Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Shellz]

Well I've got to get up and get busy. I really do appreciate you guys. It is really nice to be able to sit down and talk with some like-minded good people and talk about whatever- sometimes serious, sometimes off the wall crazy, sometimes educational. Take care and have a wonderful day! I'll more than likely pop in from time to time, always do. LOL

Love you guys!

Late to the party & well said TW. Lots of great things said & fun to read. Catch you all later.

 

[Lacy Blues]

You are a cruel cruel woman BEE!

Me? I eat spiders for breakfast! Well....not intentionally...but when I reach for my water in the early mornings, I've often had to gag out a spider.

I'm just trying to help desensitize you to the presence of your fear of spidies...it's a psychology method. Lay back and tell me about your mama.....

Ugh! Spiders! I'm with you TW!

I still get close and I guess you could call them a type of pet for me....that closeness is why I take my responsibility for culling so to heart. I really and truly care about each bird out there, I smile and my heart warms when I see them, they have names and distinct personalities~I talk to them and treat them gently when I handle them. I never advise anyone to "not get too close" or "never name the meat chickens"...that's silly! Those animals deserve your attention, affection and love the same as all the others...maybe even more so, because they will nourish your body one day, which is an even closer bond between species.

I guess I just see these things a lot different than most folks....we bond very closely with the food animals here and always have. It makes it a little more difficult to cull for processing but why should that be an easy thing? Killing something should never be an easy thing. Doesn't have to be over dramatic, but it most decidedly shouldn't be "easy". Makes one appreciate the animal all the more if it hurts the heart to kill it and eat it. I never want to grow so detached that I don't get a little sad when I kill an animal.

You'd probably laugh at me! Most of the birds I cull, make me a bit sad, like you mentioned but there are some that I've culled and cried like a baby! Still crying an hour later and if I think about it, could cry some more even months later!

Wish I wasn't so soft hearted/headed, but I really really love my birds!

I know, I need to get out more and make some friends. Well, my answer is this... if I could love animals this easily and get along with them too, what makes you think I'm any good at human relations?

 

[Shellz]

It's raining here....lovely on the tin roof!  A great day for curling up with a book and eating home canned chicken soup and homemade bread.  That's what we are going today....bliss! 

Your world sounds truly blissful Bee. You have quite a way with words when you're sharing your special moments. A joy to read. Thanks.

 

[hellbender]

Your world sounds truly blissful Bee.

You have quite a way with words when you're sharing your special moments. A joy to read. Thanks.

I agree! Bee is quite the wordsmith. It helps that she (and I) live in a place that truly is.."Almost Heaven".

 

[Shellz]

Lacey Blues, don't sweat it. Everyone is different in how they handle processing. I've had a few teary moments over certain birds. It won't be the last time either I'm sure. I just love the new birds I have now, so it will be tough when the time comes. I wouldn't have it any other way. Its a connection I appreciate all the more. I'm more of a hermit type & its just easier for me to communicate with folks via these forums. I've made some great friends over the last year on this forum.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

A question for you all. I have been doing FF since early last spring. I always offer dry in a small feeder as well, but between the FF and free ranging, it often goes untouched. They have always gone to the FF like it's candy.

Over the last month the girls are eating less and less FF. Today I went to give them their morning FF and saw the dry feed was empty so I filled that too. They completely ignored the FF and dove into the dry. I'm not sure why this would be happening. I've always made it the same way. I always use the same brand of pellets and I don't think the company has changed the formula. Plus, if they did, I'd think the birds wouldn't eat the dry either.

Any thoughts?

Not sure if it's the time of year and because the days are shorter, but my girls aren't eating nearly as much FF as they used too. I cut them back to a portion where they now seem to eat all of it.. But I'm literally feeding about half what I was a month ago.

 

[hellbender]

As odd as it may sound, coming from a small commercial/hobby breeder...I have a few favorites that will NEVER see the abattoir. Two Turken roosters, one hen and two Australorp hens frequently stay around the house after the flock moves out...because they know, 'daddy' will be out soon to give them something special and spend quality time with them. lolol

I'm going to back off for now and give the thread time to breath but I want to impart some information about my FF mash. I use a percentage of Purina Trout Chow in the mix. It does smell a bit fishy but it perks well and the birds absolutely love it.

I also use this product as part of my layer feed and have done for over 22 years.

OK...Back to LURKING and LEARNING!!!

RON

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Question for ya'll: I have 13 girls and all will be exactly 6 months old on the 27th of this month. A couple of them have been laying for over a month now and a couple more have started within the last 2-3 weeks. I was getting 6 eggs per day for a week or so, now I'm back down to 4 eggs per day and it has been that way for over a week now. Is it normal for this to happen at an early age and also, if 4-6 are laying and have been for 3 weeks to a month, then why are the rest of my 6-8 girls not laying nor have they even started ? I figured by 6 months they would all be laying.

 

[Beekissed]

Wouldn't that be nice if they would all lay at once at 6 mo! Unfortunately, they don't all come into lay at the same age, even if they are the same breed and born at the same time. I've got 4 pullets(2 different breeds from the same hatch) at my house who are 7 mo. old next week and nary an egg. When I had a true working flock, that was the cutoff age....if they hadn't laid by 6-7 mo. they were soup. Now it's not quite so crucial that everyone come into lay at a normal age for maturity because I'm not selling eggs and trying to feed 3 hungry boys.

But, we are moving into winter and though yours and mine will start laying eventually and some may lay very well, not all will lay consistently due to it being the winter months, when the shortened daylight hours affect hormone levels.

Some people force the birds with light in the coop and fool the hormones~ that is one option.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Wouldn't that be nice if they would all lay at once at 6 mo!   Unfortunately, they don't all come into lay at the same age, even if they are the same breed and born at the same time.  I've got 4 pullets(2 different breeds from the same hatch) at my house who are 7 mo. old next week and nary an egg.  When I had a true working flock, that was the cutoff age....if they hadn't laid by 6-7 mo. they were soup.  Now it's not quite so crucial that everyone come into lay at a normal age for maturity because I'm not selling eggs and trying to feed 3 hungry boys. 

But, we are moving into winter and though yours and mine will start laying eventually and some may lay very well, not all will lay consistently due to it being the winter months, when the shortened daylight hours affect hormone levels. 

Some people force the birds with light in the coop and fool the hormones~ that is one option. 

Hi Bee ! Thanks for the info ... What you're saying makes total sense and now that I know it can be a lot longer than 6 months then I'll just wait it out. Most of them have pretty red combs and wattles so I figured they would be laying but I guess it will take some time yet before they come into laying.

On another note, just to report back about the BS et al, all seem to be doing fine. I did as you suggested and waited it out. No one seems worse for the wear and each day during free range they all appear to be energetic and running about. A couple of the BR girls still have some pretty messy looking butts but I guess I'll wait it out and hope that those dirty heinies clean up soon !