Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[JesNflock]

Ok so would changing to the FF give the chickens diarrhea for a time or is it probably something else I need to be looking for? ( They have only been on it for a few days) I'm not even sure which one has the diarrhea because I have only seen good poops from both of them so far. Here is a pic (sorry in advance..it's kind nasty lol)

I looked but didn't see any worms in it but...

Thanks for any info!

 

[Triple Willow]

I"m all for the lowest energy usage. ANd while our water is free forthe cost of pumping, I"m still concious of usage.  Of course I dump the duck water every day and refill it. 

WOndering what the breeding is on this girl? My muscovy ducks are like that.


Do muscovies and chickens get along? Id kinda like to have some of those. They eat lots of mosquitos don't they? Have you ate one of them? What about their eggs?
I often wonder how many chickens they ate in a week. One story is the only on a Sunday for chicken and dumplings using an old layer. I am very grateful to have chicken anytime I want it. 
My mom is 85 and she still mentions cooking old layers. She was saying just the other day how most people had a hen for holiday meals, not turkey.
ANd I have learned that a full freezer lasts better in an outage.
Oh yeah, for sure.
I"ve been canning this year because my freezer space gets filled fast.  Having homemade canned soups ready to reheat is a stress releiver as my kids schedules get crazy busy. THey know how to open cans and microwave when we are pressed for time. 
That is convienent. I've got a recipe for canned meatloaf I need to use.
I've been trying to figure out how many birds to can and freeze for 2  year supply . . .and then replenish year after year. . . .rotating the stored items.
Good idea. I don't know how many I would need either.

 

[Angelicisi]

No more than a couple days if it did. I did notice with this set of CX, 1st day sorta runny(they used to literally squirt ew),then firmed up, now they have lil solid poos...

Ok so would changing to the FF give the chickens diarrhea for a time or is it probably something else I need to be looking for? ( They have only been on it for a few days) I'm not even sure which one has the diarrhea because I have only seen good poops from both of them so far. Here is a pic (sorry in advance..it's kind nasty lol) I looked but didn't see any worms in it but... Thanks for any info!

 

[JesNflock]

No more than a couple days if it did.
I did notice with this set of CX, 1st day sorta runny(they used to literally squirt ew),then firmed up, now they have lil solid poos...

ok I will keep an eye out (it's the first time I've seen this runny mess from either one of them so I will probably be following them around checkin poop...Oh joy lol)

 

[Arielle]

Quote: IF he doesn't mind his manners, consider chop-chop. I have 7-9 sons of my SS rooster and they are well behaved boys. Exceptions crop up from time to time though. I was hoping for a bad boy or two to help me know which ones to cull . . . lol. It won't be for temperment issues in my group.

Miss Molly is like many of my girls . . the sweetest creatures ever and with some affection as chicks are constantly under my feet as adults.

 

[AletaG]

THanks for postingthis link-- I"m sure I would never recog nize a wild bsf.

Ok. Actually, you kind of can... If you put food out, they won't land on it, or if they do, it's to rest, you won't see mouth parts 'cause they don't have any. the winged stage mates and lays eggs, and dies. The larva is the stage that eats, and eats and eats.

We tried to this year. Started with 52 CX that were butchered in mid-May. Split the order with the in-laws, sold 1. We also butchered an extra 10 cockerels. So, 25 CX +10 extras = we're almost out of chicken. Without a steer or hog in the freezer, we'll eat 1 to 1.5 chickens/week. There's 4 of us as well. The girls are 2 and 5 yrs.

Thank you, question: assuming approx 4-6lb carcasses on the CX; did you spatchcock, or regular butcher? My girl and boy are about the same ages!

 

[armorfirelady]

No more than a couple days if it did. I did notice with this set of CX, 1st day sorta runny(they used to literally squirt ew),then firmed up, now they have lil solid poos...

Ok so would changing to the FF give the chickens diarrhea for a time or is it probably something else I need to be looking for? ( They have only been on it for a few days) I'm not even sure which one has the diarrhea because I have only seen good poops from both of them so far. Here is a pic (sorry in advance..it's kind nasty lol) I looked but didn't see any worms in it but... Thanks for any info!

It looks ok. My girls occasionally have loose,stools. I really don't worry about it unless I see them a lot. What they eat can impact it to just like people. We have a lot of apples available & the girls love them. Tho if they have them every day for weeks they tend to get loose stools. So I just give them less. Of course I can't stop friends and family who throw them over the fence for them. There's a wild apple tree on my friends walking route and he always grabs a few and tosses them in for them when he passes my house. Girls see him and go running to him. They know he is the treat man lol

 

[colburg]

Quote: Good assumption. We did a regular butcher.

Side note: I will leave most of them whole for freezing. But, I also cut up 7-8 of them so that my wife can make a broth without having to thaw, cut up, and re-freeze the backs and necks so that she can make some when we have enough to make it worthwhile. It's also nice to have a couple packages of breasts for certain casseroles she makes, and several packages pre-cut for easy thawing and grilling.

Speaking of grilling, since raising our own, we prefer bone-in skin-on breasts. Even if you don't eat the skin, the bone and skin add extra flavor that makes it even better.

Cheers,

 

[beverly evans]

@Beverly... I've been reading up on BSF and I like what I'm reading. How do you raise them? What kind of setup do you have?

Anybody else who raises BSF, how do you do it??? Anybody have picture or a good web page?

Hi, I don't do a formal bsf "farm" but just leave the lids off the two garbage cans full of coop scrapings. When it rains I cover them. I throw what little composting materials I come up with in there along with the poop. The chickens on their own hop up into the cans and scratch away, always finding enough to keep them busy for 15-20 minutes. There is an Aussie who has a perfect way of doing it. Just google "farming bsf's for chickens" and you will find hi video. You take a ruined cedar chest or make a box of similar dimensions, fill with compost, mostly poop droppings, and leave it open. They will come. Then put boards inside box on a slant on either side, making a "walk way" or ramp for the mature larvae to crawl out, which they will do given proper access. You put pails on the ground underneath, or my idea was to carve up gal. milk bottles to hang on the sides to receive the larvae as they crawl out. By the end of the day you always have a handful or more to treat your favorite ckns. The more edible trash you put in there, the more larva you will have. Duh! : )

 

[Ksane]

This stuff is wonderful. I've got about 130 adults to feed in different yards and pens. I went around this morning and gave the same amount of scoops to everyone that I used to do with the dry layer pellets. And that amount would actually be far *less than usual if it were dry. I can tell you right now it was way way too much & I know they can't finish it all. So I get to feed LESS food, more variety, a ton healthier.....and I get to walk around like a dang hero with a bucket of feed *they think is strictly treats.....amazing.
I asked them, "Who's your mama now??"