Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Triple Willow]

  will have some roos to deal with by summers end and fattening up will be a good thing...

My meat birds love it. Started feeding it to them at 4 weeks. Many people say they seen a difference in their poo. Maybe less smelly but still runny. Will be butchering the end of week. These birds seem bigger than my last flock of meaties.

I've got about 6 older roosters and 12 CX that will end up on the plate. My CX have really grown in the past two weeks. They are all getting heavy but they are still fine mobility-wise. The CX have been a joy to raise. I dread killing them. The older roosters not so much.

 

[Turk Raphael]

Turk... How long are you going to feed your birds like that?

About 3 weeks. One of my grandma's friends up the road will give me endless buttermilk as they still keep three Guernsey cows for cheese, butter..and they sell raw milk and butter to a few people they know well..(including me). I will give her a couple dressed birds, an excellent investment from my point of view but she is the who suggested the terms.

I guess I will have my own goat milk next fall. If any had been available, I feel certain they would have been crammed into our truck before leaving from our weekend junket. There was a promise extracted from us that we would return in the coming spring to get two does and a young buckling. This will be a deviation from what we're used to, with the Nubians and La Manchas. We are to get a pure Saanen buckling and 2 experimental grade doelings...Togg/Saanen. At least we'll be ready for them. We were up past 10 last night, heat-steaming and sanitizing rabbit cages. That wouldn't have been bad if we hadn't been so overly exhausted.

Headed to bed right now!!!

ETA...I have no idea how or why those words turned blue...too tired to worry about it.

 

[tniron]

Can medicated feed be fermented and still have its medicinal effects?

 

[Triple Willow]

@tniron... I don't know. I'm not sure if anybody knows for sure. I don't think it would keep medicated started from still working but I guess it depends on the form of the medication used in the feed. In other words, I don't know. LOL But I do know that ff will help a lot to keep your birds healthy.

 

[Triple Willow]

@Turk... that is really cool that you live close to your grandma's friends. I'm sure her friends really like it too. I wish I had somebody close by to do some bartering with on raw goat milk, cheese, butter and garden produce - and goat meat! Yum!!!

 

[hillfloweranch]

I believe the purpose of ff is to use in place of medicated feed...but just my thought not gospel have enjoyed reading everyone's stories though. This thread has really taken off

 

[Triple Willow]

@Turk... Got any pics of your Dark Cornish? I haven't had any of those yet but they have been on my list. My CX are really putting of the weight lately. They are 14 weeks old.

 

[Turk Raphael]

@Turk... that is really cool that you live close to your grandma's friends. I'm sure her friends really like it too. I wish I had somebody close by to do some bartering with on raw goat milk, cheese, butter and garden produce - and goat meat! Yum!!!

Yes it is good...especially for me. She was raised there on their farm about a mile from ours and she was a blessing to have around when grandma got sick. They have the cows instead of goats but free buttermilk is free buttermilk. I'll certainly give her more than a 'couple' dressed birds... especially since she has offered to help me pluck them!!!! I'll give her some cash too if she'll take it. I'll try to get some pics of the chicks. They are pretty runty looking compared to yours but they are solid little critters and never stop eating!!!!! I'll have to take vacation days to dress these things since I don't want to draw it out. Better to put my shoulder to the wheel and just do it!

 

[Triple Willow]

Yes it is good...especially for me.  She was raised there on their farm about a mile from ours and she was a blessing to have around when grandma got sick.  They have the cows instead of goats but free buttermilk is free buttermilk.  I'll certainly give her more than a 'couple' dressed birds... especially since she has offered to help me pluck them!!!!  I'll give her  some cash too if she'll take it.  I'll try to get some pics of the chicks.  They are pretty runty looking compared to yours but they are solid little critters and never stop eating!!!!!  I'll have to take vacation days to dress these things since I don't want to draw it out.  Better to put my shoulder to the wheel and just do it!

Since it will only be me I will be dressing mine a few at a time. I wish I had a plucker. I believe I will check into making one. I sure don't want to pay the big price that most of them are! There are so many elderly folks that use to live around here that are gone now. I hate that. I'm sure some of them didn't have any kids that would help them so they went to nursing homes. Sad sad sad. I drive by their places and yearn for the old days.

I'm sure your Dark Cornish will be some good eating. Hope you'll keep us posted on them.

 

[Triple Willow]

I believe the purpose of ff is to use in place of medicated feed...but just my thought not gospel have enjoyed reading everyone's stories though. This thread has really taken off

FF will definitely help keep your birds healthy. Good chance medicated feed wouldn't even be needed. But everybody has to make that decision for their self. I have had a cocci outbreak on my place so hatchery chicks that start out in the brooder I have fed one bag of medicated feed. After the chance to build up immunity they go on regular feed. So far so good.