Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[LBKS]

Get a rain gutter and cut it in half.   Use a cement block on each end  Put ea 5' gutter in lower hole for small or upper hole for grown chickens.  That gives you two 5' feeders w/ 4 cement block.   Cheapest, easiest ever.   

Thanks for this idea - it is so windy here that I actually had a brooder flip over from the wind and lost 20 chicks in the rain one night. Feeders and waterers blow away when they empty (or just get halfway there), it is bad.

I was dreading having to concrete one in or something, this should work (even if I need to put a block through the middle).

 

[LindaB220]

I have what is called a "coop" here. I find it hard to buy feed over there, I need to know what I need and ask the clerk, there is no way to see all the bags of feed.. The first time I bought chick food I was all confused! lol. Do I need started or growth? After I bought them, I read the instructions on the bag and saw that Starter is 0-4 weeks and growth is 4 to 10 I think. Hard to know when you never saw those

When you talk about gamebird, feed it is the.. crumble kind? Like pellets but very small? Not the grains..

You need to find a feed store. Even if you have to drive once a month or so and buy in bulk. Coop is going to be a lot more expensive but if that's all you can do, go for it. When you ferment all of it, crumble or pellets will turn into mush. That's ok. Add scratch to it to offset the high protein. You can feed starter until they are grown.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Perhaps you can make use of native grasses andshrubs or get varieties that can tolerate the current situation. THe only place I ahve seen baren is the high desert out side of LA, and even that was not baren. Plants and animals were everywhere, perhaps sparser than a forest but I was still amazed at the number of plants that had adapted to the low rain fall and the low nutrient "soil". So I'm betting you can improve your situation without needing a lot of water. DO you get fog??? Conifers rake the moisture out of the air, and the water droplet drop to the ground. THis usually happens high in the mountains but maybe it can work for you too.

 

[Sabz]

You need to find a feed store. Even if you have to drive once a month or so and buy in bulk. Coop is going to be a lot more expensive but if that's all you can do, go for it. When you ferment all of it, crumble or pellets will turn into mush. That's ok. Add scratch to it to offset the high protein. You can feed starter until they are grown.

I didn't even know both existed hahaha. I will check for a feed store, I am not sure how we call those in french nor where to find them. I always thought everything was from the Co-op. I will research this, thanks a lot for the info!!

 

[LindaB220]

I didn't even know both existed hahaha. I will check for a feed store, I am not sure how we call those in french nor where to find them. I always thought everything was from the Co-op. I will research this, thanks a lot for the info!!

Where are you located?

 

[amenfarm]

This link works, it brings you to my inbox. Click on Jason's message and a box will appear. Click on it. It is an 8 page booklet that tells all about EM-1. How to use it. How much to use. Different recipes. Worth looking for. Let me know if you can't get in and I'll have pdirt sent it directly.

takes me to google home page ;(.

 

[LindaB220]

takes me to google home page ;(.

I'm sorry, I couldn't make it work. Jason said to PM him pdirt for the booklet. Send him your email address.

 

[LindaB220]

Good morning all, got some good news today. My very first hatch is now up to 10 babies out of 12 at lockdown. I'm going to start them tomorrow on FF but still a chance of more. This is day 21. I've done a dry hatch, like Beekissed suggested, and kept humidity at 35%-45% It's now about 55%. After getting out of the shell they are quiet and contented. I bought super blue egg layers from DMRippy. Crested Cream Legbar Roo over White or EXch. leghorns. Laying machines of blue eggs. I'm so impressed last night I reordered. She packed so well, not a scratch coming from TN or so to La. Not sure. These are the eggs that on day 1, I had in the storeroom (uninsulated) and temps spiked up to 110. Everybody said dead. But I was hoping. I brought in the house and they are fine. I'm so happy about this. My family is not really on board with the chickens and I'm hearing "I told her she couldn't do it" Last laugh

I also have 14 chickens 3 mo old next week. 13 pullets that I think I will sell at POL. Give me plenty of room for blue eggs.

 

[Sabz]

Where are you located?

I am in Quebec, Canada It is possible that I don't know how to search for feed stores. I found one though!! So I will make a trip to that store soon - probably this weekend, and start the fermented feed. I think my girls will like it, since they love when I put water in their regular feed.

I will try to incubate my next batch of chicks also. I found it quite complicated to buy the chicks around here. I had to drive a little over an hour to get them, and I paid a lot more than I should have (2.60$ each for one day chicks, prices I've seen around the web is around 1.55$ per chick if you don't want any special breed). Otherwise we have to order from the Co-op at very specific dates (which this year was start of may, and my coop wasn't finished by then!! I didn't want to buy them and then have to rush to finish the coop).

Did your 2 last eggs hatch?

 

[LindaB220]

I am in Quebec, Canada It is possible that I don't know how to search for feed stores. I found one though!! So I will make a trip to that store soon - probably this weekend, and start the fermented feed. I think my girls will like it, since they love when I put water in their regular feed.

I will try to incubate my next batch of chicks also. I found it quite complicated to buy the chicks around here. I had to drive a little over an hour to get them, and I paid a lot more than I should have (2.60$ each for one day chicks, prices I've seen around the web is around 1.55$ per chick if you don't want any special breed). Otherwise we have to order from the Co-op at very specific dates (which this year was start of may, and my coop wasn't finished by then!! I didn't want to buy them and then have to rush to finish the coop).

Did your 2 last eggs hatch?

No, but I made it to 11 out of 14 eggs shipped. Yeah, chicks are going to be higher in Canada. It's what you have to put up with living in the beautiful country up there. I'm totally opposite in weather to you. Hot hot hot in the summer but no snow. I'd like to get a couple of broody hens and keep going but I did have luck with the incubation. I think it was the dry incubation. For my first batch I bought I had to pay $3.05 each for 15 and $15 shipping. Good luck