from their natural diet if one wants optimal health and growth. A chicken will not normally find such protein rich fare in their natural foraging and though bugs have high protein, they also are very tiny and their protein per wt compared to grains and other supplements is not all that high.

This FF is a game changer as well, where one can take a relatively medium to low protein feed and turn it into a super food just by the fermentation process changing the proteins into amino acids that can be used better on a cellular level for these birds.

Here's a pic of a hen who has been eating layer mash and steamed barley, mixed 3:1, with the layer at 16% and the barley anywhere between 6-11%, depending on who you ask. She is one of a flock of 14 LF who free range at all times and only receive 1.5-2 cups of feed daily for the whole flock. You take a look and tell me this bird needs extra proteins....



This is the inside of her skin...you really couldn't see any area of skin that didn't have a thick layer of fat on it.


This is her back fat...and all the other areas trimmed with fat.



Can you tell what this organ is? No? That's her gizzard.... somewhere...under there.



This is what Big Bertha looked like when I opened her skin...do you think she would have been warm for the winter? Do you think I should add some proteins because egg laying has slowed to a mere drip? Maybe I should up the proteins and calcium,ya think? Winter is coming, maybe we should add some really high pro feeds to keep them warm!

 

[Beekissed]

Sorry about Bertha, Bee. That had to have been tough for you!

Lisa

TW, Lisa! But, you know? It wasn't so hard after all, especially after I opened her up and saw what weight she was dragging around on her poor ol' calloused feet. It was definitely time for her to go and I was glad I could help her with that before she became crippled with it. She was my favorite, but there are always more favorites on the horizon and that new relationship is what makes life so very fun and interesting. Each life is a new story, one ends and another always begins. How very boring life would be if we had to listen to the same old story over and over.