Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[lilpatchofheave]

so i started fermenting feed about a month ago. i have about 100 chickens and some turkeys they absolutely love it no question. when i walk out with the bucket i can barley walk they surround me ravenous. anyway i have experimented with feeders because of so many. i made two feeders out of wood 8 feet by 5 inches also have some feeder pans. problem is pooping in the feeders then they are hard to clean. i put welded wire over the troughs so there feet cant get in raised them up but because of so many they stand all over it and eventually poop in it. i heard of drain gutters and pipe, anybody feed fermented with this many chickens and solve the poop problem. i also have 17 turkeys i want to switch to ff, and will be getting 100 Cornish x this month. right now just for the chickens they eat a 5 gal bucket twice a day. any ideas of trough feeders and what everybody is feeding there chickens if they have this many. we feed organic so it can be challenging.

 

[eviemethugh]

so i started fermenting feed about a month ago. i have about 100 chickens and some turkeys they absolutely love it no question. when i walk out with the bucket i can barley walk they surround me ravenous. anyway i have  experimented with feeders because of so many. i made two feeders out of wood 8 feet by 5 inches also have some feeder pans. problem is pooping in the feeders then they are hard to clean. i put welded wire over the troughs so there feet cant get in raised them up but because of so many they stand all over it and eventually poop in it. i heard of drain gutters and pipe, anybody feed fermented with this many chickens and solve the poop problem. i also have 17 turkeys i want to switch to ff, and will be getting 100 Cornish x this month. right now just for the chickens they eat a 5 gal bucket twice a day. any ideas of trough feeders and what everybody is feeding there chickens  if they have this many. we feed organic so it can be challenging.

We just puts ours on the ground in a long thin line. Especially easy when you are feeding twice a day and they are eating it all. It will lightly burn/bleach the ground though even if they eat it all in minutes. I'm not sure why. So I wouldn't do it in the exact same spot everyday.

 

[curious chickee]

I took plastic window boxes and used my dremmel to trim the top so only about 3 inches deep. I have for boxes spread around the coop so they all can eat. About 30 birds. I only feed my layers once a day. Treats in the afternoon. Range the rest

 

[n2everythg]

Ive been using FF for my new quail for the 3 weeks since they hatched.
for the first 3 weeks I used a mix of game bird starter and ultrakibble.

now I am moving them to an organic egg layer mash. However, it is only 16% protein so I am wanting to enhance with some #3 trout pellets that are 50%. they are primarily fish meal based.
I will end up mixing at approx a 3/1 ratio to get 24%.

My question is have any of you tried to ferment fish meal? Do you think it is safe?
I assume that the natural ferment I already have going will keep out bad bacteria.
So far I have just been sprinkling the fish meal pellets over the top of the FF when I feed. But would like to mix it to ensure all birds get same ratio.

researching on the internet didnt turn up much so far.
I did find this site that had some interesting info on feeding fermented food to chickens and also some links.

https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/10-foods-to-ferment-for-chickens/

let me know your thoughts on putting the fish meal trout food in with my ferment.
thanks!

 

[Molpet]

Ive been using FF for my new quail for the 3 weeks since they hatched.
for the first 3 weeks I used a mix of game bird starter and ultrakibble.

now I am moving them to an organic egg layer mash. However, it is only 16% protein so I am wanting to enhance with some #3 trout pellets that are 50%. they are primarily fish meal based.
I will end up mixing at approx a 3/1 ratio to get 24%.

My question is have any of you tried to ferment fish meal? Do you think it is safe?
I assume that the natural ferment I already have going will keep out bad bacteria.
So far I have just been sprinkling the fish meal pellets over the top of the FF when I feed. But would like to mix it to ensure all birds get same ratio.

researching on the internet didnt turn up much so far.
I did find this site that had some interesting info on feeding fermented food to chickens and also some links.

https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/10-foods-to-ferment-for-chickens/

let me know your thoughts on putting the fish meal trout food in with my ferment.
thanks!

some chicken feed has fish meal in it... people didn't like the smell when it fermented, and some said the eggs tasted fishy....but other than that is was fine
FAQ on FF by BYC member https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[Latestarter]

The only thing to remember is when fermenting meat protein, it's gonna get a very powerful odor! It will stink!

 

[hellbender]

some chicken feed has fish meal in it... people didn't like the smell when it fermented, and some said the eggs tasted fishy....but other than that is was fine
FAQ on FF by BYC member https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

Our experience...feeding Purina Trout Chow is great and does wonders for meat chickens but it just didn't work out in FF. And just our opinion, feeding such a high protein product requires no augmentation to gain the benefits of its use.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree....it kind of defeats the purpose of FF. It's great for increasing the nutritive value of just average feed mixes but a high pro feed obviously doesn't need any help or supplementation. If one is going to buy expensive high pro feeds or expensive supplements and grains, why bother to try and save money by fermenting the feed?

 

[South OH Chicks]

Now when we are talking about fermenting feed, is this the same as wheat berry sprouts and fodder? I usually give my birds 2-3 helpings of sprouts and one helping of fodder a week. I get bronze chief wheat from the Amish for about 0.45 a pound.

 

[Robert M]

Now when we are talking about fermenting feed, is this the same as wheat berry sprouts and fodder? I usually give my birds 2-3 helpings of sprouts and one helping of fodder a week. I get bronze chief wheat from the Amish for about 0.45 a pound.

IMO, if you deal with the Amish or Mennonites, you cannot go wrong. DO NOT listen to the government mandated GMO BS, etc. I have numerous friends in their communities and they have NEVER steered me wrong.