Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[swirler]

To clarify this for others reading, DON'T ever feed eucalyptus essential oil, diluted or not! It's full of terpenes and incredibly toxic on ingestion. Handle carefully, and store locked away from children. It can also cause issues with skin exposure or inhalation, particularly in birds. You need to know exactly what you're doing before you use any essential oil, but especially eucalyptus (and melaleuca).

 

[swirler]

I have a question for you guys. What do you use to clean dirty eggs? Some of my pullets are still laying eggs everywhere and they get really dirty. I saw some liquid stuff in Tractor Supply that you mix in water. I believe it said to soak them 15 minutes -which didn't sound good to me. I'm wondering about maybe using it and putting it on a paper towel instead of soaking the eggs in it. I think I read somewhere one time to use peroxide...? I don't know, I've just been using warm water.

I just brush them off before storage. If very dirty, I'll wash them with warm water just before I use them.

 

[skitzkle]

I gave my birds some garlic on Saturday because my two youngest birds, buff orpingtons, have combs/wattles that are sometimes pale and other times really red. They are 12 weeks old. People on the buff orpington thread keep suggesting worms, but I don't think it is worms & I didn't really want to use a wormer on them. So I crushed up two bunches of garlic, like 12-16 cloves in my food processor and mixed it with some pumpkin seed oil, Castor oil and 1 cup of the fermented feed. I put 1/2 of it in the the run and 1/2 in the coop. I closed the younger birds in the coop so I could make sure they got some and I removed all other food till they had cleaned the dishes of garlic mix. My recipe is homemade based on suggestions on this thread and others and what I could find locally. They all had huge normal healthy looking poops the next day and I am going to clean the coop today and look for anything unusual. None of them have been acting anything but healthy before and after the garlic treatment. combs on the buffs were still red sometimes after wards, but I really think it is heat and stress induced because they are at the bottom of the pecking order. Just learning and experimenting so I thought that I would share.

 

[BlueMouse]

Aloha e Aquarose,

Mahalo for the link!

This site is part of the Natural Farming Movement. I am pretty sure that the LAB bacteria raised in their method are mostly the same species as the bacteria found in FF. I really like all the stuff that they show on that site. I want to experiment through my students with things like fermented plant juice and other homemade "fertilizers" using their methods.

But as for my chickens, I find FF to be way easier. Just feed out, add more plus water, repeat. It can't get any easier than that. If I had pigs, I would ferment the feed just like the chicken feed and add that to their diet of food waste. But I might make extra LAB to spray on their kukae, since pig kukae is extra hauna. For the chickens, deep littering and FF takes care of the kukae pretty well unless you have too many chickens.

Please let us know if you try any of the recipes that they share.

Take care, puhi

I use the LAB in my chicken litter if it gets a little funny smelling. Like, if I don't get out to turn under the roosts for a couple days (they turn everywhere else by themselves, but not under the roosts.) It works much quicker to re-balance the breakdown of the poo in the deep litter than just turning the excess by itself and adding more litter. I know, I've tried both ways. Without the LAB it takes about a week for the litter to get back to the normal no smell status. With the LAB the smell is gone in 24 hours.I also spray it on the grass where we've had the tractors. It helps the poop break down more quickly. I'm working on experimenting with fermented plant juice and also Indegenous Micro Organisms. I've been using the water soluable calcium on my tomatoes and it has gotten rid of my blossom end rot. I love the idea of the Korean Natural Farming because it cleverly (and scientifically!) uses what you have to make your crops better. And it's simple and non toxic.

Also, my best friend is Hawaiian. I love reading you type because it reminds me of the way she talks (especially if she gets excited or mad!). Aloha from the frozen north!

I've been reading up on the Internet a bit about mite and lice prevention and treatment. From what I've been reading it seems as though adding garlic powder and/or garlic cloves and/or garlic juice to feed or water for your chickens will help prevent and rid chickens from mites and lice in addition the garlic also keeps their immune system strong. Anyone doing this or done this before ? If so, how are you doing it and what were the results ?

I've used it on my dogs for years to prevent fleas. works well too. I just used garlic crystals or garlic capsules on top of their food about a half tsp of crystals for a 45lb dog. I stir some into the chicken feed a couple times a week too. No lice or mites yet, but we've only had the chickens six months.

 

[bbdal]

Our first broody hen hatched out at least one chick so far today. My 2 yr old and I were so excited to see it when we went to check on her this morning. She quickly pulled the chick back out of view though.

I have had some whole grains fermenting for the chicks when they hatch so this morning I mixed up the feed with the dry mix and sprouts and put it in the food processor with a little yogurt. So, these chicks will get fermented whole grains from day 1.

 

[foreverlearning]

I gave my birds some garlic on Saturday because my two youngest birds, buff orpingtons, have combs/wattles that are sometimes pale and other times really red. They are 12 weeks old. People on the buff orpington thread keep suggesting worms, but I don't think it is worms & I didn't really want to use a wormer on them. So I crushed up two bunches of garlic, like 12-16 cloves in my food processor and mixed it with some pumpkin seed oil, Castor oil and 1 cup of the fermented feed. I put 1/2 of it in the the run and 1/2 in the coop. I closed the younger birds in the coop so I could make sure they got some and I removed all other food till they had cleaned the dishes of garlic mix. My recipe is homemade based on suggestions on this thread and others and what I could find locally. They all had huge normal healthy looking poops the next day and I am going to clean the coop today and look for anything unusual. None of them have been acting anything but healthy before and after the garlic treatment. combs on the buffs were still red sometimes after wards, but I really think it is heat and stress induced because they are at the bottom of the pecking order. Just learning and experimenting so I thought that I would share.

If you have access to a vet I would be on the safe side and find out if worms are the problem. I have a vet here that suggests you collect a sample from the roost and charges $10 for a fecal float. If nothing else it gives you peace of mind and a treatment option. My vet doesn't treat birds but will do the float. Every time I get a new bird I have one done.

 

[Beekissed]

I have a question for you guys. What do you use to clean dirty eggs? Some of my pullets are still laying eggs everywhere and they get really dirty. I saw some liquid stuff in Tractor Supply that you mix in water. I believe it said to soak them 15 minutes -which didn't sound good to me. I'm wondering about maybe using it and putting it on a paper towel instead of soaking the eggs in it. I think I read somewhere one time to use peroxide...? I don't know, I've just been using warm water.

Just a damp rag and a gentle swipe on the smudges only. Then train your birds to the nests and keep a deep litter in the coop and run so that they aren't tracking mud from their feet into the nests. That eliminates the problem before it starts and you'll still occasionally get a smudged egg but it won't look like it's been rolled around in poop. Those that I get that are too poopy, I just feed to the dog. He loves them! But, mostly, I never get dirty eggs..the occasional smudge now and again.

I gave my birds some garlic on Saturday because my two youngest birds, buff orpingtons, have combs/wattles that are sometimes pale and other times really red. They are 12 weeks old. People on the buff orpington thread keep suggesting worms, but I don't think it is worms & I didn't really want to use a wormer on them. So I crushed up two bunches of garlic, like 12-16 cloves in my food processor and mixed it with some pumpkin seed oil, Castor oil and 1 cup of the fermented feed. I put 1/2 of it in the the run and 1/2 in the coop. I closed the younger birds in the coop so I could make sure they got some and I removed all other food till they had cleaned the dishes of garlic mix. My recipe is homemade based on suggestions on this thread and others and what I could find locally. They all had huge normal healthy looking poops the next day and I am going to clean the coop today and look for anything unusual. None of them have been acting anything but healthy before and after the garlic treatment. combs on the buffs were still red sometimes after wards, but I really think it is heat and stress induced because they are at the bottom of the pecking order. Just learning and experimenting so I thought that I would share.

Excellent solution! That's everyone's first thing when they hear of someone's flock having pale combs...give them a worm medicine! I'll tell you true, at different times in a chicken's life they are going to have more pale combs than they usually wear...this is indicative also of lower hormone levels during times of molt or during the winter slow down, etc. This does not mean they are anemic, necessarily, but not as fertile. Look at young pullets and note that their little combs and wattles are pale at first~NOT meaning they need wormed!~but redden up as they grow sexually mature and the hormones are reaching a peak. Hormones fluctuate throughout the year according to the bird's age, the season, etc.

I've never taken a poop sample of any of my animals to the vet, though if it gives someone more confidence there is nothing wrong with it, but it's not a necessary function nor is it unwise to not take samples to the vet..it's a husbandry preference and according to your goals for your flock or your husbandry methods, it will determine whether you consult a vet.

I'll tell another truism...you will never completely rid your flock of worms and the goal should not be to do so. Every animal has their parasite~even us~and unless they overgrow into infestation levels, one never really knows it. Acceptable loads is the goal and animals healthy enough to carry acceptable loads of parasites and still function normally will live longer and perform better than animals that keep getting over growths of internal parasites that need medicines all the time to help them live and get rid of the worms.

Nothing wrong in throwing a spring tonic or pumpkin seeds down their gullet once a year or so, but to put them on a schedule and check their stool for any evidence of oocysts is kind of defeating the purpose of having backyard animals, IMO, as we want to eat healthy foods...what is so healthy about sick animals that cannot live without medicinal help? Unless one is eating their small bowel after processing, it's not likely the worms they carry will ever effect us at all.

Biologists say that 90% of the herd or flock's parasites are carried by only 5% of the animals...and culling for thrift, health and performance can eliminate that 5% to a good degree. How are we going to know what animals are in the 5% if we keep chucking meds down their throats so they can live well and perform well? That's the same problem big ag has today is crutching up sick animals so they can produce, whereas in the olden days those sick animals were eliminated and that left the naturally strong and healthy animals for our foods.

 

[armorfirelady]

Thanks

To clarify this for others reading, DON'T ever feed eucalyptus essential oil, diluted or not! It's full of terpenes and incredibly toxic on ingestion. Handle carefully, and store locked away from children. It can also cause issues with skin exposure or inhalation, particularly in birds. You need to know exactly what you're doing before you use any essential oil, but especially eucalyptus (and melaleuca).

Thanks. It's very very diluted in to water in a spray bottle. I think I only put a few drops in for the whole spray bottle. I use t to spray on wooden roost and their DL when they out during the day. Never at night when its close to roosting time.

 

[skitzkle]

Just a damp rag and a gentle swipe on the smudges only. Then train your birds to the nests and keep a deep litter in the coop and run so that they aren't tracking mud from their feet into the nests. That eliminates the problem before it starts and you'll still occasionally get a smudged egg but it won't look like it's been rolled around in poop. Those that I get that are too poopy, I just feed to the dog. He loves them! But, mostly, I never get dirty eggs..the occasional smudge now and again.


Excellent solution! That's everyone's first thing when they hear of someone's flock having pale combs...give them a worm medicine! I'll tell you true, at different times in a chicken's life they are going to have more pale combs than they usually wear...this is indicative also of lower hormone levels during times of molt or during the winter slow down, etc. This does not mean they are anemic, necessarily, but not as fertile. Look at young pullets and note that their little combs and wattles are pale at first~NOT meaning they need wormed!~but redden up as they grow sexually mature and the hormones are reaching a peak. Hormones fluctuate throughout the year according to the bird's age, the season, etc.

I've never taken a poop sample of any of my animals to the vet, though if it gives someone more confidence there is nothing wrong with it, but it's not a necessary function nor is it unwise to not take samples to the vet..it's a husbandry preference and according to your goals for your flock or your husbandry methods, it will determine whether you consult a vet.

I'll tell another truism...you will never completely rid your flock of worms and the goal should not be to do so. Every animal has their parasite~even us~and unless they overgrow into infestation levels, one never really knows it. Acceptable loads is the goal and animals healthy enough to carry acceptable loads of parasites and still function normally will live longer and perform better than animals that keep getting over growths of internal parasites that need medicines all the time to help them live and get rid of the worms.

Nothing wrong in throwing a spring tonic or pumpkin seeds down their gullet once a year or so, but to put them on a schedule and check their stool for any evidence of oocysts is kind of defeating the purpose of having backyard animals, IMO, as we want to eat healthy foods...what is so healthy about sick animals that cannot live without medicinal help? Unless one is eating their small bowel after processing, it's not likely the worms they carry will ever effect us at all.

Biologists say that 90% of the herd or flock's parasites are carried by only 5% of the animals...and culling for thrift, health and performance can eliminate that 5% to a good degree. How are we going to know what animals are in the 5% if we keep chucking meds down their throats so they can live well and perform well? That's the same problem big ag has today is crutching up sick animals so they can produce, whereas in the olden days those sick animals were eliminated and that left the naturally strong and healthy animals for our foods.

I just cleaned the coop. I do sand in the coop because it is raised with a wood floor and it is very humid here. I did find one poop with worm evidence in it. Should I put some soap in there water? Will dawn dish soap work?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Where would you purchase whole seed garlic, the grocery store ? And if you're adding cloves, will you stop using the seed ? Also, how many cloves per cups of FF ? Would it be crushed cloves or would you just throw a whole clove in at one time and let the FF break it down ? My apologies for all of the questions but I'm interested in knowing what people are doing

LOLOL. I'm sorry I just HAD to laugh at this. I have NEVER seen seed garlic at the grocery! Local markets yes but never Giant Eagle or something. And I wouldn't buy that anyhow. It tends to be MORE expensive than the whole cloves which make fine seed garlic too....

No, I have dozens of wild garlic plants in my back yard. They're a prolific local weed and all summer long I'm harvesting scapes, and then cloves from the ground, and then seed garlic from the flowers. :3 I can get hundreds of tiny free seed garlic cloves from my back yard. I just throw 6 or so of these tiny seed garlics in the FF when I go to ferment it. I am fermenting maybe 6-8C at a time right now. So maybe 1 per cup. Keep in mind, these are TINY cloves and also a little stronger than domestic garlic. Maybe 1/4 of a "regular" garlic clove. 1/8th for some of the REALLY big ones.

If I were using regular garlic I'd probably just crush and chop one big clove into about 8C dry matter and ferment it.

Next spring, go to the grocery and see if you can find some really cheap garlic that's trying to sprout, then just plant it. Don't touch it. Let it go to seed and spread. The next year it will have claimed the whole bed you put it in, even if there are tons of weeds. My wild garlic beats out my English Ivy even! You'll have garlic for life. XD

I'll be starting to add whole cloves to the FF too this week. I want to keep my chooks medicine-free as long as possible.

CONVENIENTLY YOU GUYS;

I read a study that showed that the addition of oregano and cloves to chicken feed can cause your meat birds to convert feed more efficiently and ultimately reduce the cost of feed. Some university did this study. Kind of nice, huh?