Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[kuntrygirl]

I'm trying it with mine coming Friday...and the 5000 ill have in January thanks to kuntrygirl lol

I'm going to track this small batch of 25 all the way thru with cost again. My layers saved me 30%...if I can get my meaties too whoo hoo!

Now you're making me want to try FF again. I could try with the 100 broilers.

LOL @ 5000

I'll try again with FF.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Here's what I listed as pros and cons for the fella on the other forum:

Cons~

Odor
Climate changes that dictate a need to keep FF at a temp that promotes good fermentation. (If done in bulk quantities, it keeps very well in weather that is at freezing and below freezing temps, though slower to metabolize)
Cannot be dispensed in continuous feeding type feeders.

Five minutes more time needed to replenish feed bucket on days when this is necessary...on other days, no more time is spent on feeding than if feeding dry feeds. Say, once a week, a person would spend 5 extra minutes.
Equipment changes that require minimal, if any, expense. Those already feeding in troughs need make little change. Buckets are often found free at local delis and restaurants.

Pros~


Increases protein usage by 12%(according to scientific studies)

Changes proteins and sugars to a form easily digested and utilized by a monogastric animal~amino acids.

Less feed waste due to more utilized at the point of digestion and also from feeding a wet feed.

Less feed consumed due to total nutrients increased in the feed~resulting in a decrease of total feed costs by nearly half.

Intestinal health and culture increases, intestinal villi lengthen thus increasing total absorption area and blood flow to the intestines.

Increased immune system function.

Increased parasite resistance.

Increased yolk size/weight.

Increased rate of lay.

Increased feather quality and growth, increased rate of molt recovery.

Increased scale, beak quality due to increased nutrient uptake(some have reported correction of cross beak after using FF).

Less undigested matter in the feces~resulting in less nitrogen in manure, less smell of the fecal matter, less attractant for flies, less ammonia production as there is less break down needed of waste material.

Less water consumption due to feeding wet feeds.

Less incidence of pasty butt in young chicks, faster weight gains, faster feathering of young chicks as well.

Thicker egg shells.

Less feed waste to rodent predation.

No changes in winter warmth issues as core temps do not depend on rates of digestion of feed~no more than it does for any other animal or human.

Increased mild flavor of eggs, removal of sulfur or "eggy" flavor.

Increased mild flavor of meat, removal of "gamey" flavor.

Increased overall health and appearance noted and reported with continuous use of FF.

Prebiotics and probiotics available in feed increase resistance to disease/illnesses such as coccidia, e.coli, salmonella, flagella, etc.

 

 

[kuntrygirl]

FF love it!  What else can you feed to meaties that will allow them to fly over their fence and go play in the snow?  Yes, that's what mine are doing today.  They won't stay in their yard.  They are 6 weeks old, feathered, growing well and they love to fly over the fence to forage anywhere and everywhere.  I only have clean grass land, not a lot of trees or brush.  There are half of them (I have 16) that get out daily.  They love the fence line and also the line between our yard and the plowed field behind my yard.  Their pen is large enough.  It probably 20x20 maybe a little bigger.  It's odd shaped to include the couple of small trees there.  And they want the whole thing. lol.  Went to get pictures and the snow coming down is huge huge clusters atm, they all ran inside lol.  So I will try for pics later.

Do yourself a favor.  Try the FF again.  It is so worth it.  Truly, a bucket, feed and water and a little acv.  I use a wooden spoon to stir it.  I don't cover it.  It stays in the garage, and I feed from it 2x per day.  I stir it when I think about it.  If it is too runny, soupy, I add food.  If its too dry, I add water.  Easy peasy.  I add to it when my bucket get to be 1/4 full.  That's really all there is to it.

I've gone through 2 40 lbs bags of chick starter which I am also feeding the 6 chicks (who are also 6 weeks old) from my layers.  So 22 chicks in 6 weeks.  This is their last bag of chick starter, then they will get all flock like the rest of them.

Thank you for the boost of confidence and motivation to try again.

I plan on building a 10 x 10 chicken tractor for them. I will keep them inside my garage for the first 3 weeks. I scored a bunch of $0.80 hard plastic kiddie pools a couple weeks ago, so that will be their brooder for 3 weeks and then they will transfer to a chicken tractor outside, so that they can eat grass.

I was keeping the FF buckets in my laundry room and the space was limited. I"m glad that you mentioned putting it in the garage. I can store mine there as well. Do you use 5 gallon buckets?

 

[hogster160]

Thank you for the boost of confidence and motivation to try again.

I plan on building a 10 x 10 chicken tractor for them. I will keep them inside my garage for the first 3 weeks. I scored a bunch of $0.80 hard plastic kiddie pools a couple weeks ago, so that will be their brooder for 3 weeks and then they will transfer to a chicken tractor outside, so that they can eat grass.

I was keeping the FF buckets in my laundry room and the space was limited. I"m glad that you mentioned putting it in the garage. I can store mine there as well. Do you use 5 gallon buckets?

Yes I do, I use 2 buckets for feed. One for the layers and turkeys, the other for the chicks. After this bag I will still use 2 buckets to keep plenty of ff on hand. As long as it doesn't freeze on me I will keep it in the garage. I've actually thought about keeping it in the coop, but I know the chickens won't leave it alone lol. The garage is right by their yard so I walk past it anyway. I just put what I need into an ice cream bucket to take and feed them.

 

[Beekissed]

I initially tried a while back but I had 275 chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys all together and it was too much work for me for that amount of animals. I think that the 100 broilers will be more manageable this time around. And as much feed that they will consume, I will definitely need to save money. I'll have to go back and refresh my memory on the ingredients and directions.

I think that would be a case for the large 30 gal. trash can setup like Kassaundra has or even a very large tote(that's what I would use because I'm short...and you can get a 4 pk of 35 gal. totes for $50 at Wally World) and just dispense the feed with a shovel to a large trough. The totes would have the advantage of being lower and have a longer opening for ease in lifting feed bags up to and also for using a shovel in them to scoop up the feed.

A person could make a very large pig style trough that a shovel would dispense well to by using the old "V" shaped construction like in the pic below...



This type of trough would work well for letting the feed drain off as well and would only require a few rough cut boards and some screws and you are in business. Sturdy, easy to use, lets the birds spread out along it on both sides for ease of use and lack of crowding.

For young meat birds you can even temporarily place walk bars on either side until they grew into the trough, sort of like the bars you see on either side of my trough feeder out of rain guttering for my meaties. These were removed later when they were big enough to stand flat footed next to the feeder and just eat as per normal. Most of them used the walk bars and, as you can see, some couldn't stand politely and eat like a normal bird, as is pretty usual for a meaty...they are just piggy.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Thank you for the boost of confidence and motivation to try again.


I plan on building a 10 x 10 chicken tractor for them. I will keep them inside my garage for the first 3 weeks. I scored a bunch of $0.80 hard plastic kiddie pools a couple weeks ago, so that will be their brooder for 3 weeks and then they will transfer to a chicken tractor outside, so that they can eat grass.


I was keeping the FF buckets in my laundry room and the space was limited. I"m glad that you mentioned putting it in the garage. I can store mine there as well. Do you use 5 gallon buckets?

Yes I do, I use 2 buckets for feed.  One for the layers and turkeys, the other for the chicks.  After this bag I will still use 2 buckets to keep plenty of ff on hand.  As long as it doesn't freeze on me I will keep it in the garage.  I've actually thought about  keeping it in the coop, but I know the chickens won't leave it alone lol.  The garage is right by their yard so I walk past it anyway.  I just put what I need into an ice cream bucket to take and feed them.

My garage is a ways away from the chicken yard, so I would have to tote it out there as well but I could just pick up the 5 gallon buckets and take it out there for them.

 

[Beekissed]

Yes I do, I use 2 buckets for feed. One for the layers and turkeys, the other for the chicks. After this bag I will still use 2 buckets to keep plenty of ff on hand. As long as it doesn't freeze on me I will keep it in the garage. I've actually thought about keeping it in the coop, but I know the chickens won't leave it alone lol. The garage is right by their yard so I walk past it anyway. I just put what I need into an ice cream bucket to take and feed them.

I keep mine in the coop and just leave the lid on it..one side is snapped down and the other side is not, allowing some airflow. Sure makes it easier when the bucket is next to the trough! You can just see the end of my trough in this second picture. This setup has the advantage of giving Fanny a sense of importance and height, as she is my shortest bird.

 

[hogster160]

I keep mine in the coop and just leave the lid on it..one side is snapped down and the other side is not, allowing some airflow. Sure makes it easier when the bucket is next to the trough! You can just see the end of my trough in this second picture. This setup has the advantage of giving Fanny a sense of importance and height, as she is my shortest bird.

Geez, can we make it any easier to feed ff? I'm thinking not. I'll move the ff to the coup today. Need to find the lids now....

 

[kuntrygirl]

I initially tried a while back but I had 275 chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys all together and it was too much work for me for that amount of animals. I think that the 100 broilers will be more manageable this time around. And as much feed that they will consume, I will definitely need to save money. I'll have to go back and refresh my memory on the ingredients and directions.

I think that would be a case for the large 30 gal. trash can setup like Kassaundra has or even a very large tote(that's what I would use because I'm short...and you can get a 4 pk of 35 gal. totes for $50 at Wally World) and just dispense the feed with a shovel to a large trough. The totes would have the advantage of being lower and have a longer opening for ease in lifting feed bags up to and also for using a shovel in them to scoop up the feed. A person could make a very large pig style trough that a shovel would dispense well to by using the old "V" shaped construction like in the pic below... This type of trough would work well for letting the feed drain off as well and would only require a few rough cut boards and some screws and you are in business. Sturdy, easy to use, lets the birds spread out along it on both sides for ease of use and lack of crowding. For young meat birds you can even temporarily place walk bars on either side until they grew into the trough, sort of like the bars you see on either side of my trough feeder out of rain guttering for my meaties. These were removed later when they were big enough to stand flat footed next to the feeder and just eat as per normal. Most of them used the walk bars and, as you can see, some couldn't stand politely and eat like a normal bird, as is pretty usual for a meaty...they are just piggy.

Pure genius. Thank for you mentioning the 30 gallon trash can. I would have NEVER thought about that. My mind was stuck on 5 gallon buckets. I think that is what turned me off from the FF the first time because I had a gazillion 5 gallon buckets set up and I could not handle all of that and I got frustrated and gave up. :/ Thank you for the idea and pics. Much appreciated. I can definitely have it set up that same way. I'm feeling more confident that I can make the FF work this time with all of the ideas and input that everyone is contributing.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Yes I do, I use 2 buckets for feed. One for the layers and turkeys, the other for the chicks. After this bag I will still use 2 buckets to keep plenty of ff on hand. As long as it doesn't freeze on me I will keep it in the garage. I've actually thought about keeping it in the coop, but I know the chickens won't leave it alone lol. The garage is right by their yard so I walk past it anyway. I just put what I need into an ice cream bucket to take and feed them.

I keep mine in the coop and just leave the lid on it..one side is snapped down and the other side is not, allowing some airflow. Sure makes it easier when the bucket is next to the trough! You can just see the end of my trough in this second picture. This setup has the advantage of giving Fanny a sense of importance and height, as she is my shortest bird.

LOL @ Ms. Fanny having a sense of importance and height. I love it !!!