Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[wyoDreamer]

NO reason to be sorry, perchie.girl, the Swissy is one of those under the radar dogs that not a lot of people know about. I'm kinda glad they are, since the Bernese has become more popular, the health of the breed has deteriorated and I am really sad about that. There are actually 4 distinct breeds of dog that are all similar and come from the swiss alps (called Sennenhunds); the other 2 are even less known.
I love the coloring and markings of these dogs, but I like what I have read of them being good farm dogs - guardians, companions, and helpers - even more.

Back to our regularly scheduled program:
For added greens in winter time - would it be better to mix dried alfalfa into the bucket and ferment it or just stir it into the portion I scoop out when feeding and not ferment it.

Can I start fermenting feed using my bread Sourdough Starter?

 

[Lacy Blues]

NO reason to be sorry, perchie.girl, the Swissy is one of those under the radar dogs that not a lot of people know about. I'm kinda glad they are, since the Bernese has become more popular, the health of the breed has deteriorated and I am really sad about that. There are actually 4 distinct breeds of dog that are all similar and come from the swiss alps (called Sennenhunds); the other 2 are even less known.
I love the coloring and markings of these dogs, but I like what I have read of them being good farm dogs - guardians, companions, and helpers - even more.

Back to our regularly scheduled program:
For added greens in winter time - would it be better to mix dried alfalfa into the bucket and ferment it or just stir it into the portion I scoop out when feeding and not ferment it.

Can I start fermenting feed using my bread Sourdough Starter?

This is what I have started doing. Its so much easier than trying to remember to soak the alfalfa so I can mix it into the fermented feed. I have alfalfa cubes that I chip into small pieces using a jackknife and I fill up a whole bucket with them. Then every day, after each feeding, I take a couple handfuls of that chipped alfalfa and toss it in the ff bucket, along with some shredded carrots. I also use some beet pulp pellets but those things drink a ton of water before they're completely rehydrated. I try to keep some of that going and just toss some into the ferment bucket after I take food out. Then I'll bring in my dry feed to add to the bucket. It goes really well, as long as I remember to soak the beet pellets for the next day. If I forget, it gets skipped until I remember again.

 

[Triple Willow]

I've been using alfalfa pellets in my ff and it is making the yolks more orange.

 

[Beekissed]

Hello, i just started my first batch of FF yesterday. I am curious will the taste of the chickens be different than one raised on regular feed?

Yes! It will sweeten and mellow out the gamy flavor of your older birds and the younger meaty birds tend to have a richer flavor than usual for birds so young.

 

[Beekissed]

The other day I mentioned the keels of the birds were making a part in their feathers and one could see the crop bulge on some of the birds, which happens about this time every year and particularly after a hard winter. I usually just add some raw garlic to the feed as a spring cleanser/tonic and watch the results. Well, within a day or so I could no longer see those lines on the chests but I'm thinking it's more a combination of things rather than the garlic taking care of any potential parasitical hitchhikers, though I never really paused to analyze it before.

I noticed the other day a pile of feces that had undigested grain and even an egg shell in it. It dawned on me that these birds have not had access to their regular grit sources for some time now due to the snow cover and frozen ground. That could be one factor to this end of winter phenomenon and lack of conditioning, though this is the only feces I've seen that shows undigested matter.

It could also be lack of exercise from lack of foraging, causing atrophy of the muscles along the breast.

It could be an increase in laying causing more drain on the body's nutrients...though I doubt it in this case, as laying has actually went down since the weather warmed.

Could be a combination of all these things, who knows? Anyhoo, within two days of the garlic and this warm weather and snow melt off, those breasts look per normal and the birds are waddling a little too much, though I didn't increase feed given. They are foraging like mad while they can.

Going into spring soon and I'm will be tapering off the feed as forage is more available and transitioning them to evening feedings over time. Can't wait for that! Feeding less feed always makes me happy!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Yes! It will sweeten and mellow out the gamy flavor of your older birds and the younger meaty birds tend to have a richer flavor than usual for birds so young.

and speaking of...... my RIR's will be a year old in a couple months. I am going to butcher one of those roos and I was wondering if he'd be mega tough? I figured I could boil him some and then we wanted to put him on the BQ grill with some b q sauce but kinda wondering if I needed to boil him some first. Was going to butcher him this evening but by the time hubby got done it was after 4 so I knew I wanted to bleed him out before I dressed him so we just waited. I need his pen he is in for the other roo because I had to separate him from the hens because he is cutting them with his spurs I guess. Going to do the hot potato approach on his spurs to fix that problem.

 

[Beekissed]

He'll be mega tough and boiling him will make him more so. You can marinate him in some acidic marinade like lemon or vinegar to help soften meat fibers before BBQing him, but he'll still be pretty chewy. Most will slow cook an older bird. I've found canning them in a pressure canner the only way to truly tenderize a bird that old but I'm thinking a pressure cooker could do the same.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Bee, pressure canning IS pressure cooking. My pressure canner is also labeled as a pressure cooker and I've used it for both. They just put them in different boxes! XD

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, pressure canning IS pressure cooking. My pressure canner is also labeled as a pressure cooker and I've used it for both. They just put them in different boxes! XD

Yes...but you can't usually can in a pressure cooker, though you can cook in a pressure canner.

 

[Lacy Blues]

and speaking of...... my RIR's will be a year old in a couple months. I am going to butcher one of those roos and I was wondering if he'd be mega tough? I figured I could boil him some and then we wanted to put him on the BQ grill with some b q sauce but kinda wondering if I needed to boil him some first. Was going to butcher him this evening but by the time hubby got done it was after 4 so I knew I wanted to bleed him out before I dressed him so we just waited. I need his pen he is in for the other roo because I had to separate him from the hens because he is cutting them with his spurs I guess. Going to do the hot potato approach on his spurs to fix that problem.

If you let him rest in the fridge for 3 or 4 days and then soak him for 24 hours in a brine, he'll be nice and tender just being slow cooked. If you want the brine recipe, I have a good one, let me know and I'll send it via PM.