Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Molpet]

I am pretty new to chickens, and am interested in the fermented feed..my question is where do you buy the grains? Feed store or grocery store? I am feeding crumbles, scratch and fresh fruits and vegetables. Would love more info. Thanks

more info: https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog

 

[armorfirelady]

I am pretty new to chickens, and am interested in the fermented feed..my question is where do you buy the grains? Feed store or grocery store? I am feeding crumbles, scratch and fresh fruits and vegetables. Would love more info. Thanks

I use 2 different feed stores to get the grains I needed.

 

[Tabasco Jack]

I am pretty new to chickens, and am interested in the fermented feed..my question is where do you buy the grains? Feed store or grocery store? I am feeding crumbles, scratch and fresh fruits and vegetables. Would love more info. Thanks

For meat birds, I ferment the scratch and then dump some crumbles in right before feeding. I found that soaking the crumble became a gooey mess.

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[Beekissed]

As promised...a pic or two of my new "scoop". It's just a deep ladle/strainer combination utensil found in the kitchen wares at Walmart. Cheap, very sturdy, handle is long enough to reach all the way to the bottom of a 5 gal. bucket and has all those lovely holes for drainage.

 

[KKatrin60]

Thank you so much for this link, It has great information that seems pretty easy to follow. I had read some stuff on the internet and it seemed so hard to make ff. With your help im going to give it a try with just my crumbles. Im so excited hope my babies like it. I have 2 barred rocks a little over a year, 2 olive eggers about 5 mo., 1 black easter egger 5mo., 1 lonely silkie 5 mo., 1 Crested Cream Legbar about 4 mo., and 7 Orphingtons about 2.5 mo. I have only had chicken since September and cant really make up my mind what breed I like best. Lol.
Thanks again for your info.

 

[Latestarter]

When you start serving up the FF, either remove all other food or lightly sprinkle a top coat of the dry on top of the FF to allow them to get used to it. After they've had it a couple of times, there'll no longer be a need to sprinkle. You've no doubt heard of chicken little... they can sometimes be that way about any sort of change. good luck!

 

[BeaverQB]

When you start serving up the FF, either remove all other food or lightly sprinkle a top coat of the dry on top of the FF to allow them to get used to it. After they've had it a couple of times, there'll no longer be a need to sprinkle. You've no doubt heard of chicken little... they can sometimes be that way about any sort of change. good luck!

So, how much would you feed a flock of 5 hens using FF each day?

Currently we have a feeder with dry feed (local, non-GMO) in the run all the time, and we give them a pan of wet mash of the same feed every morning. If we were to go strictly to the FF and took away the feeder, would we need to feed them more often?

Thanks!

 

[Beekissed]

Just once per day, half cup a day per bird(wet feed)...adjust the amounts as you see fit, but half cup seems to be a good average consumption point for LF, especially in the winter months. Of course, that can change depending upon: season to season, if your flock free ranges, what you are feeding, etc.

 

[sonofabish1]

Sorry if these questions have been answered before...new to this thread and I can't read through all 1700+ pages!!!

Couple questions...

I have 2 bags of crumbles left over from last fall when my meat chickens were...let's say taken away early. I have been looking for something to do with it other than compost. By the time I get my next batch the feed will be a good 6 months old and vitamins/nutrients have degraded. Would there be any benefits to fermenting it and feeding it to my meaties?

I'm mostly interested in FF to reduce the smell of the poop while in the brooder (30+ chicks in the garage during the summer...even with regular cleaning and deep litter it gets a little ripe). Do I need to provide a constant diet of FF to reduce the smell or can I throw a couple scoops on top of their normal food a couple times a day?

Thanks!

 

[Latestarter]

I wouldn't waste it. I'm sure it's lost nutrient value, but if you mix it 50/50 with new stuff I don't think it would hurt. By doing the FF, you're making what nutrients are there, more easily digested and used by the birds anyway. Sorry your last batch of birds never reached their intended end.