Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Bmmjz Chicks]

The long, narrow chick feeder with the top that has holes for their heads works good for chicks.

A trough?

I have 1 month old chicks in the brooder and also 1 year old hens. I'm interested primarily for the older hens as the chicks will not be chicks much longer. I will have 18 chickens so the feeder can't be too small. I would like something that most of them can eat out of at the same time so there is no fighting, something they won't walk and poop in, is easy to clean, and something they can't easily scratch food out onto the ground. I know it's a long list, but I'm thinking someone out there has a feeder that will fulfill these requirements.

 

[countrygirl74]

There are some great ideas that people have posted in the past with pics of their homemade feeders, some of them using PVC pipes, etc., so hopefully they will share again on here. I just have kept it simple with glass bowls (casserole dishes, etc.) They are the ones that are small in diameter but deep so they can't scratch it out - they don't even get into the dishes at all. You can put out how many you want and every once in a while you can just throw them into your dishwasher for a thorough cleaning.

 

[Kilsharion]

What are you putting your fermented into to feed to your chickens? If I put it in a small bucket on the ground they will walk in it and tip it over and today I put it in a standard hanging circular feeder with holes all around similar to the picture below. The problem with the feeder is the food in the center hardened and didn't get out to the sides where the chickens can reach it.

I use a platform for them to jump up on and an over sized lid from a large tupperware container (this is for my chicks in the brooder) on top of the platform.




They do get into it and kick it and scratch for the mealworms and other treats; but, it's gone so fast that there's no real worry on my part. As a matter of fact, I've never seen pooh on it. And...according to some studies, them eating a bit of their pooh isn't a bad thing as it is a great source of vitamin B12....not that I'd encourage it, because as a human I find it nasty....but, yeah. They pick it out of their litter, too. So...YMMV; but, I figure why not. And, I get no broken necks this way...BTDTGTT (mixed brooder requires some additional precautions).


For my ones out in the fields, I just use 9" pie tins. They don't walk on them as they are crammed all around them eating. I have several of the pie tins out that I fill.

However, I absolutely love the hanging PVC feeders I've seen and have asked my husband to work one up for me. Eventually, that's what I'll be using. For now, though, the pie tins are working wonderfully and are very easy to clean.

Like Ullie's here:



Only with an addition of the removed bit being a few inches above the feeder for a few reasons.

I have found that the round feeders like what you displayed are indeed problematic with FF. The long, straight ones are not bad once the chickens are over a month of age. They will tend to get most of the food; but, there is always some left on the bottom that doesn't get eaten. If I put it in an open tin or on the lid, it's all gone. So, it seems less wasteful to do open feeding, for me.

Again, this is just my experience and opinion, and only worth the time it takes to read it.

 

[Kilsharion]

I have a question about fermenting feed with Pea as the main ingredient.

Ive been fermenting crumble for a while with great success. My Co-op got a new brand of soy free non GMO feed at a decent price so I gave it a try. The main ingredient is Pea and its in pellets. When I mixed it with water it took a while for the pellets to break up which I expected but then it became a firm cement goo paste. no matter how much water I add its really just sticky. The chickens dont seem too interested in it but that could also be due to a brand change.

So have other people had success with a pea based feed?

thanks!

At some point, you are going to exceed the expansion and holding capacity of the pellets and will have excess liquid in the bucket. However, what you are describing makes me think that your pellets are formed of almost all powdered meal and a binder. It means you're going to have a lot of trouble with it as an FF. You can do it; but, draining it and keeping it from drying into a nearly solid mass while in the chicken's feeding dish could be problematic unless you are willing to serve it more as a gruel than as a dryer mash.

I'm curious what they used for a binder in your feed.

 

[Kassaundra]

The person that had the quinoa and moth question, I do not see a problem w/ either one. My FG (fermented grain) always has some moths in it (they seem to love the stuff and everytime I take the lid off to feed they commit suicide) and South American chickens have a diet high in quinoa.

 

[Kilsharion]

The person that had the quinoa and moth question, I do not see a problem w/ either one. My FG (fermented grain) always has some moths in it (they seem to love the stuff and everytime I take the lid off to feed they commit suicide) and South American chickens have a diet high in quinoa.

I missed that question. But, I use quinoa in my mix; so, I'd say there's no problem with it.

And moths and beetles and crickets and....yeah...tend to find their way into my FF bucket since I don't ferment covered (I encourage wild yeasts).

 

[SeattleLeah]

At some point, you are going to exceed the expansion and holding capacity of the pellets and will have excess liquid in the bucket. However, what you are describing makes me think that your pellets are formed of almost all powdered meal and a binder. It means you're going to have a lot of trouble with it as an FF. You can do it; but, draining it and keeping it from drying into a nearly solid mass while in the chicken's feeding dish could be problematic unless you are willing to serve it more as a gruel than as a dryer mash.

I'm curious what they used for a binder in your feed.

Yeah some dried in the feeding bowl overnight and its like concrete! I didnt strain it and fed it as a gruel because it was so thick. Maybe this is not the best feed for fermenting. . . . dang, I bought two bags. . . .

 

[countrygirl74]

Yeah some dried in the feeding bowl overnight and its like concrete! I didnt strain it and fed it as a gruel because it was so thick. Maybe this is not the best feed for fermenting. . . . dang, I bought two bags. . . .

I use a grower mash from the co-op that is filled with peas. I used it before they switched their recipe and it was more grainy and easy to drain. Now I just don't really drain, I feed it more like a slop (which the ducks love) and the chickens don't seem to mind either. It's the Cascade Magill Ranch... maybe the same as what you're using? If so, with the new way they are making the feed, you just feed it more sloppy but it still works great as a ff. I did like the other recipe better because it drained so perfectly - almost like just fermenting whole grains, but I've found a way to make this work too...I just add more water than I used to.

 

[Kilsharion]

I use a grower mash from the co-op that is filled with peas. I used it before they switched their recipe and it was more grainy and easy to drain. Now I just don't really drain, I feed it more like a slop (which the ducks love) and the chickens don't seem to mind either. It's the Cascade Magill Ranch... maybe the same as what you're using? If so, with the new way they are making the feed, you just feed it more sloppy but it still works great as a ff. I did like the other recipe better because it drained so perfectly - almost like just fermenting whole grains, but I've found a way to make this work too...I just add more water than I used to.

She's using pellets. Unlike a mash, pellets are held together with a binder. It is most probably this binder and the fact that her pellets are made from almost all powdered substances that is causing her difficulty - not the peas. Several people use field peas in their fermentations with no difficulty.

 

[SeattleLeah]

She's using pellets. Unlike a mash, pellets are held together with a binder. It is most probably this binder and the fact that her pellets are made from almost all powdered substances that is causing her difficulty - not the peas. Several people use field peas in their fermentations with no difficulty.

oh that makes sense! Well maybe I will just feed these bags regular and go back to my old brand when they are gone.