Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[colburg]

It's cool and overcast here today...fall is comin' on. I wish I had done some meat chickens this year but it's too late to even get into them right now. I'm going to skim the locals to see if anyone has some meaty roosters they are looking to get rid of cheap, bring them home and clean out their systems with some FF, then kill the meaty roos.

I think I'll do that once or twice a month until I have a good bit of chicken in the freezer. A person can get roosters around here for $3-$5 sometimes and that's probably cheaper than I could raise them myself, so it should work. I'll dust them down with ashes or something similar, coat their legs in castor oil and give them a dose internally, keep them confined to a cage the first few days with some FF and then let them out with the flock on free range for a couple of weeks and get their systems cleaned out.

Ya know, we had someone dump 4 production RIR cocks over the orchard fence a few months ago. I don't know if someone thought we'd integrate them into our flock or what, but for some strange reason they decided to take up residence in our freezer.

I just gave them water and let them roam for 7 days just to see what would happen. No food, except bugs n greens, and no shelter except the trees.

Worked out well for all of us...except the chickens.

 

[Beekissed]

Ya know, we had someone dump 4 production RIR cocks over the orchard fence a few months ago. I don't know if someone thought we'd integrate them into our flock or what, but for some strange reason they decided to take up residence in our freezer.

I just gave them water and let them roam for 7 days just to see what would happen. No food, except bugs n greens, and no shelter except the trees.

Worked out well for all of us...except the chickens.

How nice of those people to provide you with food!!! I wish someone would do that here long about now.

I'll be visiting my sister next month and she always has a ton of roosters on her horrible farm of death, could be I could lighten her load and give them a good life before they die.

 

[Beekissed]

Found 5 roosters of 6 mo. of age nearby for $1 each...BOs, RIR, BO/RIR cross, Leghorn and a silkie (which I probably won't get...not enough meat to worry about).

Here's a question for this thread:

How many of you know of someone who quit feeding fermented feeds because the smell was too bad?

 

[KYTinpusher]

Found 5 roosters of 6 mo. of age nearby for $1 each...BOs, RIR, BO/RIR cross, Leghorn and a silkie (which I probably won't get...not enough meat to worry about).

Here's a question for this thread:

How many of you know of someone who quit feeding fermented feeds because the smell was too bad?

The smell of the feed doesn't bother me. Mine smells like pickles because my buckets used to hold pickles.

However, the smell of my ducks pond is

- it smells like vomit and is scummy all the time since I started giving the ducks FF. When I dump it to change the water, there is a LOT of feed in the bottom. I am debating switching them back to dry feed.

 

[Triple Willow]

Found 5 roosters of 6 mo. of age nearby for $1 each...BOs, RIR, BO/RIR cross, Leghorn and a silkie (which I probably won't get...not enough meat to worry about).

Here's a question for this thread:

[COLOR=0000CD]How many of you know of someone who quit feeding fermented feeds because the smell was too bad? [/COLOR]

Sounds like you hit the jackpot! Especially with that silky! LOL You might fool these other people but I KNOW Ms Bekissed is gonna be shopping for chicken diapers. The shame, the shame of it all! hahahaha

Besides you folks on this website, I don't know anybody feeding ff so...?

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like you hit the jackpot! Especially with that silky! LOL You might fool these other people but I KNOW Ms Bekissed is gonna be shopping for chicken diapers. The shame, the shame of it all! hahahaha

Besides you folks on this website, I don't know anybody feeding ff so...?

Oh, no! I've been found out! Okay...I admit it. I've developed rustic burlap chicken diapers I want to market and needed a model for them. I'm hoping also that I can keep Bertha's saggy butt cleaner if I have a Silkie on hand as TP for the flock.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Sounds like you hit the jackpot! Especially with that silky! LOL You might fool these other people but I KNOW Ms Bekissed is gonna be shopping for chicken diapers. The shame, the shame of it all! hahahaha

Besides you folks on this website, I don't know anybody feeding ff so...?

lol TW you gonna get into some big trouble telling she's looking for chicken diapers.

You gonna ruin her reputation saying all that stuff on here.

lol

 

[RoseMarie1]

Oh, no! I've been found out! Okay...I admit it. I've developed rustic burlap chicken diapers I want to market and needed a model for them. I'm hoping also that I can keep Bertha's saggy butt cleaner if I have a Silkie on hand as TP for the flock.

lol you two are a hoot!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Found 5 roosters of 6 mo. of age nearby for $1 each...BOs, RIR, BO/RIR cross, Leghorn and a silkie (which I probably won't get...not enough meat to worry about).

Here's a question for this thread:

How many of you know of someone who quit feeding fermented feeds because the smell was too bad?

WOW Bee so you gonna get the ones that have some meat on their bones? Good job lady!

nope not me on stopping cuz it smells bad BUT I ALMOST had to move it outta the house cuz it smells.

GOT to do me a room outside I can store this stuff in. Someone is wanting to give us some fridge panels that go in a walk in fridge I believe he said and I told hubby I WANTED THEM! Now IF I can get a pine tree cut down that is in the L part of my pen.....I just might have to build me a wall out of these panels and store my feed in there. I think it would keep it from freezing to and I could always hang it in there to keep the ants out. Anyway working on an idea for this room I need out there for storing my feed and my ff and keeping my fingers crossed I can get these things!

 

[Beekissed]

I keep mine in the coop for most of the year and in my bedroom, the coolest room in the house, for the winter months. I really doesn't cause a smell in my room at all because the ferment action slows down in the cooler temps and I mix smaller batches, so it doesn't reach high fermentation levels to where it stinks badly then.

Yep...$4 for 4 roosters of 6 mo. of age. That's some very cheap meat there. I'm going to keep a watch on the locals for just such bargains and slowly fill my freezer. Everyone else being reluctant to kill a chicken for food is going to pay off well for me. The DP birds taste better than the CX anyway. I'll let you all know how this goes!