Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Leahs Mom]

Just my opinion. I think buckets with holes in them are a waste of a good bucket. 1 bucket to ferment and 1 to feed from. Use a scoop with holes in it to scoop don't worry about liquid not draining. After scooping from main bucket add dry feed to soak up liquid. Leave it a little sloppy and leave set till the next feed time should be 24 hours later the liquid will soak in and also ferment the new dry feed. next day you will have moist not wet fermented feed stir in the mother and feed.
Experiment a little to see how many wet scoops to how many dry for your needs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/1630#post_9755259

I don't like the buckets w/holes either. For me it's because the feed I buy is made to order from a feed mill - not pellets. It has both Fertrel and fish meal in it which is just powder. When using the bucket and hole method, those powders end up sifting down to the bottom of the external bucket and don't stay mixed into the feed.

When I strain it out like you're talking about, I reach right down to the bottom of the container and be sure that I'm getting a good mix of everything when I put it into their pan.

Pigeon - could you post a link or photo of your strainer spoon? I did some looking around and wasn't happy w/what I found. Wondering what yours looks like.

 

[MyGardenHelper]

I don't think they would need it...they ferment their own way better than we could do it for them.

Would it be un-healthy for them though? I usually give them treats that they like along with the chickens (the chickens do not eat everything I feed the llamas and vise-versa). For example, the llamas love alfalfa pellets and they get a couple scoops dry (mixed in with the sprouts now)...with the chickens, I would soak the alfalfa pellets in the winter and then mix with their sprouts. And I was thinking of sprouting just so you can see the tails and then mix in with FF to keep mold at bay. I usually sprout about 2 days beyond the small tail so that it triples in size of the original dry grain. Sprouts can mold easily. My way of keeping the mold down is not to rinse every day (as recommended) and then transfer to another holey bucket so the bottom and middle (warmer sprouts) ends up on top and quickly break up the long sprouts with my hands. I only rinse when it starts to get too dry (depends on the weather). If I don't do this daily (transferring)...not hard or time consuming...but sometimes I get home too late in the evening, then I have a moldy mess the next day in very warm weather...then it's waste (which I don't like).

Thanks!

 

[Beekissed]

How much do buckets cost where you live?

By the time you've done all the scooping and mixing, I've hung the bucket and the water immediately drains off the top portion enough to feed...I don't need to drain the whole bucket to get dryer feed.

When buckets are cheap( $3-$5 ea. here) and time is not, I like to invest in less time wasted. The bucket will last the lifetime of what I need it for but in the time I wasted scooping, mixing in feed that isn't fermented, leaving it overnight for the rodents to scavenge any of it and hoping it ferments along with the wet feed, I could have fed and already left the coop long ago.

 

[MyGardenHelper]

Just my opinion. I think buckets with holes in them are a waste of a good bucket. 1 bucket to ferment and 1 to feed from. Use a scoop with holes in it to scoop don't worry about liquid not draining. After scooping from main bucket add dry feed to soak up liquid. Leave it a little sloppy and leave set till the next feed time should be 24 hours later the liquid will soak in and also ferment the new dry feed. next day you will have moist not wet fermented feed stir in the mother and feed.
Experiment a little to see how many wet scoops to how many dry for your needs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/1630#post_9755259

What type of scoop? I read in earlier posts that it takes a long time to drain and the bucket hanging over another bucket takes about 15 minutes...I'm thinking of having this set-up close to the house (covered porch downstairs) and just lift it when I wake up...have a 2 gallon bucket next to it and scoop the goop and feed before leaving. How long does it take for the scoop and how many chickens are you feeding. We have close to 40 overall and now in 2 coops. I have about 10 to 15 minutes now to get everyone situated prior to leaving for work due to darker in the AM. Soon the light in the AM will be later. Maybe we need solar garden lights in the pasture so I can see what I'm doing in the AM (no electricity or water over there). DH is grumpy in the morning and will not get up early to help (this is 'my hobby...so 'my responsibility'..his is 'fishing').

 

[Leahs Mom]

How much do buckets cost where you live?

By the time you've done all the scooping and mixing, I've hung the bucket and the water immediately drains off the top portion enough to feed...I don't need to drain the whole bucket to get dryer feed.

When buckets are cheap( $3-$5 ea. here) and time is not, I like to invest in less time wasted. The bucket will last the lifetime of what I need it for but in the time I wasted scooping, mixing in feed that isn't fermented, leaving it overnight for the rodents to scavenge any of it and hoping it ferments along with the wet feed, I could have fed and already left the coop long ago.

My buckets are free (get them from the bakery dept. at the local grocery). I just don't like the powders sifting out. And I'm only feeding 6 right now. I don't mix dry stuff back in like pigeon. If it's not totally drained I don't worry abt it. They drink that too, and It's not much.

 

[MyGardenHelper]

How much do buckets cost where you live?

By the time you've done all the scooping and mixing, I've hung the bucket and the water immediately drains off the top portion enough to feed...I don't need to drain the whole bucket to get dryer feed.

When buckets are cheap( $3-$5 ea. here) and time is not, I like to invest in less time wasted. The bucket will last the lifetime of what I need it for but in the time I wasted scooping, mixing in feed that isn't fermented, leaving it overnight for the rodents to scavenge any of it and hoping it ferments along with the wet feed, I could have fed and already left the coop long ago.

I buy 3 gallon food-grade for 0.75 cents. 5 gallon for $1.50 and 2 gallon for 0.50 cents at a local Asia Mart. Used to hold frosting, etc. They know me well I try to buy a few things from them so they don't associate me with 'the cheap bucket lady.' She did ask me one day what I use them for. I told her that I sprout for the chickens and llamas and soon milk goats. She wants me to take a photo and show her next time I come it. I asked her to save some 5 gallon buckets for me. They make great food storage containers for both bulk human and animal food.

 

[Ashdoes]

So Bee, does it matter if the food is wetter or dryer? I leave a quarter of the feeding amount in the bucket when adding more feed and water. By doing it this way, the FF smells sour by the next morning, and I still the have a second bucket I'm feeding from. I do get holes in the food, but when it's wetter I can actually see bubbles. I've been doing FF just over two weeks, and decided I preferred a thicker food. Does it affect the birds digestion either way?

 

[Beekissed]

Not really...it's all wet feed. When I mix whole grains and mash, I don't keep my feed submerged all the way...the top of the water is about 2-3 in. down from the top and I stir it all in well each time I feed. The feed on top is very moist and the feed at the bottom is very wet. When I hang the bucket it only needs to drain just a little before I have a good mash that is moist but not sopping wet.

Since I backslop, all the feed smells the same, looks the same and have the same level of ferment, it just gets cycled from top to bottom when I stir, so that whatever was on top gets tossed to the bottom and vice versa. It all takes a matter of a few minutes to feed and be out of the coop...the bucket system shouldn't take longer than about 20 seconds to drain enough off the top to feed, step back and give it a stir, close up the bucket and let it back down in the mother bucket. Simple, easy, done.

 

[Pozees]

Hey Bee, if you had a sack of blood meal and a sack of bone meal you wanted to use up, how would you use them as a supplement in your feed so that it was good for the chickens? I noticed in the OT thread that you mentioned TOO much protein at a time is NOT good for the chickens. I want to use it up, and boosting the protein content in the chicken feed IS a good use for it, I just don't want to much of a good thing at once.

Also, would you put it IN the FF as it is 'cooking' or would you top-dress your feed with it when you fed? If you add it to the feed, how much and how often would you add to a 2 gallon bucket of feed, and if you top-dress with it, how much and how often would you sprinkle on a 5ft. trough that was full?

Lots of questions, I know.

I appreciate any/all thoughts you have on this.

Thanks
Maven

Obviously I'm not Bee but spotted something on another thread which may or may not be a concern:

"She also warns that commercial bone meal and blood meal should not be fed to poultry due to the solvent perchlorethylene, which remains in small quantities in the meal. She said it can also be found in animal and fish meals. She recommends going to one's local butcher and asking for "fresh bone meal". She says this will give your birds protein, and minerals as well as phosphoric acid."

This was said to be from Alice Stern's "Poultry and Poultry Keeping," which I have not read or researched so it may not be a legitimate warning, but wanted to pass it along just in case.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a 5gal bucket and a 2 gal. bucket sitting inside of that holds the grains I am fermenting, but since i am doing it in my house I haven't figured out how to drain my 2gal into my 5 gal. without making a mess so i use a colander[ tupperware,] I scoop out the amount of grains into the colander that is sitting inside the rubber feed bowl that i will be using to feed everyone, then I go about getting coffee etc while it is draining. after it has drained I take the fermented water and pour it back into my bucket of feed. Works for me and it quick.