Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Chickengirl1304]

So much depends on if they are confined and the only food they get is what you give them, or can they forage for some of their own food, and if they can how much real forage opportunity do they have time wise and variety wise.

They're penned and I feed them vegetable trimmings from our families restaurant about 3-4 times a week

 

[Sally Sunshine]

popping back in for a quick question.... Anyone else go through this......

I had to stop my ff due to medical issues and I never had to deal with rodents in the coops until I switched back to dry crumbles!

So you can add keeping rodents at bay to your PLUS list for FF! argggggg I swear I opened a coop and they all scattered but left all the mouse traps untouched and the feed empty!!!!!!

......
a hunting we will go this weekend!!!!! <

feeling really really annoyed but at this time hubs has been doing really good with MY CHORES and says he wont do the FF for me, its a pain..... its a little more work but look at all those positives!

done with my rant lol thanks for listening!!!!!

 

[Stacykins]

I just started up my very first container of fermented feed. I want to reduce feed waste and increase the nutritional content of the food they are eating. So I have a bucket filled with moist feed and some glugs of Bragg's apple cider vinegar.

I'm using the 17% Layer Mash made by my local feed mill. Normally the girls waste a lot of mash if it is dry, but if I mix it with water to a sticky porridge consistency, they don't. So this is basically like mixing it with water, but with fermentation tossed in!

 

[LindaB220]

Having trouble with my ff. Have been giving it to my laying hens since the beginning of Aug (today is 8/25). I've got the double 5 gal bucket method, and using water with a couple "glugs" of home made kombucha vinegar. At first the girls loved it, but the last 2 days they've been refusing to eat it at all. This evening I gave them some dry crumbles and they went right for it. I have noticed that the ff smells pretty powerful, but there is no mold, just the gray beginnings of a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Just like in the stuff on my counter that I drink myself). I moved the ff off of the back deck thinking that the heat was making it too strong to fast. I added some fresh water and feed to the mix. (when my kombucha gets to strong and vinegar-y I usually pour half of it out and replace with new sweet-tea.) I noticed that the cultured water is not draining into the bottom bucket efficiently. I'm using layer crumbles and it has gone completely to mush.

Anyone else have these troubles? I hate to throw away feed. I don't think it's rancid, just over-cultured. I'm considering giving up on this and just adding a couple tbsps live kombucha vinegar to their water instead. It's starting to feel like it's more trouble than it's worth.

I'm drinking a glass of Kombucha as we speak. Obviously you are making too much. I make up a 5 gallon bucket and lef it ferment for 3 or 4 days. When it's ready I feed. When it is 2:" from the bottom I add warm water and stir and start adding back to make up a new bucket. It's ready overnight when you stir the bottom stuff into the water first. It takes me about 4 days to empty a bucket for my 13 laying pullets. Easy peasy. It's too healthy, don't give up.

 

[Turk Raphael]

QUESTION; And please don't say, 'read the whole thread"..... I won't.

I've seen this discussed somewhere but I have forgotten what the outcomes were.

Is there any evidence that either cracked or whole corn is better for chickens being fed a FF diet?


Thanks in advance

 

[armorfirelady]

[COLOR=0000FF]QUESTION;[/COLOR] And please don't say, 'read the whole thread"..... I won't.

I've seen this discussed somewhere but I have forgotten what the outcomes were.

Is there any evidence that either cracked or whole corn is better for chickens being fed a FF diet?   


Thanks in advance

I use cracked corn only because it's smaller pieces so I figured it would absorb some moisture better and break down easier

 

[Kassaundra]

They're penned and I feed them vegetable trimmings from our families restaurant about 3-4 times a week

How I do it is feed twice a day. We feed out in the morning for us it is about 2 shovels full in the morning (and again in the afternoon), came by that measurement by watching them, how much they attack voraciously before becoming disinterested, but still allowing even the lowest order ones opportunity. They in the evening several hours before lock up same thing.

 

[Kassaundra]

I use cracked corn only because it's smaller pieces so I figured it would absorb some moisture better and break down easier

same here

 

[LindaB220]

How I do it is feed twice a day. We feed out in the morning for us it is about 2 shovels full in the morning (and again in the afternoon), came by that measurement by watching them, how much they attack voraciously before becoming disinterested, but still allowing even the lowest order ones opportunity. They in the evening several hours before lock up same thing.

Hey girl, love your avatar. I have to chuckle about the shovels. Of course with a 33 gallon trash can I guess you need it. You have about 50+ birds right.? How long before you have to refill the can. I'm going through 2 five gallon buckets in 4 days or so with my 37. No let me rephrase that. My 35 because I sold my first laying pullet today for $15. To the mommy for her 9 yo 4-H girl. She commented on the beauty and health of my birds. As she was the first sale I gave her daughter her own red wire egg holder for 2 dozen eggs. (They sell them on dollartree.com for $1 for a case of $36) I plan on giving them out when my girls really get to laying. Maybe sell a few. The other loss on my birds was my very first home process of a gimpy cockerel.
Kassaundra, I watched your youtube video of sprouting your grains again last night. Getting ready to start my own. I just have not had the opportunity to let me range or to get greenery to them much.

 

[LindaB220]

QUESTION; And please don't say, 'read the whole thread"..... I won't.

I've seen this discussed somewhere but I have forgotten what the outcomes were.

Is there any evidence that either cracked or whole corn is better for chickens being fed a FF diet?


Thanks in advance

What? Turk, do you mean that you are too busy to read the 16,500 posts? Amazing.

My birds don't like whole corn any which way. Gotta be cracked or they just leave it. Fermented or not. Spoiled. brats. This was the first thread I checked in on when I started a year ago. I managed all but about the 400 pages in the middle when Bee was off the scene for a while doing other things. Still one of my favs.