Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[beverly evans]

Since it has turn so much cooler my ff smells different. It actually smells good, smells like sweet apples. It is in the garage with the window open.

I found these little critters in the bottom of a bag of chicken manure. They look like meal worms to me. What do y'all think?

Those are BSF larvae (black soldier flies), an excellent protein source for the chickens! I breed them as a treat for my girls. The flies only last a couple of days, long enough to breed and lay eggs, and they don't require more than poop cleanings from the coop for sustenance. So as flies go they are not a nuisance at all. Google them. They are free for the asking!

 

[Triple Willow]

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in662   A little info on your meal worms.  Don't be alarmed by all the disease vector info...the commercial poultry houses are constantly trying to blame the diseases produced by their methods on vectors..such as beetles, rats, and our backyard flocks giving all the wild birds disease that they bring into the poultry houses. 

Holy cow, I may need to have the whole place fumigated or just move huh? lol Thanks for the info.

 

[Triple Willow]

Those are BSF larvae (black soldier flies), an excellent  protein source for the chickens!  I breed them as a treat for my girls.  The flies only last a couple of days, long enough to breed and lay eggs, and they don't require more than poop cleanings from the coop for sustenance.  So as flies go they are not a nuisance at all. Google them.  They are free for the asking!

I have heard a lot of you guys talking about raising BSF but I haven't ever looked into them, but I will. Thanks.

 

[colburg]

Quote:

What do you guys do to your eggs when you boil them to make them peel easier with them being fresh? I used salt but it's not helping. The lining on mines eggs are so thick it's not wanting to turn free. I'd be scared to hatch out any without lots of moisture because they'd liable to be shrink wrapped since it's so thick.

I like to let them cool to room temp or fridge temp after boiling. Then just use some hot water out of the tap to set them in for 30-60 seconds. This'll cause them to sweat a little between the lining and the egg so that it's normally very easy to peel. Of course, there is an occasional stubborn egg that just gets torn to peices because of that lining.

 

[colburg]

@Arielle.. Got them from Meyers.

I got some Delawares, White Leghorns, Anconas and Dominiques from there too. I really like the Delawares and Leghorns as well as the Buckeyes. Anconas and Doms are still debatable.

Are your Anconas extremely noisy? Ours are constantly chattering at full volume and I've almost butchered them more than once because they like to get in the shop with me and never stop. The others have a little chatter and clucking, but the Anconas are just about unbearable.

 

[Triple Willow]

Are your Anconas extremely noisy?  Ours are constantly chattering at full volume and I've almost butchered them more than once because they like to get in the shop with me and never stop.  The others have a little chatter and clucking, but the Anconas are just about unbearable.

That's funny! LOL Well all my roosters crow night and day. If I wake up in the middle of the night and listen close I can hear the crazy things. If I had close neighbors they would not be happy with me to say the least. lol I only have one Ancona roo and one pullet. I don't think they are any noisier than the rest but only being two of them I could be wrong. The pullet seems quiet but that roo is a trouble maker. Him and the Leghorn roo rule the roost with the Leghorn being top dog ...ah roo. How do your Ancona hens lay - number of eggs and size?

 

[Triple Willow]

Those are BSF larvae (black soldier flies), an excellent  protein source for the chickens!  I breed them as a treat for my girls.  The flies only last a couple of days, long enough to breed and lay eggs, and they don't require more than poop cleanings from the coop for sustenance.  So as flies go they are not a nuisance at all. Google them.  They are free for the asking!

Well Beverly, I do believe you are right! I actually shewed one of those Black Soldier Flies out the back door this morning. I didn't know what it was. lol Not far out that same door is where I found the larvae. You never know what you don't know! lol

 

[colburg]

Quote: I have 3 pullets and no Ancona cockerels. It's not crowing, it's just bawking, and chirping, and chatter.

They are now at 30wks and either we can't find their eggs, or they're not laying yet. We got about 1 white egg/day for a few weeks, and now they've disappeared. We're thinking of penning them up by themselves for a week to see what happens. However, we also were getting 1 blue egg/day from the Americaunas, and that's stopped as well.

I don't know if 30wk olds molt heavily enough to stop laying, but we've tried nutritional changes over the last 3-4 weeks that haven't worked, so we've kinda gone back into patience mode, but that petience is starting to wear thin since they were once laying.

 

[beverly evans]

Yep, ground deer is so lean that it just crumbles and falls apart when you cook it but adding fattier meat of some kind like pork or beef keeps it from doing that. I'm really not crazy about ground deer but I have some I need to do something with. Sausage sounds like a real good solution.

Power outages are not good for freezer storage most of all in my opinion! I think we would all be better off if we did things like the old folks did. Years ago most houses around here had a smoke house. I have bought two elderly folks old canning jars. My family thinks I am just sooo crazy [rolling eyes] BUT they will be the first to want in on some canned food.

I've been mowing up leaves and got dust and trash from in my ears to between my toes! lol They are also picking the soybeans so my alergies ought to be doing double time by bedtime! LOL Oh yes Ms Bee, the birdies are getting ALLLL those leaves. Hope they don't have alergies too. hahaha


I bet that rig cost more than this house and 100 acres! Dust is flying around here today!

TW Why not make up some meat balls for spaghetti later in the year?

 

[Triple Willow]

I have 3 pullets and no Ancona cockerels.  It's not crowing, it's just bawking, and chirping, and chatter.

They are now at 30wks and either we can't find their eggs, or they're not laying yet.  We got about 1 white egg/day for a few weeks, and now they've disappeared.  We're thinking of penning them up by themselves for a week to see what happens.  However, we also were getting 1 blue egg/day from the Americaunas, and that's stopped as well.

I don't know if 30wk olds molt heavily enough to stop laying, but we've tried nutritional changes over the last 3-4 weeks that haven't worked, so we've kinda gone back into patience mode, but that petience is starting to wear thin since they were once laying.

I bet they are hiding those eggs. I was reading one post on here where some Ancona hens were laying their eggs in the gutters on the owner's house, funny story. lol