Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Robert M]

Here's some tips for if you wish to do it again...my first time ever using FF was on 54 meat birds and I didn't seem to have the same struggles you did, though my coop was also a fair distance from the house (100 yds). Think ergonomics. Though I couldn't relocate my water and it had to be carried each day to the site, the feed didn't.....I located my feed cans next to the coop so my chores were less effort and more streamlined. I managed to feed 54 meat birds out of one bucket, feeding once per evening and replenishing the bucket right afterwards....by the next evening the feed was fully fermented.

Carrying a full 5 gal. bucket of wet feed to the coop just doesn't make any sense....carrying the water, yes, if you have to, but there's still ways around that....5 gal. buckets with lids tied to a dolly, in a garden cart behind the mower, in the back of the truck, collect rainwater at the coop, etc. Work smarter, not harder, and I think your next experience will be different....the only thing changed from feeding dry is the addition of water. That's it. If you can get the water to the coop, the rest is pretty much the same if you store your dry feed where it's handy for mixing at the feeding site.

Mix it drier if you want less messy poops, as was suggested. As for any spilled or slopped feed....if you have real meaties, I don't think that would be an issue...they eat everything, so clean up is not an issue.

Putting in the water before the feed and noting the ratios when you hit it right will give you a better mixing experience....once you know how much your particular feed can absorb, you know exactly how much water to use to get the right consistency....just takes noticing and playing with it first and then find your formula. My current feed is layer mash and it takes exactly one bucket of water to one bucket of feed to get my chosen consistency, but if I use a more fine ground feed like chick starter, that all changes a little, so one just has to know their feed.

As for stink...well...that's just meaties for you. Using deep litter, huge ventilation and free ranging can help it and feeding FF also helps it, but if you don't keep up with the deep litter, don't have really good ventilation or have too high a stocking rate for your land or pens, there will always be a measure of stink with meaties...their feed goes through them too quickly to digest fully due to their high metabolism.

Terrific post.
BTW, I never did smell chicken-poop that smelled like Chanel #5, or even close. LOL

 

[sonofabish1]

If your feed "slops" all over the place, you're using too much water. You only want to dampen the feed. I would put the feed in the bucket and then add water enough to wet it all, the feed will soak up the water, but you do not need more. This may be the reason for "runny" birds. Diarrhea is not good for them, either. Maybe someone else on here who knows from experience can address these "cons".

The slopping is when mixing the food. I found it best to add water first then some feed, mix until there are no dry clumps, then more water, feed, mix, etc. until the bucket is full. That can be a little messy while mixing/splashing. The finished product isn't too think, isn't too runny - thick oatmeal. Also, mixing the finished feed in a full 5 gal bucket can be a bit messy too. I have a long handled spoon and trying to pull the bottom of the feed to the top can sometimes cause some to spill out. I'm not talking a huge mess but I have the feed in my garage and I try and keep it relatively clean.

We have to mix ours really thickly to stop droppings from turning into chicken pats. The feed we use is pelleted. Next time I make up a batch I'm going to see if putting the water in first and then adding the feed makes for a more even distribution of moisture.

Couple of questions:
Is the 250ft between your house and the coop navigable by wheelbarrow?
Do you have room to place the ferment bucket(s) nearer the coop? The water and dry feed still have to be moved out there, but once they are, anyone doing the feeding doesn't have far to travel with the food.

We have water out at the coop so no hauling buckets there. Whether I carry the feed by hand or use a cart my point was that it's still more work than what I did before. I have a covered garbage can next to the coop so I will take the bucket of food out in the evening, feed them half, then leave it there for morning. That helps with the hauling and it also helped my wife not have to carry the bucket out if I was not going to be home - I would just make sure there was a full bucket and a scoop for her. With dry feed I had a 5 gal bucket feeder and would fill every couple days as necessary. I would keep a bag of feed in the trash can and put the 5 gal feeder in there for the night. A lot less carrying buckets back and forth.

Here's some tips for if you wish to do it again...my first time ever using FF was on 54 meat birds and I didn't seem to have the same struggles you did, though my coop was also a fair distance from the house (100 yds). Think ergonomics. Though I couldn't relocate my water and it had to be carried each day to the site, the feed didn't.....I located my feed cans next to the coop so my chores were less effort and more streamlined. I managed to feed 54 meat birds out of one bucket, feeding once per evening and replenishing the bucket right afterwards....by the next evening the feed was fully fermented.

Carrying a full 5 gal. bucket of wet feed to the coop just doesn't make any sense....carrying the water, yes, if you have to, but there's still ways around that....5 gal. buckets with lids tied to a dolly, in a garden cart behind the mower, in the back of the truck, collect rainwater at the coop, etc. Work smarter, not harder, and I think your next experience will be different....the only thing changed from feeding dry is the addition of water. That's it. If you can get the water to the coop, the rest is pretty much the same if you store your dry feed where it's handy for mixing at the feeding site.

Mix it drier if you want less messy poops, as was suggested. As for any spilled or slopped feed....if you have real meaties, I don't think that would be an issue...they eat everything, so clean up is not an issue.

Putting in the water before the feed and noting the ratios when you hit it right will give you a better mixing experience....once you know how much your particular feed can absorb, you know exactly how much water to use to get the right consistency....just takes noticing and playing with it first and then find your formula. My current feed is layer mash and it takes exactly one bucket of water to one bucket of feed to get my chosen consistency, but if I use a more fine ground feed like chick starter, that all changes a little, so one just has to know their feed.

As for stink...well...that's just meaties for you. Using deep litter, huge ventilation and free ranging can help it and feeding FF also helps it, but if you don't keep up with the deep litter, don't have really good ventilation or have too high a stocking rate for your land or pens, there will always be a measure of stink with meaties...their feed goes through them too quickly to digest fully due to their high metabolism.

I wouldn't call anything that I went through struggles...just more work. Not a lot more work but when you do it everyday for weeks and you have other things going on it doesn't help. I have water at the coop but no where to store feed and 3 buckets of food. I guess I could invest in another trash can for more storage (or build something) but like I said at the top I didn't mind carrying the buckets that much. For the stink - it did seem better when they were inside the garage brooding which was the important part. For the stink...it is what it is...not a big deal - not like the run is next to my house or a neighbor that's going to complain about it. It was just something I went into FF thinking was going to be a bit better but it wasn't.

 

[Robert M]

We have to mix ours really thickly to stop droppings from turning into chicken pats. The feed we use is pelleted. Next time I make up a batch I'm going to see if putting the water in first and then adding the feed makes for a more even distribution of moisture.

Couple of questions:
Is the 250ft between your house and the coop navigable by wheelbarrow?
Do you have room to place the ferment bucket(s) nearer the coop? The water and dry feed still have to be moved out there, but once they are, anyone doing the feeding doesn't have far to travel with the food.

Also, try using wheat. It's cheap and it ferments well. Ask beer-makers.

 

[Sutremaine]

Also, try using wheat.  It's cheap and it ferments well.  Ask beer-makers.gh:

It's cheap, but I don't know if I need it. One 20kg bag of feed between 4 chickens is going to last at least 3 months, and mixing another bag of stuff in there is going to increase the amount of time the feed sits around after processing. Last year, ASDA were selling mixed corn that turned out to be mostly whole wheat with a few bits of squashed dried corn, but either it's a seasonal item or it's discontinued.

I wouldn't call anything that I went through struggles...just more work.  Not a lot more work but when you do it everyday for weeks and you have other things going on it doesn't help.

So far it seems like FF isn't doing much for you. Perhaps next time you raise up meaties you can feed some of them on FF, and some of them on dry. As you said, this year they're more active, but you've changed your husbandry as well as the feed.

 

[Ariel Elyse]

So I started my Cornish Cross chicks right off on FF, and they loved it. They're over 2 weeks old and I've only lost one out of 79! However, I still can't figure out how to strain the liquid off the feed in an efficient manner. My feed has chunks of grain in it, but there's also a lot of coarse powdery stuff. I tried drilling holes in a bucket to set inside another bucket to make a strainer, but it wouldn't drain. I think the pieces of feed are too small and are clogging the holes... It works to pour the feed mixture through cheesecloth and hand-squeeze out the liquid, but that's not practical for 78 birds. Any ideas?

 

[armorfirelady]

So I started my Cornish Cross chicks right off on FF, and they loved it. They're over 2 weeks old and I've only lost one out of 79! However, I still can't figure out how to strain the liquid off the feed in an efficient manner. My feed has chunks of grain in it, but there's also a lot of coarse powdery stuff. I tried drilling holes in a bucket to set inside another bucket to make a strainer, but it wouldn't drain. I think the pieces of feed are too small and are clogging the holes... It works to pour the feed mixture through cheesecloth and hand-squeeze out the liquid, but that's not practical for 78 birds. Any ideas?

You may need tp pull the bucket up and let it drain for awhile before trying to feed. I have used the strainer bucket method before but I prefer the laddle/scoop device I found (maybe at the dollar store?). It has holes in it so I just scoop up a scoop full & let it drain and put it in their food holder. I dont worry about straining it dry...........the extra moisture this year is ok since it keeps the food moister longer.

 

[Latestarter]

Ummm why is there that much liquid in there that you need to strain at all? I mean, it really isn't necessary for the ferment to happen and just makes loads more work for you. BTW, Greetings Ariel and welcome to BYC and the thread!

With feeding 79 birds, I'm not sure what size container you're using. There was one person here who used a trash can and mixed it with a shovel

I feed ~ 30 birds once a day and use a 5 gallon bucket to mix. 1 bucket lasts 2 days. I use a length of cut down 2x4 (maybe 2x2"?) to stir mine... not fancy, but it works. I add all the new material to the backslop, then add hot water till just at or below the material surface, then stir well. I use feed and grains mixed. They absorb all excess water overnight and there's no excess liquid at all the next morning. It smells wonderful, like sourdough bread, and scoops out like damp/moist feed. The grains keep it from becoming a gelatinous clump of "mud" with the consistency of cement.

 

[Robert M]

So I started my Cornish Cross chicks right off on FF, and they loved it. They're over 2 weeks old and I've only lost one out of 79! However, I still can't figure out how to strain the liquid off the feed in an efficient manner. My feed has chunks of grain in it, but there's also a lot of coarse powdery stuff. I tried drilling holes in a bucket to set inside another bucket to make a strainer, but it wouldn't drain. I think the pieces of feed are too small and are clogging the holes... It works to pour the feed mixture through cheesecloth and hand-squeeze out the liquid, but that's not practical for 78 birds. Any ideas?

This http://www.webstaurantstore.com/20-qt-tapered-aluminum-vegetable-colander-with-handles/88538013.html should work for you.

If not, go here: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/3051/colanders.html

There are all kinds. Have fun with your chicks.

 

[Beekissed]

So I started my Cornish Cross chicks right off on FF, and they loved it. They're over 2 weeks old and I've only lost one out of 79! However, I still can't figure out how to strain the liquid off the feed in an efficient manner. My feed has chunks of grain in it, but there's also a lot of coarse powdery stuff. I tried drilling holes in a bucket to set inside another bucket to make a strainer, but it wouldn't drain. I think the pieces of feed are too small and are clogging the holes... It works to pour the feed mixture through cheesecloth and hand-squeeze out the liquid, but that's not practical for 78 birds. Any ideas?

I agree with everyone else.....just mix it thicker so you won't need to strain it. That takes all the work out of it. I wish I had thought of that when I first started FF with my meat birds...could have saved me a lot of back strain.

In your feed trough, open some big drain holes as well....that will drain off any excess you may be seeing in the trough too.

 

[Molpet]

So I started my Cornish Cross chicks right off on FF, and they loved it. They're over 2 weeks old and I've only lost one out of 79! However, I still can't figure out how to strain the liquid off the feed in an efficient manner. My feed has chunks of grain in it, but there's also a lot of coarse powdery stuff. I tried drilling holes in a bucket to set inside another bucket to make a strainer, but it wouldn't drain. I think the pieces of feed are too small and are clogging the holes... It works to pour the feed mixture through cheesecloth and hand-squeeze out the liquid, but that's not practical for 78 birds. Any ideas?

most of us gave up on the 2 bucket/strainer method in the beginning of this thread. We switched to the one bucket https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/