Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[RoseMarie1]

Hey all! I sure have missed all the great advice over on this thread.

Are any of you still able to run the FF with the fridgid temps? I have a heat source in each room of my coop, but it's more for the comfort of my head I think than anything. I don't think they actually help much. I find my FF frozen very soon after I put it outside. Especially in the goose/duck house. They just do not seem to enjoy it much in this weather. The chicken hens will gobble it up every time I put it out, but with the cold spell we've got again this week, I think I have to move it back inside. Sunday when I hung it for straining off the stuff froze.

The kiddos and hubs hate the smell, so I moved it back out when the weather warmed last week.

My FF mix now has some locally milled feed pellets mixed with local winter wheat, rolled corn, rolled oats and some alfalfa cubes. I can tell that no one really likes the local pellets, but they were free and darn it they will eat them so I don't have to go pay for a bag from the store.

My coop is an old building, and not insulated so I generally have a heat lamp hanging over their roost, and on the side where the kittens are there is an oil heater, but the cement keeps that room pretty cold. If I trusted those cats to keep using the litter box, I would fill that side full of straw bales to help hold the heat, but I am pretty sure they would just poo all over them.

Catch a all later!

I'd sure be putting me some pine straw and leaves on top of that concrete for the winter and that would make it warmer in there. Don't know IF I would be using a heat lamp in there though.

 

[RoseMarie1]

HA! You had a mean streak early on! hahahaha

talk about a mean streak.......I clamped a steel trap on my uncles ear one time. Had no idea it would hurt him like it did but am amazed it didn't cut his ear lobe! I did it and then ran, was just being mean getting him back for being mean to me. I think something was wrong with the trap though for me to be able to open it up.

 

[Triple Willow]

talk about a mean streak.......I clamped a steel trap on my uncles ear one time. Had no idea it would hurt him like it did but am amazed it didn't cut his ear lobe! I did it and then ran, was just being mean getting him back for being mean to me. I think something was wrong with the trap though for me to be able to open it up. 

HA! That was mean Rose. hehe

 

[RoseMarie1]

HA! That was mean Rose. hehe

yup, but you know what, he NEVER messed with me after that!

 

[Triple Willow]

yup, but you know what, he NEVER messed with me after that! 

That's what I was thinking. hahahaha

 

[dolfi]

Dolfi, BOSS is a major ingredient in most native wild bird seeds... It's a major food for bluejays and cardinals. These are much smaller birds and have no problem eating them so a chicken has no chance of choking on them. It would be like a person choking on a blueberry.

My derpy sister threw out some birdseed yesterday for the wild birds... But on the snow. Nothing has touched it but the squirrels. Even little birds refuse to go into the snow! I feel like picking it up and giving it to my chickens....

Lol it's just that I crack it open, couldn't see them doing so. I guess they swallow it whole

 

[Beekissed]

Yep....the gizzard will grind it up for them, shell and all.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

So I candled my eggs today... It's like day 5. The aircells aren't where they're supposed to be... they are too far on the side of the egg, but at least they aren't like on the wrong end. There's a good chance I will hatch out SOMEthing from these eggs. There appears to be development, they went from clear through to a big dark spot that moves around when I rotate the egg. Fingers crossed still. :\ I won't know how well they turn out even after they hatch until I make sure they don't have things like crossed beaks from potentially having been xrayed.

The chickens are moving back outside today. It's very cold still so I will be petroleum jelly-ing their combs before sending them back out... I am SO done with winter. I want eggs and vegetables again! I hope we don't have even more sub zero days....

 

[Triple Willow]

@ChocolateMouse ...there's still Feb and March. (sigh) But hopefully the bad stuff is gone... we can hope anyhow. lol Good luck on your eggs.

 

[Kassaundra]

They wouldn't chock on the outer seeds. I'm sorry but I don't want to hurt them just because I'm afraid of questioning

I have seen mine swallow whole frogs, and mice and small snakes, a sunflower seed w/ a hull isn't going to be a problem.