Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

I've never done that yet....it's like bread dough that has risen!

 

[Triple Willow]

       I've never done that yet....it's like bread dough that has risen! 

It is just like bread dough and when I spoon it out it had that squishy sound because of all of the air in it. LOL Smells like bread dough too but was starting to look like an icecream cone! LOL The birds got dry feed this morning because I forgot to add some feed last night. Well I believe they could smell it coming when I fed tonight because they about took me down! Crazy things jumping up trying to snatch the bucket out of my hand...ahhh! I mixed that up about 10:30 this morning and by 5:30 tonight it was like that. It was in the 80's here today. I bet I had 8" space left at the top of the bucket.

 

[perchie.girl]

Hey my Beekissed! Should post this somewhere else, but I know you are here......my son is totally solar in a cabin in NC . The heat lamp pulls his solar down too much to use in the winter to brood chicks......what do you use for a brooder lamp....I know the moderator might move this and I really don't care at this point....worked all week.....tended animals......I'm tired.......so I'll come to you here......He has lost some to beagles cutting through his yard, so he needs some fresh stock. would you wait til next Spring?........Love you baby!

Reading in order so if this has been answered please disregard..... They make Kerosine brooders. Take a look in Google... its essentially a kerosine lamp ..... Been around much much longer than electric booders. My grandpa used to make a kerosine brooder with a sheet of corrugated tin on the bottom sides up to keep the chiks in and filled it with blow sand from the desert.... its like talc. He put a kerosine lamp or two under neath and this gave lots of areas that were cool too. Dad said the Peechookers whould lay flat out wings spread and sleep on it.....

link for Kerosine Brooders....

deb

 

[RoseMarie1]

I love you too, Sis!

You are just precious! So fun to see how excited you are! Good looking pullet egg and she sounds like a winner to me, being docile enough for you to pick up off the nest. Mine hop off the nest as soon as I approach..they are a little more wild about their laying habits and they don't like folks messing with them. I've spoiled them a little in that way.

Wait 'til you have one for breakfast..these eggs from FF are mild, sweet and no eggy, sulfur smell or taste. Just pure sweet and silk!

lol I sit in a chair out there a lot and share my food with them if I am eating an apple or whatever. They dearly love apples! EVEN the core. lol We had some popcorn the other night and I popped too much so I kept it for them. I'll sit and feed them stuff and they'll get really close to me. EXCEPT for the roos I keep my stick to make them stay back from me even when I have food.
Oh I can't wait to have one for breakfast!!!

 

[RoseMarie1]

I hope all the new folks starting fermented feed learn quicker than I do. Every time I do this I think to myself how I won't do that again! There was at least 6" space left at the top of the bucket but not enough! Note to self ...again, "DO NOT FILL YOUR BUCKET TOO FULL OR IT WILL OVERFLOW WHEN THE FEED SOAKS UP THE WATER AND THE FERMENT STARTS WORKING!"

honey I left TWELVE INCHES and it STILL over flowed the first time I did it!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Seems pretty standard...Layena Sunfresh formula has this listing for calcium percentage:

Calcium, not less than 3.25%
Calcium, not more than 4.25%​

speaking of Layena feed, I bought some layer crumbles the other day and I normally buy Wares Milling because it's made here in Ms. and I like their food and it's also cheaper but a good product. I don't do purina at all! Anyway when the layena crumbles fermented with the water they went to mush and I do mean mush. It'll take the chickens awhile to even be able to eat the stuff. I didn't add anymore water than I normally do either and this stuff is so sticky it sticks to my scoop. It went to pieces and you could suck it up with a straw.

 

[Triple Willow]

honey I left TWELVE INCHES and it STILL over flowed the first time I did it! 
 

The bad thing is I have done it probably close to a dozen times! Maybe I need to mark my bucket...? LOL

 

[BCMaraniac]

I've never used one but they are usually placed on a stove eye with a heat diffuser between it and the eye. From what I understand most of the moisture stays in - a little steam goes out the top but the moisture runs back down so it takes very little liquid to cook with. Some are big enough to cook a whole chicken in, some probably more than one chicken! You can cook a whole meal in one. They make some that are so pretty.

I see one MAJOR downside......if all of that moisture stays in side, the all of those wonderful aromas in the kitchen will be reduced!!!!

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

I hope all the new folks starting fermented feed learn quicker than I do. Every time I do this I think to myself how I won't do that again! There was at least 6" space left at the top of the bucket but not enough! Note to self ...again, "DO NOT FILL YOUR BUCKET TOO FULL OR IT WILL OVERFLOW WHEN THE FEED SOAKS UP THE WATER AND THE FERMENT STARTS WORKING!"

LOL

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Seems pretty standard...Layena Sunfresh formula has this listing for calcium percentage:

[TR] [TD]Calcium, not less than[/TD] [TD] 3.25%[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Calcium, not more than[/TD] [TD] 4.25%[/TD] [/TR]​

Thanks for the info, Bee !!