Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

Thanks to bee sharing her knowledge last fall I only use pumpkins, gords, cukes, zukes & cayenne pepper as natural dewormers. I use the cayenne pepper more during the warmer months and give them the veggies all winter. I freeze them all chopped up and give them to them all winter. They all freeze great. The pumpkins I put on a pallet & covered with a tarp. I'd break one up a week & the girls devoured them. My mom & cruise the neighborhood for them after Halloween

Go after those fermented pumpkins like sharks, don't they?

I'm hoping to glean some myself this year when I can....they didn't get any last year as I didn't plant but one pumpkin plant and it didn't do well. This year we have apples and I'm going to try and store some of those in the same manner so they can eat them in their fermented state later on.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: It was Christmas candy to them

I cut up apples and freeze them also for them. I scored some when camping. They had an apple tree at the park and lots of apples on the ground & the worker said I could help myself. Got a whole bag full...........and wehn we go apple picking next month I know they will let me pick up all the ones off the ground I want for free

As for pumpkins.........i pulled out easily over a 1000 plants from the garden where I served their pumpkins last winter. I let some grow and have a half dozen pumpkins growing along with some gourds. I had more pumpkins but my new pullets decided that green pumpkins tasted as good as orange ones

 

[Beekissed]

That will happen!

At least you know there ain't a worm one in those bowels!!

 

[KYTinpusher]

I have a question for those who ship hatching eggs. I started feeding FF about 2.5 weeks ago. I shipped some hatching eggs out last Friday. The buyer said when she received them that there were tiny drops of water on them and an odd smell - "musty/earthy smell... hard to describe but like damp rich potting soil." That sounded like a FF smell to me. She said that they quickly dried off and we will see how the incubation goes. Has anyone ever had this happen with their hatching eggs?

 

[RoseMarie1]

It does, but it's more than that, really...it's an increase in the health of the whole bowel that deters an infestation of the worms. The acidity is one determining factor but also the colonization of certain types yeasts from the acetobacter bacilli family that seem to create a hostile environment for intestinal parasites. I can't remember all that I've read on it and don't know if I have the information stored but I've read about it all and it's fascinating~if very dry~reading.

I would say, though, all sources agree that a bird with a low immune system is more susceptible to getting parasites and illnesses of all kinds, so if a person just kept all birds, no matter their condition..they are likely to wind up with some worms in their flocks. From what the biologists say, 90% of a flock's worm load is carried by 5% of the flock.

So, let's say you keep that 5% and rationalize, "Well, if they carry them and the other birds are healthy enough to resist them, there's really no harm in keeping just that bird and worming it every now and again or even worming the whole flock." But, at any given time a healthy bird can go through things that will stress even a healthy immune system....extremely cold weather, extremely hot weather, brooding, injury, or even a few days of diarrhea...then they are exposed to the oocysts the carrier bird is shedding at all times in her feces.

Then you have another bird that is carrying a worm load higher than normal....can she get her good health back with that added stress of the anemia caused by this load? Who knows? Will she then become a bird that is part of that 5%? But with each bird you keep that is a carrier and whom you try to keep worming to keep them healthy, is your 5% becoming more like 10% and pretty soon you have a flock problem and not a bird problem.

See how easy is the slippery slope of trying to manage a healthy flock while insisting on keeping weak and unhealthy birds in the middle of it? Pretty soon you have 90% carrier birds and only 5% who are healthy but...wait! You still have your worm medicine handy!

But, unfortunately, along the way you have bred worms that are resistant to your worm medicine because you have used it "regularly", just in case, to keep your birds free of worms. You now have super worms in a flock of birds with weak immune systems...you are basically up a certain creek without a paddle...it all gets increasingly brown and stinky from there on out. Not good.
Yessssssss, my preciousssssssss.... sssssssoooooooooo cruelzy, I am!

LOL @ you....
That is sooooo good and I thank you for the info. I thought that was right but wasn't sure but thought it was on the ACV. But it IS ok to use the ACV each day isn't it, especially since it's in some folks ff. I just put mine in water each day. Just wanted to make sure on that.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Oh, Lisa! I would love that! Who knows what the Lord has in store for me in the coming days? It would be the neatest thing if I could visit all you wonderful people and spend a couple of days on the front porch just chattin' chickens, wouldn't it?

oh yes sounds like loads and loads of FUN!!!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Start the tea and the fryer, I think we need a bigger front porch for this!

oh I hear ya!!! Yep a very LARGE one cuz I love me some pig skins to! YUM and some cornbread!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Yeah...I'm sure that would really impress folks....

I wouldn't slap you...maybe snicker a bit here and there or bang my head against a wall...but no slapping.

LOL@ Bee oh she'd be rolling her eyes at some of my stuff. ;-)

 

[RoseMarie1]

We need the fryer for the cracklins, I'll bring the pig. Tent space... It would be Bee's version of woodstock...

hee hee and I have a 3 room tent to! I'd be campin' in style. lol just need a fan.

bring on those pork skins.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Amen!

AND amen!!