Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[lazy gardener]

Gotta love those cute little chickie feet.

 

[LindaB220]

Quote:
I have the red one. Yea!!!

 

[DesertChic]

Even the classic metal trays with the dividers work well. I just slide the lid off, soak for 10 minutes, and everything washes off.

 

[Beekissed]

Be careful if they are galvanized metal feeders as the acid in the feed will leach the heavy metals....shouldn't be a problem if the feed doesn't sit in them for very long but if your feed sits in that feeder all day, I'd rethink anything but stainless steel.

 

[LindaB220]

Those are just ol' crossbred mutts.

Plymouth White Rock crossed over a Black Australorp hen...and all the offspring were barred, with the males having a darker head and barring than the females.

That reminds me Bee, I have two black rocks. When I ordered them he said he was sending white rocks but they hatched out black. I asked and he said "oops, I must have sent the Barred rocks. They are black, period. But shaped just like rocks and they are pullets. Can I breed my XW white rock and get some really good barr colors?

 

[DesertChic]

Be careful if they are galvanized metal feeders as the acid in the feed will leach the heavy metals....shouldn't be a problem if the feed doesn't sit in them for very long but if your feed sits in that feeder all day, I'd rethink anything but stainless steel.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[Beekissed]

That reminds me Bee, I have two black rocks. When I ordered them he said he was sending white rocks but they hatched out black. I asked and he said "oops, I must have sent the Barred rocks. They are black, period. But shaped just like rocks and they are pullets. Can I breed my XW white rock and get some really good barr colors?

Most likely, as they will both have the barred genes. How exciting to get some Black Rocks, though! How neat! I'm not sure how clean your barring will be but it should be interesting to find out.

 

[LindaB220]

Most likely, as they will both have the barred genes. How exciting to get some Black Rocks, though! How neat! I'm not sure how clean your barring will be but it should be interesting to find out.

If I ever, ever learn to post I'll show you some. lol Computer problems are so great that I can't get on here much. Next week, repairman. Yea!!!

 

[DesertChic]

That reminds me Bee, I have two black rocks. When I ordered them he said he was sending white rocks but they hatched out black. I asked and he said "oops, I must have sent the Barred rocks. They are black, period. But shaped just like rocks and they are pullets. Can I breed my XW white rock and get some really good barr colors?

I want to preface this by saying my genetics is still rather rusty, but as I understand it, the allele for barring (B) is dominant in the rocks, but is also sex-linked. So if you breed them to a White Rock male, you should get barred males and black females (again) as an outcome. Again, this assumes that your black chicks are, in fact, heterozygous (or hemizygous) female Barred Rocks.

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

First, let me say that I did not read the 1678 pages preceding, but the initial post by Bee on another thread.I have been using fermented feed on and off for 2 years now. ON and off because of time constraints on the farm, business, etc.

I love it!

I use this for my layers, so this may not apply to all of you, but I thought I would share.

I began with the raw ACV for a mother. It worked great with pelleted food. It reduced my costs by 50%.

This last year we switched to Peck and Scratch, Soy free, Organic (we are certified OG farm). It is grains and looks like what I would want to eat if I were a hen

. It has flax and peas and all sorts of nummy stuff. We range our hens as well.

We made fermented pepper sauce this last year, so we had several 35 gallon barrels of the brine and peels left over. This was teaming with the lactobacillus needed for fermentation PLUS there was tons of capsaicin from the peppers, so I used that as my starter.

I am using a 5 gallon with a 2 gallon inside it, but I will be switching to the 5g inside a 5g method for greater quantity.

I used 5c of the brine and covered with water, Returned later that day to stir and add more water as the feed had expanded. Because my starter culture was so live it only took two days to get bubbles.

Remember in fermentation that it is vital that the feed be completely submerged in water as this is an anaerobic environment (no oxygen). If your feed is not submerged it will grow mold and rot.

Drain and feed. My hens took a bit to start eating regularly, but they love it.

Benefits I've noticed:
1. Poop is healthier
2. Feed costs are lowered
3. Egg production is steady
4. I can add garlic or capsaicin for parasite control--and it works!
5. If you are using grains and seeds the protective coating is broken down and more absorbable for better nutrition.
6. Once the mash is going it's easy to keep going.
7. It provides water for better hydration which is VITAL in egg production.
8. Thier guts are regularly inoculated with necessary flora.

9. The cycle of fermenting food is like making bread regularly and it keeps me even more connected to my flock and attentive. Maybe a little woo-woo for some of you, but good for me.