Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Mountain Momma]

i dont take it as severe at all, i need to know these things and you all provide me with so much information i appreciate it greatly. i was hoping the space would be adequate since they free range but we will make adjustments later this month. we originally made it for just 2 hens, but there is this thing called chicken math...
no mites that i can tell and we dust as a preventative. thank you for the tip about yogurt, not moving more any time soon but i do like to give them a treat every now and then.
yes i have offered the ff but i think i just might take her some and get her started this weekend. i can probably add extra to mine tomorrow and just take excess for her. i bet the birds miss the ff.
thank you

I'm so Sorry, Not in Oz, for your loss and for the fact that your mom must feel bad too. I just thought I would ad my 2 cents- it might be relevant. I traded a sweet middle of the flock hierarchy Plym rock to my friend for a bully Ply Rock. I have ff for about 3 months straight, she does not. My coop is fairly medium hers is too and my run is large hers is not. The chicken I gave her has acclimated fine and is still a medium flock member with her 11 chickens and has had no adverse or noticable impact from the move. Not trying to rain down on you but I would like you to be able to discover what happened somehow so you can avoid it in the future. We moved the chickens in cardboard boxes. We live about 2 miles from each other. She heats her coop I do not heat mine.
If she (your chicken) was frisky and feisty before then I do think something affected her. The chicken I gave my friend was calm and sweet in temperment but hard to catch. I cornered her at the gate and grabbed her around her shoulders on both sides and slipped her into the box. She (your chicken) may also have had a weaker than usual heart and maybe she had a heart attack and it took a few days for it to lead to death. Anyway, I'm sorry you feel bad but in the long haul if something like that could do her in and not the other you still have the hardier chicken.
L

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: Nope I have never found 2 eggs in one day yet. She started laying last week Tuesday.....and has missed 2 days. I keep track on my chicken calendar. I even looked in the enclosed run & other areas yesterday to see if I was missing eggs when I stirred up the DL but I didnt find any surprise eggs.

 

[aoxa]

Nope I have never found 2 eggs in one day yet. She started laying last week Tuesday.....and has missed 2 days. I keep track on my chicken calendar. I even looked in the enclosed run & other areas yesterday to see if I was missing eggs when I stirred up the DL but I didnt find any surprise eggs.

Guessing it's the same hen then. Can't be two. Unless they are purposely trying to confuse you and setting up their own schedule

Soon though! Especially if another is in the nest sometimes. Testing it out.

 

[Matrix Escapee]

So, I haven't kept up with this thread in a couple of months. So, of course it has about doubled in length!
Basically, without spending the next 3 days reading through, has anyone come up with solid numbers or data for just how much weight FF feed is replacing your dry feed.
I know there was a lot of anecdotal reporting that feed usage was down, but I am wondering if there was anyone out there that has been doing a running tally and tracking real numbers.
The big advantage I see for me is that the hens tend to pick out all of the grains and peas this time of the year (when feeding dry). So, i end up getting a slow build up of powdered materials like fish meal and alfalfa meal. If I ferment, then this is not a problem really. They still pick the corn, wheat, and peas out, but still end up eating the powdered portions too. Hope that made sense. Basically, I don't use a pelleted/crumble feed. All whole/ground mix fresh from feed mill.
Thanks!

 

[aoxa]

So, I haven't kept up with this thread in a couple of months. So, of course it has about doubled in length?
Basically, without spending the next 3 days reading through, has anyone come up with solid numbers or data for just how much weight FF feed is replacing your dry feed.
I know there was a lot of anecdotal reporting that feed usage was down, but I am wondering if there was anyone out there has been doing a running tally and tracking real numbers.
The big advantage I see for me is that the hens tend to pick out all of the grains and peas this time of the year (when feeding dry). So, i end up getting a slow build up of powdered materials like fish meal and alfalfa meal. If I ferment, then this is not a problem really. They still pick the corn, wheat, and peas out, but still end up eating the powdered portions too. Hope that made sense. Basically, I don't use a pelleted/crumble feed. All whole/ground mix fresh from feed mill.
Thanks!

I find it depends on what you are using for your feed. If it's pellets, it seems to expand double what it was before you added water. Crumble is definitely less. It grows maybe 1/2 of what it was dry. Grains, it pretty much stays the same. They eat less, but the weight is the same (or very close to original dry weight).

I save $30 a week in feed since starting. 100 pounds a week in dry.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So, I haven't kept up with this thread in a couple of months. So, of course it has about doubled in length!
Basically, without spending the next 3 days reading through, has anyone come up with solid numbers or data for just how much weight FF feed is replacing your dry feed.
I know there was a lot of anecdotal reporting that feed usage was down, but I am wondering if there was anyone out there that has been doing a running tally and tracking real numbers.
The big advantage I see for me is that the hens tend to pick out all of the grains and peas this time of the year (when feeding dry). So, i end up getting a slow build up of powdered materials like fish meal and alfalfa meal. If I ferment, then this is not a problem really. They still pick the corn, wheat, and peas out, but still end up eating the powdered portions too. Hope that made sense. Basically, I don't use a pelleted/crumble feed. All whole/ground mix fresh from feed mill.
Thanks!

You are so blessed to have a mill close by, none around here. and to even find grains is hard. other than whole oats which i am happy to be able to get. I haven't done any hard data just watching the feed bags, and def. seeing more feed left over at the end of the month. I use crumble and scratch grains and whole oats in my ff.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Something that was mentioned the other day caught my eye, less water consumption, I also have noticed my birds are drinking less, so maybe during hotter months feeding ff will help with heat related issues just from using ff for feed?

 

[aoxa]

You are so blessed to have a mill close by, none around here. and to even find grains is hard. other than whole oats which i am happy to be able to get. I haven't done any hard data just watching the feed bags, and def. seeing more feed left over at the end of the month. I use crumble and scratch grains and whole oats in my ff.

Isn't it wonderful not having to go to the feed store/mill so often? Breath of fresh air!

 

[aoxa]

Something that was mentioned the other day caught my eye, less water consumption, I also have noticed my birds are drinking less, so maybe during hotter months feeding ff will help with heat related issues just from using ff for feed?

Definitely!

I hardly ever have to change water. I have one waterer for 140 birds and it's tiny. Maybe 3-4 gallons... I've had to change it twice a week. That's how low my water consumption is. Remember I have geese and ducks, so they waste it as well.

 

[Matrix Escapee]

Yeah, the feed mill is not that close. But, we want all organic feed and our guy does a great job. He makes a non-soy blend for us too. We buy a ton at a time and have it shipped to us on a common carrier freight truck. Shipping runs about $125 per delivery. Adds about $3-4 per 80lb bag of feed.