Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

Not everyone has access to chicken food w/ animal protein, I am guessing that is why they are doing it.

My chicken feed doesn't have animal protein either, so I'm not real sure how important that is, exactly. I choose not to get chicken feed with animal proteins because I'd prefer to not have recycled feathers and other CAFO offal in my food supply. Imagine the diseases in all that animal protein from CAFO sourcing? Yeah, I know they heat it and process it, but how much heat, exactly? Enough to kill the diseases from CAFO chickens?

It's fine to feed those mystery meats to the dog and cat because they are not eating the sickness of their own specie, but to feed it to my chickens when it comes from CAFO chickens/cattle/pigs I'm a little more reluctant to do. I'm not eating something that came out of my dog or cat, so I don't mind what they eat.

 

[deserthomestead]

Thanks for the tips on long-term vacation! I may just have to switch to dry feed during that time. There's 18 birds, and in my region the standard temps during late December are 40s-50s during the day, and down to the mid to low 30s at night.
The dog's outside water dish tends to freeze at night during the winter, so I'll definitely have to do some kind of heating for the chicken water.

I'll probably leave them dry feed, and get some kind of heater/defroster for their water.
The eggs really concern me though. I'm worried about being gone for so long because they might develop a taste for their own eggs! Maybe I can find someone to come at least every few days to empty out the nests.

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks for the tips on long-term vacation! I may just have to switch to dry feed during that time. There's 18 birds, and in my region the standard temps during late December are 40s-50s during the day, and down to the mid to low 30s at night.
The dog's outside water dish tends to freeze at night during the winter, so I'll definitely have to do some kind of heating for the chicken water.

I'll probably leave them dry feed, and get some kind of heater/defroster for their water.
The eggs really concern me though. I'm worried about being gone for so long because they might develop a taste for their own eggs! Maybe I can find someone to come at least every few days to empty out the nests.

Let me assure you...they will not develop a taste for their own eggs. They already have that...throw one on the ground and watch. You won't get an "egg-eater" if they eat their own eggs if one should crack,get broken or otherwise damaged. They will clean it out of the nest as they should and go on. Whatever you've been told about that is an oft told wives tale with no basis in truth. You can feed them fresh egg shells and even their own damaged or poopy eggs and it won't turn them into cannibals. Truly.

You might invest in a heated bucket for your dog and a heated dog bowl for the chickens. That's what I use in the winter and it is a great investment...especially the one for the dogs. I've used the same kind of bucket for dogs, sheep and cows. Nothing like having enough water for the whole day for the dog and never have to worry about it freezing. Same with the chickens, I know if I go away and they use up all the water in their heated bowl, they can always access the dog's heated bucket in a pinch.

Here's a pic of mine and it seems a little bigger and deeper than the one pictured in the second pic. These things last forever and are indestructible! Easy to clean and fill.

 

[hogster160]

Aww, thanks so much! e  I am glad someone else thinks so... You really can't tell unless you're looking at them moving that they're not some fluffy white bird and those feathers are all hard and flat and tight against the skin. They really don't looks 5lbs, not with my hens next to them. I just feel like showing them off to everyone I know like "SEE! Now THAT is how a meat chicken should look! Not covered in brown grime and poo and lying around panting with half the feathers falling out..."
They're so big right now that when they stretch out you can see patches of skin. But when they are relaxed they are the prettiest birds....

I free-fed the first two weeks.... If the bowl was empty/low and I was outside I gave them more! I started restricting feed when they were 15 days old, in that I only refilled their bowls 3-4 times a day. By 3 weeks they were on 3 feedings a day and by 4 weeks they were on two. To this day they're still on two, just a bigger two.

I strongly suggest checking out a CX feed consumption chart and trying to ferment something close to the correct amount of dry matter for the chickens/day. I was derpy and didn't feed them enough from weeks 3-5 and they are a bit smaller than I'd like as a result. They spent those weeks feathering out and hardly growing at all. I now feed 12 birds 5.5lbs of feed a day, or 0.45lbs of feed each day. Most birds are eating 0.508lbs a day at this point but with so much extra water I decided to cut it down a little bit.

I used this chart for mine;
http://cdn.backyardchickens.com/a/aa/500x1000px-LL-aadf500f_rock-growth.jpeg

Thanks for that chart. It's going to be a big help. I need to redo my dry/wet feed ratio, now I'm fermenting chick starter. I am presuming these are dry feed weights listed in the chart? So if it says .073 dry, and my ratio is 1 / 2 do I feed them .146 wet each? I'm going to weigh out the total food in their own bucket so I know what still needs to be fed. I've pretty much just been filling their feeder.

So they went outside to forage today. I also took a chicken out with us so they could see what they need to do. She did a great job right up until she found my flower bed, lol, then the teacher was done teaching! But those little chicks watched and learned and were scratching their little feet all over. And trying out their wings.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Thanks for that chart. It's going to be a big help. I need to redo my dry/wet feed ratio, now I'm fermenting chick starter. I am presuming these are dry feed weights listed in the chart? So if it says .073 dry, and my ratio is 1 / 2 do I feed them .146 wet each? I'm going to weigh out the total food in their own bucket so I know what still needs to be fed. I've pretty much just been filling their feeder.

So they went outside to forage today. I also took a chicken out with us so they could see what they need to do. She did a great job right up until she found my flower bed, lol, then the teacher was done teaching! But those little chicks watched and learned and were scratching their little feet all over. And trying out their wings.

lol sooo cute! Yep mine have found my flower beds as well and I just let em go. They scratch all all the straw in it and I put it back.

We just keep going at it but they're winning I think. They wont go away and find them some place else to scratch around and we have PLENTY of areas around here but they're basically staying in my flower beds.

 

[Beekissed]

Try pinning down some deer netting or chicken wire along the base of your flowers...I've used both and both work well, though if you don't have any extra wire lying around, the deer netting is cheaper to buy and can be used for so many things. We even pin it down near the house where they like to dust to discourage activity those spots...they've got the whole world to dust in but simply MUST try to dust near the house.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Thanks for that chart. It's going to be a big help. I need to redo my dry/wet feed ratio, now I'm fermenting chick starter. I am presuming these are dry feed weights listed in the chart? So if it says .073 dry, and my ratio is 1 / 2 do I feed them .146 wet each? I'm going to weigh out the total food in their own bucket so I know what still needs to be fed. I've pretty much just been filling their feeder.

So they went outside to forage today. I also took a chicken out with us so they could see what they need to do. She did a great job right up until she found my flower bed, lol, then the teacher was done teaching! But those little chicks watched and learned and were scratching their little feet all over. And trying out their wings.

Hmm, I think how much your FF weighs depends a on a lot of factors, such as how thick you mix it, and if you strain it or not. I can tell you that even though I mix mine very thick when I let it sit and strain out for 4 hours the bucket becomes a lot lighter! So I would let your bucket get empty, prepare feed for just one day, weigh your total dry matter and then once you're done making it the way you like to feed, weigh your total wet matter to find out about how much wet feed to give in a day. Then you can ferment as big of a batch as you like as long as you get the consistency you want on a regular basis. I would also say feed a little less than the chart says because the wet feed is a LOT bigger, more nutrient dense and heavier. Your chickens will, however, drink a LOT less water! It's nice. Twelve birds only go through like 1 gallon a day.

I mix my fermented feed at a ratio of 1 gallon of water a day to my 5.5lbs of feed a day. I found that to be pretty consistant to get a nice, thick feed... Although I still strain it a little. My bins are rectangles with the top bin having holes drilled only in the middle so I just turn the top one sideways onto the lower one to strain and then promptly ignore it for four hours as the chickens explore and hopefully snack on the new grass I move their tractor onto. I use crumbles and drilled enough holes and in a size to imitate a colander. I am using a measuring scoop that holds about 2.5 cups of feed (it's a 2 cup measure with extra room at the top) and it's exactly 1lb of feed. So 1lb of feed should be around 2-3 cups if it's a crumble I'd think.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Try pinning down some deer netting or chicken wire along the base of your flowers...I've used both and both work well, though if you don't have any extra wire lying around, the deer netting is cheaper to buy and can be used for so many things. We even pin it down near the house where they like to dust to discourage activity those spots...they've got the whole world to dust in but simply MUST try to dust near the house.

oh dear, this flower bed is over 600' long Bee.

And no telling how wide. Probably a good 16' wide in it's widest spots. I have herds of flower beds around here.

That's what I used to spend my time doing, making and building flower beds to cut down on all that mowing. I was mowing probably about 5 acres around here.

Bee one of my RIR pullets found her a worm today. That was a sight to behold! When she was carrying it across the yard I was like what in the world does she have because it was almost dragging the ground. Some of the others got after her for it but they didn't get it!

They finally left her alone and she went off to herself and ate it. Took her a little bit to get it all eaten. I was watching from afar. ALSO while out there I caught one of the roosters (hee hee I can call him a roo now huh? tending to one of the RIR pullets. First time I saw that so I guess he is sexually active now? He's still acting really well with me and not being aggressive, so far so good.

He wasn't close to me or anything when he mounted the hen and I remember what you said but he wasn't anywhere near where I was.
Put the golf balls in the nests out there yesterday and awaiting that first egg.

Well Bee they just LOVE being near you is why they like dusting by the house.

I'm fighting mine off the patios and carport every day. Teaching the dog to chase them off when he's out there. He's an inside dog and what a shame because he's sure a good chicken chaser dog. ;-) I keep reminding hubby not to feed the cats left overs etc. on the carport or patio because they're coming to the food. The other day he gave the cats some neck bones and the chickens took it away from them!

Imagine that! And here I was concerned about the cats getting after my chickens!

Don't think I gotta worry about that anymore.

 

[Beekissed]

That's some flower bed!!!!

Lucky you! You ought to at least treat us with a pic of gardens like that!

If your rooster is mating and the hens are receptive, I'm surprised you don't have eggs yet...are you free ranging in the morning? If so, don't let them out until afternoon and see if anything is in those nests. I can't wait til you get eggs!

I've got some young ones coming up to laying soon and I'll be very lucky if I can get this wild group to lay in the nests consistently...they live all day out in the honeysuckle tangle and far meadow and there are literally millions of places they could lay and I'd never find them in a million years. We are surrounded by wood land. I'll just have to watch for the rooster to see when he starts breeding them and then I'll know they are laying.

Worms are entertainment here too...sad isn't it? When worms and chickens are high entertainment....

 

[Lacy Blues]

I always used a black rubber feed pan like the ones they use to feed horses...the water still freezes by the end of the day, but with the moisture in the FF they don't drink as much anyway and the rubber pans make it easy to just dump out the frozen water and replace it. Complicated solar units for nothing more than chicken water always seem a little too much work, worry and fuss. What did they do back in the old days, before everyone had electricity?


Feed store...not TSC.

Oh, I had no intention at all to go through all of that for water. I was only concerned with my feed barn/grow room.

Thanks to Triple Willow and mlowen for the links. I'll be checking those out!

I don't have access to feed with animal protein. Nor am I blessed with green grass and acres upon acres of forest surrounding me. I live in a barren, bleak desert with scrub brush and tumbleweeds. We have stray dogs, coyotes, skunks, and hawks to contend with so my birds are all penned. Therefore, the only bugs they get are the ones that make the mistake of entering their domain. We do get grasshoppers every year (though I can't for the life of me imagine what they eat) so if I could get a nice fodder plot going, maybe my birds might get something close to a natural diet because whatever that is will have to come from me as God did not create this place with chickens in mind.

I am researching natural forage stuff for around here. The local extension office is partnered with someone (I forget the name) who is concerned about re-forestation (for lack of a better word) of local wild plant material for the sage grouse around here. I figure they're probably cousins to the chicken so I will be picking this guy's brain for the best plants that will do well here. Also learned about some alternate forage crops (alternates to alfalfa and corn) which are typically grown here. Teff does very well, as does guar and fodder soy. I need to research the fodder soy though and see how it compares to the regular soy. I don't want that stuff and hopefully this fodder soy isn't like that.