Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Achickenwrangler#1]

I am feeding the ff to broody and new chicks along with everyone else. They seem to like it just fine and there is no left over cracked corn bits in the brooder. It's prob alot easier to break up too. I should clarify ff-scratch. So far they're all still alive and kicking!

 

[thunderbolt&marjorie]

Hi all!
Got shipping notification that my first batch of chicks (only 5 Silver Laced Wyandottes; they are replacement layers) are on their way and should be here tomorrow!

I started fermenting Chick Starter crumbles last night, with a little Braggs. Gave it a stir this AM. Rather gloppy; is this normal?

My meaties arrive (25 Rangers) on Fri or Sat.

For those who start adding in scratch grains: how old are the chicks when you do this? Seems like it would greatly improve the texture.

 

[burnyourmoney]

I'm about to start adding scratch in and they are 3 weeks old. I've been throwing scratch on the ground and they eat a good lot of it so I think they are ready.

 

[Jeanette56]

Gloppy is fine.
I usually try to add enough crumbles so that liquid doesn't really drain through a slotted spoon. You will just develop and eye for it.

I started fermenting Chick Starter crumbles last night, with a little Braggs. Gave it a stir this AM. Rather gloppy; is this normal?

 

[thunderbolt&marjorie]

Ok, thanks for that. No real fermentation starting yet. Added a bit of yeast this afternoon. Will feed it to them tomorrow when they arrive.

 

[kelpieschick]

Wow! I got my processed birds back and I'm super impressed. My lowest weight was 4.36 and my highest was 6.7 dressed. I think the average was 5.7 dressed. There were WAY more big guys than small. These guys were fed FF twice daily, had fans on 24/7 the whole time and were outdoors all day long and then in a cushy indoor coop at night. The folks at the processing plant said that I did a great job and that the birds looked very healthy and robust.

I am very happy and ready to carry on with this experiment! Can't wait to hear how they taste too.

 

[Beekissed]

Did you find that you used less feed~saved money on feed costs~by using FF? And, yes...please let us know about flavor! Good weights!

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Wow those are awesome weights! Your SMALLEST was 4.36 dressed??? And these were 8 wk old birds??!! I am impressed!

I second the flavor report! Let us know what you think!

 

[thunderbolt&marjorie]

My 5 SLW's arrived this morning!

They are just adorable!
I added a little yeast last night as it didn't appear things were going great with the mix I started.
This morning, it was 'fluffy/puffy', smelled more fermented. Looked similar to the pics posted earlier in this thread.
I fed a small amount (along with some dry crumbles to entice them and was happy to see they pecked it a bit before I had to speed off to work.

Question:
It seems to me, adding water/braggs/yeast to the chick starter, that the feed soaks up all the water. Adding more water to keep it 'submerged' and stirring it a few times a day just seems to turn it into a slurry.

I added a little more crumbles to it last night, and now this morning it was more the consistancy of oatmeal, as a previous poster mentioned theirs was.

I needed no slotted spoon or draining as there was no water.

Is this right? I have no water remaining to innoculate a new batch of FF. I could understand draining off whole/cracked grains, but the starter seems to soak it all up.

Can I just add more water/feed to leftovers? (I started more than I needed for the 5 chicks, yet on Friday or Saturday my 25 meaties arrive)

Those With Wisdom: please advise!

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Hi thunderbolt&marjorie! I am somewhat new to FF too, but what has worked well for me so far is to just soak enough feed so that I have some left in the bucket after feeding and then mix the new feed into the old (with more water of course). I have found that if I get the water content just right, it will be poofed up and a nice moist mash consistency, with no need for draining. I add ACV to the first batch, and then will add a bit more occasionally to keep it fermenting well. My feed btw, is a homemade mix with ground and cracked grains, & powdered supplements including fishmeal & Poultry Nutribalancer. For new chicks we just grind the grains a little smaller. For our laying hens, I have two buckets, one for their morning feeding, and one for the evening feeding, so each bucket can have about 24 hrs to soak in between feedings. We have a lot of extra old goat milk and kefir right now, so I will occasionally mix some into the fermented feed before I give it to them - they seem to like it when it is even more sloppy and wet!

Hope this helps! Congrats on your new babies!