Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Triple Willow]

Because Bee, just like me, they don't know what they don't know. Like pigs don't know pigs stink.

Like me for instance.....normally before I go into something I read, read, and read some more on what it involves and what I need to do and just what all I need and on and on and on. I'll study on it some times for months before I finally make up my mind. I have also been known to do this when I need an appliance except I don't study etc. I go price them in different places and then if I don't feel confident about what I need to do I will go home and wait. I pray before I go by the way. But then I will think on it and then go back later and get the one I feel like is the right one. Don't like making hasty decisions especially when it involves a lot of money. Soooo that being said.....I have raised ducks before and did very well at it I think. I didn't buy any of them they were given to me by my daughter for Easter one year. But I raised babies from those. So when I decided to get chickens I didn't do any studying at the beginning because I had raised ducks thinking, they be close to raising ducks just much less water. TOTALLY different than raising ducks. So once I did get into the chickens I'm like oh dear this is NOT like raising ducks and ole girl you need to learn some more stuff. lol AND again just like me.... I had no clue about BA's when I got them all I knew was they laid a lot of eggs and that's what I was after. We all make our mistakes and sometimes SOME of us learn from them and some folks don't. They just keep making them over and over. I'm not one of those, especially when it comes to money, I try to learn from my mistakes and remember them so I don't make them again. So some times ya just don't know what you just don't know and IF you don't know it, how do you know you're making a mistake?

That's what makes life interesting I guess, making mistakes and with me, learning from them! I'll raise up my BA's and get them to laying I hope and maybe get some eggs from them and then maybe I can sell them and get me some more RIR's and that way I will have only one breed and it will be less stressful that way and I wont have to be fighting broody BA hens all the time. OR that's what I have read about them anyway, they like going broody and it's contagious.

Girl there is a whole lot of truth in this! We don't know what we don't know and sometimes all you can say is "what was I thinking!". If we did know we wouldn't ever mess up and learn from it. Don't get rid of those BA too quick, I love mine! How old are yours now?

 

[Triple Willow]

I have a quick question for everyone...

For the past 2 weeks(about) I haven't had the time(or just plain forgot!) to mix the birds ferment so they've been getting their feed dry. I noticed that the hens just look skinnier now, I am assuming because of the diet change but I wanted to see if anyone else had this happen when they forgot/weren't able to mix the feed?

Everything has been a mess here getting my grandmother through her last chemo treatment so everything else kinda got the back burner for a while

Hi Bleenie. I'm sorry to hear your grandmother has been sick but I am glad that you got her through her last chemo treatment. I hope things get better for her as well as you and all who are helping your grandmother out in her time of need. Stick by her, you'll be very glad you did. Blessings to you!

 

[Triple Willow]

LOL yep mine are digging to. I'm like I need to do concrete around these walls to keep you from digging out. Sometimes they do get UNDER the 2x4 on the bottom of the wire but haven't made it outside yet because I always fill their holes back in.

I'm amazed at how much dirt they can move with those three boney toes! lol

 

[Triple Willow]

@RoseMarie... When my BA cockrels were younger they were pretty much a terror - well to each other and the pullets. I put all of mine in the freezer except one and he has turned out to be a real sweetheart. Now I am wondering if I should have slaughtered them all or not. If they were all like this one they would have made some nice roosters! He is really good to the pullets. Every time I feed he sorta stands back and makes sure that they eat and talks to them. And the coop sure is more peaceful with him in there. He's a good boy! You ought to consider keeping one of your cockrels, "just in case". Do you have any pics of your birds?

 

[Chickengirl1304]

Once fed to the chickens in their bowls how do you keep ff from freezing?

 

[yankeehill]

Once fed to the chickens in their bowls how do you keep ff from freezing?

You could use a heated water bowl. Or I bet the chickens would eat it pretty much all as soon as you set it out.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Yeah, my chickens don't dig out because I buried their pen fencing a foot into the ground! XD

Also you guys, I started giving sprouted wheat to my laying hens. These chooks aren't getting FF mind because I like to scatter the solid pellets on the ground and make them hunt and dig for it. One of my girls is broody and has a very pale comb from being perpetually broody for week after week this summer. She's been in and out of the buster four times. I'm finally trying to get her hatching eggs...

Anyhow, since she's broody she only comes out for pellets. And then goes back in. My other chickens were also starting to look a little pale in the comb region. I started giving them snacks of FF, like a few tablespoons from the meat birds feed bucket, nothing. I tried a detox solution of tons of crushed up garlic with ACV, oregano, cloves, DE, clover and FF, nothing.

They've been on the sprouted wheat for 3-4 days now, I give them a "block" of sprouted wheat in the evening and all except for broody have beautiful deep rich combs again! Seriously worth considering if you have some hens looking a little lackluster on deep litter without a whole lot of green. :3

 

[AletaG]

Yeah, my chickens don't dig out because I buried their pen fencing a foot into the ground! XD

Also you guys, I started giving sprouted wheat to my laying hens. These chooks aren't getting
They've been on the sprouted wheat for 3-4 days now, I give them a "block" of sprouted wheat in the evening and all except for broody have beautiful deep rich combs again! Seriously worth considering if you have some hens looking a little lackluster on deep litter without a whole lot of green. :3

Just gave some sprouted lentils to my youngn's yesterday... planning on a once a week protein bump, since the FF is in the 15% range or so... we'll see how it works. They sure liked it, once they figured out what it was...
What breeds of meat rabbit would you pick if you only had room to keep maybe 2 males and 4 females around... not counting the 'grow out' of the litters? Is there a thread where you talk about raising them together w chooks?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Once fed to the chickens in their bowls how do you keep ff from freezing?

I use heated dog bowls from TSC they work great and run on a thermostat.

 

[armorfirelady]

Once fed to the chickens in their bowls how do you keep ff from freezing?

I use heated dog bowls from TSC they work great and run on a thermostat.

This is what I do as well. I use a bowl inside the heated dog bowl tho so its easier to keep clean. I have 2 bowls but need a thirds with the hens since one is used for water