Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

I would have a hard time finding my Aussie's poop. He goes way out in the field and finds some grass/weeds high enough to hide in to do his business ....and he doesn't want anybody looking. lol I have to turn him out of his pen twice a day just so he can go poop and pee because if at all possible he won't do it there in his pen. lol I like to let him out to mark his spots anyhow. He's been marking the young chicken's pen so that is real good.

Isn't that funny!!?? All my dogs were exactly that way...try to move away from you and hide to poop and then keep looking over their shoulders like they are really embarrassed that anyone is seeing them poop! Then they immediately get away from it and get worried if you step over to have a looky loo....funny to watch! My female dog liked to walk/poop and the younger male dog kind of picked up on that and now does the same thing....walk all hunched over in a squat and spread the poop. Weird.

And all that after I said I don't stare at poop! Shame on me for bein' a filthy liar! I guess I actually DO stare at poop or, at least, those who are pooping some time or other in my life...guess that's just our curious nature.

Good news. The bird netting on top of the chicken wire worked. The birds all look to be in good shape today, and they are foraging well. So far my meat birds seem to require more than my original flock at this age, but I think (and hope) that the worst is behind us now. This has been quite a learning experience! Thank you Bee and Triple willow for helping me get threw this. Your links and information has been wonderful!

You seem to be doing better than most seasoned meat bird growers, so pat yourself on the back...you are at least eager to learn what works and what does not. I read posts all over the internet where guys who actually do this to sell meat will repeat the same mistakes over and over, refusing to change anything, all the while claiming that 20% mortality rate is expected and the norm and simply cannot be altered. Because that's what the commercial growers say and they, by all means, are the bomb diggety of growing meat birds....

You're doing great!

 

[foreverlearning]

Isn't that funny!!?? All my dogs were exactly that way...try to move away from you and hide to poop and then keep looking over their shoulders like they are really embarrassed that anyone is seeing them poop! Then they immediately get away from it and get worried if you step over to have a looky loo....funny to watch! My female dog liked to walk/poop and the younger male dog kind of picked up on that and now does the same thing....walk all hunched over in a squat and spread the poop. Weird.

And all that after I said I don't stare at poop! Shame on me for bein' a filthy liar! I guess I actually DO stare at poop or, at least, those who are pooping some time or other in my life...guess that's just our curious nature.

You seem to be doing better than most seasoned meat bird growers, so pat yourself on the back...you are at least eager to learn what works and what does not. I read posts all over the internet where guys who actually do this to sell meat will repeat the same mistakes over and over, refusing to change anything, all the while claiming that 20% mortality rate is expected and the norm and simply cannot be altered. Because that's what the commercial growers say and they, by all means, are the bomb diggety of growing meat birds....

You're doing great!

Thank you. I refuse to accept 20% mortality rate as the norm. If it was than what is the point of trying to raise my own when I could save money and frustration by going to Walmart? I wanted a better life for my meat than battery cages, filth, and boredom. I know there are things you can't control like failure to thrive and the snake problem I didn't know I had until I got meat birds. But if there is something that I can do to improve their short lives I will do it. I don't understand why someone would lower themselves to the commercial norm, isn't the whole point to look for better ways?

 

[Triple Willow]

Isn't that funny!!??  All my dogs were exactly that way...try to move away from you and hide to poop and then keep looking over their shoulders like they are really embarrassed that anyone is seeing them poop! 

My dog does that looking over his shoulder thing, like he has a treasure hid out there or something! And I thought he was just weird. LOL

 

[foreverlearning]

BTW, is it just me or do these birds seem to poop much more than the normal? I am non stop moving their run not for lack of things to eat but because they seem to "go" in one area and I am sure if I left it long enough in one spot they would build a slip and slide out of it.

 

[donrae]

I've not been following this thread but the "20% mortality" caught my eye. Who on earth would accept that? I know sometimes you just get a bummer chicks, or the shipping is too hard on them, but overall one just shouldn't lose chicks, and not that many! My last batch of meaties I lost one--and that was to a predator that came in a hole in the barn floor. Otherwise, they all made it to my freezer--isn't that the idea? A great life, one really bad day!

 

[Beekissed]

BTW, is it just me or do these birds seem to poop much more than the normal? I am non stop moving their run not for lack of things to eat but because they seem to "go" in one area and I am sure if I left it long enough in one spot they would build a slip and slide out of it.

That's why I don't raise them in tractors....before any time is gone, all the available grass is covered in poop and any bugs have long been snatched up. You'd have to move it every hour on the hour and still not be able to provide them with clean grass and enough bugs...their appetite is voracious and their poops many.

They make excellent foragers/rangers if you have the setup and then you can use deep litter where they live to compost their frequent deposits. Thank goodness that you have been feeding FF...if you hadn't that poop would not only be plentiful, but it would stink like a dead animal and the flies would be coming for miles.

 

[foreverlearning]

That's why I don't raise them in tractors....before any time is gone, all the available grass is covered in poop and any bugs have long been snatched up. You'd have to move it every hour on the hour and still not be able to provide them with clean grass and enough bugs...their appetite is voracious and their poops many.

They make excellent foragers/rangers if you have the setup and then you can use deep litter where they live to compost their frequent deposits. Thank goodness that you have been feeding FF...if you hadn't that poop would not only be plentiful, but it would stink like a dead animal and the flies would be coming for miles.

I can't wait until I can let them free range. I seem to have to move it more often than that, but I have OCD when it comes to animals walking in their own filth. I still need to catch them for the brooder for now. My regular flock free ranges in a couple of acres of chain link fenced area, sometimes they fly over to another cross section but they stay on the property. I plan to let these ones roam the same way when I don't have to keep catching them. Everyone says about 2 weeks of age for the meat birds, right? My regular flock spent 6 weeks in the brooder and run and another 2 weeks in the coop and run before free ranging, so the short time is new to me.

 

[Beekissed]

That's just my preference, not sure about everyone else...I get all chicks out on range by 2 wks now, meat and layer alike. The sooner they are out there, the sooner they learn to be wary and to hunt.

If you've got an area big enough for them to avoid the adult chickens while they range, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Speaking of poop......my roosting area is starting to smell now.

I have been turning the poo under in the DL and it's still smelling. Am I doing something wrong because I thought it wasn't suppose to smell?
Bee I FINALLY got me some hardware cloth for those grazing frames! YEA! Got the frames made so maybe this evening I can put the cloth on them. Just don't know WHAT I can plant in them right now since I can't plant crimson clover or rye grass until Sept.I thought about some sod but that doesn't grow that fast. A friend of mine has a large field in his backyard and he built the thing he gets sod with. It's pretty cool!!!

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Sure...just get the barley or oats or both, if it pleases you....they are both low protein grains that add bulk and fiber.  I'd lay off the corn because it's likely your feed ration already has a great deal of it in there and they don't need much more. 

My flocks will eat the wheat at very last, so it's either less easy to digest or they just plain outright don't like it as much...not sure.  I no longer use it for a supplement or additive. 

Which of the two grains would have the least amount of protein, barley or oats, any idea ?