Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Triple Willow]

Rose I am still having feather issues too. I am also beginning to wonder if it isn't some of them eating feathers. I seperated my roos out about, at least two months ago and still have the problem. I don't see any roaches or mice but something is chewing on feathers!

 

[Triple Willow]

Rose, I am thinking about redesigning my roosts. I wonder if they aren't piling up at night and chewing on each other...?

 

[RoseMarie1]

Rose, I am thinking about redesigning my roosts. I wonder if they aren't piling up at night and chewing on each other...?

I have and hubby has seen them eating their OWN feathers awhile back. The wings on 2-3 of them are plum bare. It is the most pitiful site in this world. You can see the quills on them. I have checked for mites and stuff and am not finding one critter on them. I even put sulfur in a couple areas of their pen where they dust in the soil in case I am missing something. It just makes me feel horrible because they look so bad.

I haven't seen any of them pulling feathers out of the others at all in a long time now. I don't know WHAT their diet could be lacking for them to do such. I have fed them BOSS and 22% layer until I am blue in the face and still not seeing any difference. They are out free ranging most every day now from about lunch time on until almost dark. Theirs no lights in mines pen so they can't see each other to be plucking feathers. Man I sure hope you and I can get this figured out! I even gave mine some vitamins and elect. day before yesterday. That reminds me to, I need to get that out of there and go back to plain water. I thought they might need the extra ump or something because I noticed a couple with mega diarrhea. BUT we also fed them some spicy boiled shrimp hulls to so I figured that's what did that because it hasn't been like that. All white caps under their roosts in the morning.

 

[mithious]

Thank you both for letting me know, it is not needed to wash the feeders. at least not as often as I thought. That will make things MUCH easier when I decide which feeders I am going to use, and less destruction to buildings, as I was thinking I ws going to have to figure a way to drain them out the wall????

I like the PVC ones, but don't have the tools to cut it so maybe the plastic gutters?.

and here I was, all worried I'd be washing stuff every feeding LOL! Was thinking, maybe that is a bit more than I can take on by myself here.

Well my test batch of feed and a tad of yeast just turned to alcohol. So am going to have to just use the water, feed wet from it, until I go into town on the 2nd to pick up the vinegar. Dang, I was really hoping if I used just a tad, it wouldn't turn, but it did. Oh well, that is the reason I used a test batch.

I hope you all realize I was joking when I said my chickens were tipsy???? I didn't feed them the yeast formula. Just the water, that had started to bubble a bit. Not like I have heard all of you talking about, but it was giving off some CO2. I just made single batches, set over night, next to the heater. I think the heat is what did it a bit faster.

Thanks again, it's a relief that I won't have to be constantly cleaning the feeders and a big part of deciding to go ahead with this FF. I do like the fact that there is no feed loss. That was the original draw for me, but as I continue to read through this thread, I am reading lots of other reasons also!

Ok, one more question, if it starts to really get going before I get all the way to town, what would be a reason for using the vinegar? Are there added vitamins, enzymes ect that the vinegar promotes/makes? or is it that it is a preservative and will make the FF last, basically forever, if it is like my old sourdough mixture?

I've never used it before with the chickens. This is new in the chicken world so not sure if I need to add it, if the feed is fermenting by then? If I do, please let me know and if possible, why?


Thanks again for the answers too. I am definitely doing this. Just need to learn the how, why, and such.

 

[mithious]

Someone posted this recipe on our states fb page and I am wondering if this is all the chickens would need in vitamins and such? Except for calcium of course.

Also have another question....I have upped my protein amount in my feed to help get some feathers on my RIR girls and don't think it's helping one bit. So the only conclusion I can come up with now is they are pulling and eating the feathers. I saw one tonight after the roo mated her and pulled out a feather her or one of the others got the feather and ate it. That's the first time I have actually seen that in awhile so now I am thinking that is what's going on because their feathers just aren't growing back in. They're getting blistered from the sun now. I have applied castor oil until I am blue in the face.

Someone said Dollar general sells some fermicidal spray stuff that is nasty tasting so am thinking about getting some of that and spraying on their feathers and backs. Any other ideas to break this nasty habit? Also thinking it might be the roo but there is 15 hens and 1 roo. Thought about separating him from them for awhile to see IF that would help them grow back on?????? am at wits end here.

ALSO have no clue where to find some of these ingredients below since I have asked and asked at the feed stores I go to for different kinds of grains. Don't know WHY they wont carry this stuff. ???? The last few things I can find except on the kelp. ??

HOMEMADE CHICKEN FEED




12 cups organic feeder oats .34 lb.
8 cups organic soft white wheat .38 lb.
8 cups organic hard red wheat .26 lb.
6 cups organic corn .42 lb.
4 cups organic lentils .54 lb.
4 cups organic split peas .47 lb.
2 cups organic flaxseed 1.68 lb.
1 cup sesame seeds 2.27 lb.
3/4 cup kelp granuals 3.25 lb.
2 tlb. olive oil, coconut oil or molasses

I had some of the hatchery pullets eating feathers last fall. They were putting on a tremendous amount of feathers, I think for the winter we had, and figured it was either a protein or calcium deficiency. I started giving them some warm wetted mash, with their own eggs, raw and crushed up shells, hidden under the wet feed and they stopped eating feathers within a week. The cockerel was still and is still hard on them, and his favorites look a bit ragged but even though I stopped the cold weather wet food with hidden eggs, they haven't started eating feathers again. Not sure if this is your issue though? Just what I did to solve my feather eating.

You wouldn't believe how many people swore I would end up with egg eaters from doing that, but not a one has. I hid it well under their feed and they gobbled it down so fast, they had no clue WHAT they were eating.

 

[mithious]

I use yogurt, buttermilk or a big blop of other ff to start a new batch of ff. You don't have to use anything but that just makes it ferment faster. I think ...about the middle of last summer I might have washed my feeders. On the water, check out using a 5 gallon bucket and poultry nipples (a DIY project). I haven't done that yet but I am fixing to. It will make for clean water and less refills.

Yeah. that's going to be part of the water system, When it's run into the main building. The grow out coop, is VERY close to my cabin and I like to spend time with them, that first year, so no biggie taking water to them, but the main building is HUGE and wayyy down the "hill" so not going to be as easy. The layer coop is there and two coops that I can split into breeding pens, cock containment, when not breeding, ect. I looked into it last year, when we were building the "barn".

So far, dong the FF sounds doable and very healthy for the birds. I'm going to add some scratch to it, for the year olds, once I get things really going. Just started with the 2 week olds, as their container was so little, it started bubbling first. Today, everyone else got their first taste and all loved it. When I rechecked the year olds tonight, they has cleaned all but the corners of the containers I used and were up on their roosts all happy again. So I guessed about right on them. I had already fed wet feed once a day last fall and winter top hide the eggs I fed, so had a better idea. The chicks are going to be harder to figure, as they are growing out. I am still feeding them scrambled eggs, 2-3 times a week and seeing some improvement with a tad faster feathering, I think from the added protein.

 

[Triple Willow]

I have and hubby has seen them eating their OWN feathers awhile back. The wings on 2-3 of them are plum bare. It is the most pitiful site in this world. You can see the quills on them. I have checked for mites and stuff and am not finding one critter on them. I even put sulfur in a couple areas of their pen where they dust in the soil in case I am missing something. It just makes me feel horrible because they look so bad.   I haven't seen any of them pulling feathers out of the others at all in a long time now. I don't know WHAT their diet could be lacking for them to do such. I have fed them BOSS and 22% layer until I am blue in the face and still not seeing any difference. They are out free ranging most every day now from about lunch time on until almost dark. Theirs no lights in mines pen so they can't see each other to be plucking feathers. Man I sure hope you and I can get this figured out! I even gave mine some vitamins and elect. day before yesterday. That reminds me to, I need to get that out of there and go back to plain water. I thought they might need the extra ump or something because I noticed a couple with mega diarrhea. BUT we also fed them some spicy boiled shrimp hulls to so I figured that's what did that because it hasn't been like that. All white caps under their roosts in the morning. 

I agree Rose, I hope we can figure this out soon. I believe I may try feeding mine meat about once a week.

 

[Triple Willow]

@mithious... You don't have to have the vinegar. It is really simple - all you need is FEED, WATER, stir really well and WAIT. The feed will ferment all on its own.

The feed you added the yeast to was probably okay to use. What makes you think it turned to alcohol? I have used it before and it worked fine.

 

[Triple Willow]

@mithious... chickens love to eat various flavors of doody, other dead and rotting animals, etc. They really don't care if their plate is clean or not. lol I was watching mine yesterday gobble up dog doody off my lawn mower tire. Yum! LOL

 

[LindaB220]

Just fed the year olds and they are out there gobbling it down as I write

I don't have anything set up, so just doing it in bucket and large plastic container. I did make it a bit soupy, so added some extra feed to make it a bit more like Beekissed showed.

Is that ok? Until I figure out how to do this?

Wasn't sure how much the year olds would eat, so have a little extra to go back out with, in a smaller bucket, incase they clean it all up.

The chicks are eating ONLY the FF. I left a bit of dry feed, as they hadn't quite finished it all, and thought, well, will see which one they like better. Only a few of the New Hampshire's are picking at the dry, but still going back to the FF.

Everyone, young and older, seem to prefer the FF over the dry. So at the very least, I will save of feed, as they don't waste this FF at all. Hoping to see some other results too!

Couple questions;

1. How long before you all saw any kind of improvement in your birds?

2. I know I asked this already, really need to know, how often you clean out those long feeders you all made. Every time you feed? Once a day, a week????? As I have to make some now and want to make them easy to clean out.

Thanks for any responses!

Welcome, glad you made it over from the other thread. This is the best decision ever. I promise you. My babies were on this from day 1 and they are so healthy. I keep their bowl full 3 x daily and will bump down to 2 shortly. Later, just 4 pm or so. They use less feed and water so the extra time making it evens out.