Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Achickenwrangler#1]

I don't know what it's called but I scoop it up and mix it back into the scratch and fling it out with the rest...just silt and yeast I think....smells OK.

 

[shadowmane]

If you are feeding chick starter, that gump would be the chick starter. If you are feeding whole grains, then I can't help you.

 

[jrsckn]

We butchered our broilers yesterday and they are all in the freezer but one and we ate it tonight!! OMG, I will never feed anything but fermented feed, they were almost 10 weeks and they actually have dark meat on the legs and thighs and the flavor is by far the best chicken I have ever eaten in my life.

My total cost per pound this year was about .26 less than last year, I also paid .17 more per bird this year than last and still saved money.. Save money and have better flavor, can't beat that!!!

As far as I'm concerned, the only way to raise these little stinkers is with FF. So many pros to very few if any cons!!!

ETA: We already have 22 of the 35 sold and will make about $52 profit after the cost of all the feed and all of the chickens and still have 13 chickens to put in my freezer free and clear. Well, except for my time but it was a labor of love!!

Are your weights the same as last year?

 

[burnyourmoney]

If you are feeding chick starter, that gump would be the chick starter.  If you are feeding whole grains, then I can't help you.

Whole grains. I don't think I ever had any pellets in this bucket. I scooped some out and put it in a pile and one bird took a bite and then promptly walked away. I'll try mixing it for the meaties since theirs will be the starter. Thanks.

 

[Henery Hawk]

Awesome thread. I read the whole thing. I intend on starting this soon for both my layers and meaties. I have a few questions. Forgive me if they have already been answered here.

1) I plan on using wheat, corn, oats and barley. Should I be using whole grains in your opinion?

2) Will fermentation work outdoors once the cold weather starts?

3) Any pros/cons to using yeast vs ACV? Which would work better? Is one method "hotter" than the other allowing for better success in the cold months?

4) This thread has given me the impression that I may be able to cut my feed bill in half. Is this a realistic goal?

Thanks in advance.

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

Are your weights the same as last year?

No, last years average was definitely bigger but I'm much happier with the size of this years. We ended up with a couple over 9lbs dressed last year and that is too big for just hubby and I. Last years batch were mostly cockerels and this years batch were mostly pullets.

Dressed weights were....
6.13
4.9
6.7
5.2
4.14
5.4
4.14
4.9
5.10
6.3
6.4
7.0
4.6
4.10
4.8
4.10
4.12
5.14
6.0
4.11
6.13
4.4
4.10
4.15
5.9
4.8
7.0
5.5
5.7
5.11
5.7
4.13
5.4
5.0
3.8 (this is the one that died in my arms, not sure if it choked or heart attack)

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

Awesome thread. I read the whole thing. I intend on starting this soon for both my layers and meaties. I have a few questions. Forgive me if they have already been answered here.

1) I plan on using wheat, corn, oats and barley. Should I be using whole grains in your opinion? I used wheat screenings, whole oats, whole barley, and cracked corn.

2) Will fermentation work outdoors once the cold weather starts? I used sourdough starter for mine and I know that it still feeds when it is put into the refrigerator but I guess that depends on how cold you're talking.

3) Any pros/cons to using yeast vs ACV? Which would work better? Is one method "hotter" than the other allowing for better success in the cold months? I had great success with the sourdough starter and didn't need to add any additional the whole time I was fermenting for my broilers. Hotter??? can't answer that one.

4) This thread has given me the impression that I may be able to cut my feed bill in half. Is this a realistic goal? Depends on what you are currently feeding and the cost. Here we're paying $18 for a 50# bag of flock raiser. Adding grains into that definitely saved us some money as we are able to get local grains from the feed store and they are a lot cheaper!!

Thanks in advance.

I love the results I obtained while using fermented feed and now that the broilers are in the freezer, I think I will just ferment the grains for my layers and offer free choice layers crumbles. Good luck!!

 

[jrsckn]

Cool, the savings is interesting compared to my results so far.

Well, in the time it took to eat breakfast and run my numbers for week 5, I lost 5 of my crumble chicks

and 2 of my fermented crumble chicks

, but no fermented crumble+grains chicks

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

Is it hot? How did they die, do you know?

 

[jrsckn]

Is it hot? How did they die, do you know?

Yea, its 97 and the heat index is 105. The stupid little fatties all piled on top of each other and roasted. The FFC were more spread out but the two I found were laying together. Of the 7 loses, 4 CC were DOA, 1 CC and 2 FFC were too far gone to save. But, there were 2 CC that were pretty bad that I was able to save; only 1 CC was up and moving around.

Very unusual weather here in MI. We rarely get consistent hot weather but it's been hot for weeks; probably because I got meaties