Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

That's A LOT of meaties in that space and there won't be much "range" left after they have trampled and pooped on it all, so they could do some temporary damage on it. If you want them to actually range for food, if they are any good at it, they will have that area picked clean of bugs and such in no time and most of the actual food and clean soils will be pretty much depleted before butcher time, I'm thinking.

 

[JJSS89]

Yeah 150 birds will not sterilize the ground of .5 acre but it wont be pretty, just like Beekissed said.

150 hungry chickens will do some serious work.

 

[glib]

If it is good pasture, that 12/ acre will become a desert in about 15 days if they get also feed on the side, relier if they are left to their own devices

 

[krelm]

I am so glad to have found this because I mix my own feeds and would like a way to soften up grains for smaller birds without as much grinding. I knew about sprouting feed grains but I never made the leap to simply fermenting it so that I wouldn't have to do all the draining. I found this just in time too... more chicks arriving tomorrow morning! Thank you for this thread!
Edited to add: I will also use this in an experiment with my goats because they love ACV!

 

[Beekissed]

I am so glad to have found this because I mix my own feeds and would like a way to soften up grains for smaller birds without as much grinding. I knew about sprouting feed grains but I never made the leap to simply fermenting it so that I wouldn't have to do all the draining. I found this just in time too... more chicks arriving tomorrow morning! Thank you for this thread!
Edited to add: I will also use this in an experiment with my goats because they love ACV!

Here's an updated FAQ on the topic in case you have questions later: https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[19disbre]

hmm well I really wouldn't mind if the ground was bare dirt or very short grass but I think they will be very happy with that much space and that has to be better then small cages still, this pen won't really protect them from predators because the bottom two feet the wholes are 2x4'' then the next 4 feet are 4x4 and the final 2 are 6x6 but I am going to electrify one wire about 6inches high because the coons and stuff will go under it and get shocked before they try to climb it and I will also be trapping the area before I have a predator problem because once you find out its too late usually

I have very little space that would be flat enough to accommodate anything that size. But, for the person with the available flat land, that would be wonderful. I'm partial to my electronet fencing. gives1600 s.f. of "pasture" which can be rotated.

Even this pen is on a decent hill

I plan on feeding them but I don't know if I am still going to give them as much as you would in a cage

 

[Latestarter]

Concur with the rest... that is a LOT of "livestock" pressure on a small area. 25-30 birds could probably/maybe make a go of it on 1/2 an acre of GOOD forage, but any more than that and it (the forage) won't last long at all. That might be OK for you if you want that land completely cleared of any/all foliage for some other purpose. In a month's time (or less) it will look like the surface of the moon, I'm thinking...

 

[RoseMarie1]

Wondering WHY the chickens slow down on eating their FF? They'll almost eat us out of house and home ;-) at times and then some times it looks like they only eat a handful. WHY is this? There will be days they wont hardly eat at all and they were penned up when they were doing this and no free ranging at the time. Maybe they're depressed not being able to free range? They're back into their routeen SP? UGH...... now free ranging and loving it. My memory is sooo bad these days I can't half spell. SORRY!

Anyway they sure are loving being back out again.

 

[DesertChic]

Wondering WHY the chickens slow down on eating their FF? They'll almost eat us out of house and home ;-) at times and then some times it looks like they only eat a handful. WHY is this? There will be days they wont hardly eat at all and they were penned up when they were doing this and no free ranging at the time. Maybe they're depressed not being able to free range? They're back into their routeen SP? UGH...... now free ranging and loving it. My memory is sooo bad these days I can't half spell. SORRY!

Anyway they sure are loving being back out again.

Part of it has to do with the moisture content, and part of it has to do with the nutritional content. First point - have you ever heard dietary advisers recommend that you drink a full glass of water before a meal so you don't eat as much and thereby lose weight? The moisture in the fermented feed makes it heavier and the birds fill up on it faster, whereas with dry food they keep packing it in until the moisture in their bodies or the water that they drink causes it to expand and signal fullness.

Second point - their bodies' natural shut-off kicks in as they receive the proper nutrients. All animals, including humans, are born with this "instinctual" automatic shut-off when we've had enough food in both volume and nutritional content....but we humans tend to ignore it when we find something we really like to eat.

Incidentally, this explains some of the science behind human cravings and weight gain/obesity, and our ability to feel hungry even after consuming certain foods in abundance. Our bodies know we haven't ingested the nutrients we actually need so it triggers a neurochemical reaction to create hunger cravings in the hopes of getting those essential nutrients.

 

[19disbre]

After reading some of this thread, I thought of an idea, could you put a 50 lb bag into a 55 gallon drum and then just take out what you need each day and the longer it is in their the more it will ferment? Also feed sinks correct?