Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Triple Willow]

One chance is all my birds get.  They flog me and they won't do it again.

The ONLY reason he has lived to crow about it is because he is so great with his girls. With them he is the perfect roo. I need a different bloodline anyhow and I don't want him passing on his foolishness.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Mary; Have you considered buying whole non-gmo grains and sprouting them? ;3 No soil needed, and it greatly increases food value, more than FF even does in many way.

 

[LindaB220]

It may depend on their circumstances or their values and beliefs. I believe in natural methods and organic foods. To avoid GMO and pesticide residue I put my money where my mouth is. I buy certified organic whenever possible and sometimes I just don't buy something because I know it is GMO and there is no natural equivalent. For my chickens I buy certified organic feed which costs about $30 for 50 pounds. It is also corn, soy and canola free so very little chance of GMO contamination. So I charge $4 a doz for eating eggs and all summer I sold out 15 dz the first hour at the farmer's market. I have several customers yet that come pick up eggs even tho the market is closed for the season.

Would I cut that cost if I could? Certainly. But here's the deal, I have no grass or range here. Just rocks, ground like cement, scrub and cactus. Also very heavy predator pressure.

There are no farms at all within 70 miles and even at that range I don't know of any that are organic. There are no local feed mill operations. ect ect ect.

Also there is a great deal of difference in the health, laying, feathering and meat on my birds vs the store brand feed I was using before. It was almost all corn & soy, in fact the first four ingredients were different forms of corn and soy with more forms of them further down the label.

I do ferment my feed and I think that helps some towards good health and lower feed cost; certainly there is no waste with the wet mash.

Ok I do understand a little better on lack of opportunity to economize.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
All I can figure is maybe these birds living inside of coops and runs have this sense of having to guard that territory? I've never had a rooster come at me more than once and the correction always sticks in their minds. Of course, I reinforce that by assertive movements while around the flock, inside the coop, while feeding.

For instance...I have a whole pen of strange roosters of various breeds(BO, RIR, BR, leghorn, cochin) that are of different temperaments, particularly before I did this last processing. So, when going in a pen of 13 roosters, all of fighting and breeding age with spurs sharp and ready, I made a point of first handling them and subduing them when they arrived when I dusted and treated them.

Then, when entering the pen to feed and water, I used my body and the bucket to keep them away from the feeder until I say they can eat....sort of like when you train dogs to wait to be fed. I block them and lightly bump any bird that tries to enter the feeder area with the bucket right on the ol' head until he runs to the other side of the pen. Pretty soon all birds are standing in the corner, alert and waiting but no longer darting towards the feeder. Then I leave the pen but still lean over the fence and warn them away from the feeder if a bird tries to move in that direction...then I stand back and let them come quietly into the feed. Any bird that rushes into it gets a hand wave in his direction that stops him and backs him up. Usually the Cochin gets to come in first because he is polite about it.

If any one bird is more aggressive at the feeder, I take the stick and tap him on the back or the head until he moves away. Just a tap, mind you...not the whompin BUD got. All it takes is a little prod or tap...pretty soon they see the stick coming into their line of vision and they automatically move away from where it's headed.

All of this doesn't take much time because it's happening while I'm doing other things like filling the feeder, filling the waterer, tying the gate back in place, etc.

I know all that probably makes little sense to folks because these birds won't be here long and will soon be in the jar, but I see it as good practice in interacting with and reading the body language of the birds and how they respond to what I do, if it works, how it works, etc. I can walk in that pen right now and bend over to do this or that, pick up a bird, pick up the feeder, etc. and not have to worry about turning my back. They attempt to stay as far from me as possible in that enclosed space and hurry to get out of my way. And all of that without any overt aggression or violence on my part.

I'm not sure why some people have more problems with their roosters than other folks or more problems with certain breeds than other folks, but I've never really had those kind of problems so I cannot speak about it for their situations. Like I said earlier, BUD has been the only rooster to ever make painful contact with my skin other than an old rooster that pecked me once for picking up a hen from the roost next to him. That peck was a light one,merely a warning but he still got a light cuff to the head for it.

If I could come to your place I could maybe make some sense of what is happening but without that I can't tell you what in the world to do other than to train your rooster much like you would a dog that is doing the same thing. Expect good manners, enforce training towards good manners and make sure you get good manners over and over, being consistent until the training is automatic...they know what to expect each and every time they don't abide by the rules. These penned birds I have learned it after the first few days so they aren't too stupid to learn.

 

[maryhysong]

Mary; Have you considered buying whole non-gmo grains and sprouting them? ;3 No soil needed, and it greatly increases food value, more than FF even does in many way.

no local source for guaranteed non GMO and my feed co-op has mostly pre-mixed feed. (they had BOSS and rolled oats for awhile but apparently we exhausted the supply in a few months) Also I am raising LARGE fowl; they need extra protein that the average grain/scratch ration won't give them. I experimented last year with sprouting and later fermenting bird seed that contained no corn (before I found the organic co-op). Even tho the birds loved it and had regular feed on the side they did not grow and put on weight like they should have. Birds that should have weighed 8-10 pounds barely made 6 and 7 pounds. I realize a number of factors probably contributed to this, but I have been very happy with the growth this year on the organic feed, most birds are right on target.

I would like to do one of the fodder setups that I've seen to supply greens when I don't have any available to keep yellow legs yellow and yolks bright. But there are a number of problems with them; first it would have to be indoors and I have no where to put one where it would get even half the light it would need. Could try it outdoors during the warmer months, but then I would have to protect it from a huge number of animals.

If I could find a source for wheat or oats I might try just a sprouting set up like you sprout seeds to eat; they wouldn't be very green tho because I'd have to do them in 5 gal buckets

 

[TexasLisa]

TW, Bee is hinting for an invitation!!!

HURRY!!

Lisa

 

[Beekissed]

Bee is without wheels at the moment...loaned them out to my DIL. But I seriously would love to go around the country like the Dog Whisperer, visiting coops and figuring out why folks can't keep their roosters in line.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Mary, I'm going to be making a fodder setup in my basement... Just slapping a couple of grow lights on it and it ought to work well. Not many local places around here for that either but fodder/sprouts are still cheaper than any of the feeds. It's a shame your birds did not do well on it.

I wonder if that will be a problem switching my birds to a hay-based diet. If they will loose condition or not grow fast enough.

 

[maryhysong]

Mary, I'm going to be making a fodder setup in my basement... Just slapping a couple of grow lights on it and it ought to work well. Not many local places around here for that either but fodder/sprouts are still cheaper than any of the feeds. It's a shame your birds did not do well on it.

I wonder if that will be a problem switching my birds to a hay-based diet. If they will loose condition or not grow fast enough.

Please share your set up when you get it done! Who knows what I will do down the road...

 

[Triple Willow]

Ahh dang it, my post just got lost in BYC Lala Land! What I said was...

Bee, I bet that is the problem, he thinks he has to guard everything in the coop - makes perfect sense. Other than jumping on me from time to time he is the perfect roo. He is never pushy with me, he stands back and gives me plenty of room even at the feeder. He stands back and waits while the pullets dive in head first. That is why it is always such a surprise when he jumps on me, it is like he come out of nowhere. LOL just maybe he's worth keeping after all. Thanks!

Bee, the Chicken Whisperer. hehe