Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Mumsy]

Anyone know if rabbit food is dangerous for chickens to eat? My birds keep eating all my rabbit food

Is it medicated feed? I thought rabbit feed was a green pelleted form with added minerals and vitamins. It's been many years since I raised rabbits. Sorry I can't remember. What brand of feed do you use?

 

[aoxa]

I feed once a day for the big birds, and twice a day for chicks. I don't drain anymore because it was so tiresome. I probably go through 1/3 of a garbage can a day and I feed roughly 150 birds. That's chicks included in that, but also turkeys and geese. The turkeys eat 2 or 3 times that of a chicken.


I'd like a simpler way for my mass of birds. I'm trying a two bucket system for the chick feed since I only have a few (well 18), and the water is not draining off the chick starter. I think you don't have the soupy mess like a lot of us do because you use whole grains and mash. I only have access to crumble or pellets, both of which are clogging the little holes I made. Is there something I can do to better this?

I had the same problem. I made bigger holes    Yes some of the mush from the layer pellets goes thru the holes but I scoop it out every once in awhile & add it to the FF mix.  I use pellets, BOSS, scratch & rolled oats (from grocery store)  Now my biggest prob is the BOSS seeds getting stuck lol 

Okay, I'll try bigger holes than!

Anyone know if rabbit food is dangerous for chickens to eat? My birds keep eating all my rabbit food

Is it medicated feed? I thought rabbit feed was a green pelleted form with added minerals and vitamins. It's been many years since I raised rabbits. Sorry I can't remember.  What brand of feed do you use? 

Shur Gain. It's not medicated. I have no idea what it consists of. I have just two barn bunnies hopping around and looking cute No real purpose other than cuteness really. I just don't want anyone getting sick from eating their pellets.

 

[B J Hopkins]

I do NOT make my FF feed fresh every couple days. I never use it up each day but always have a bit left over. To that I add enough feed for the next day, more Kombucha & water/stir and serve the next day. I've been feeding ff since the middle of Oct and have never completly emptied the feed container. Food has never smelled bad. Chickens love it. Also I found out that when I serve it too thin is when I still get runny droppings. So I've been serving the feed thicker and like the results better

 

[Tivona]

Where did you get 'em?

Local feed store here, its sort of a local grange type store. Not sure what is available in other areas but grass pellets are used for horses and rabbits and some other critters so they should be available most places. Ask where ever you get your feed about grass pellets and they should have something like it.

 

[Ashdoes]

I do NOT make my FF feed fresh every couple days. I never use it up each day but always have a bit left over. To that I add enough feed for the next day, more Kombucha & water/stir and serve the next day. I've been feeding ff since the middle of Oct and have never completly emptied the feed container. Food has never smelled bad. Chickens love it. Also I found out that when I serve it too thin is when I still get runny droppings. So I've been serving the feed thicker and like the results better

Same here, my bucket never fully gets emptied. This way when I add feed and water it cooks real fast, and then I add enough extra feed to thicken it up. I don't think my system is complicated at all...one bucket, food, water and ACV, making no more than four days worth just makes it easier on me.
I've also noticed that if it's too thin the birds have different poos. Also, when it's too thin my Silkies end up with crusty heads.

 

[aoxa]

I do NOT make my FF feed fresh every couple days. I never use it up each day but always have a bit left over. To that I add enough feed for the next day, more Kombucha & water/stir and serve the next day. I've been feeding ff since the middle of Oct and have never completly emptied the feed container. Food has never smelled bad. Chickens love it. Also I found out that when I serve it too thin is when I still get runny droppings. So I've been serving the feed thicker and like the results better

Same here, my bucket never fully gets emptied. This way when I add feed and water it cooks real fast, and then I add enough extra feed to thicken it up. I don't think my system is complicated at all...one bucket, food, water and ACV, making no more than four days worth just makes it easier on me.
I've also noticed that if it's too thin the birds have different poos. Also, when it's too thin my Silkies end up with crusty heads.

I do NOT make my FF feed fresh every couple days. I never use it up each day but always have a bit left over. To that I add enough feed for the next day, more Kombucha & water/stir and serve the next day. I've been feeding ff since the middle of Oct and have never completly emptied the feed container. Food has never smelled bad. Chickens love it. Also I found out that when I serve it too thin is when I still get runny droppings. So I've been serving the feed thicker and like the results better

I do it the same way as both of you guys

BJ - Lol my silkies are the same. They really like to get in there. Doesn't look pretty when it's too thin

 

[Lacy Blues]

We've been in the midst of torrential rain and wind storms here in the PNW for days now and no end in sight. My seven birds are confined to coops with out access to green stuff until the storms pass so the thought of adding alfalfa to my FF sounded intriguing.
A 40 lb. bag of alfalfa cubes cost me $12.
I will ask about the timothy grass pellets next time.
I soaked six alfalfa cubes in warm water for a few minutes then tossed the whole thing in the FF. Stirred once. Gave a sample to all the birds. They gobbled it down faster than ever I've seen since getting them! Especially the 3 1/2 month old Silkie chicks!
My FF is two weeks old now and a bucket full of bubbly goodness. Sometimes it's soupy sometimes it's thick as mortar. Never seen any mold ever. No mess, no fuss, just scoop and go. I use the two bucket method. It works very well for me and I just use one scoop and one bowl each feeding. About two gallons going at any time. The same liquid with mother I started with two weeks ago. I just add every other day to keep it percolating. Pretty straight forward and easy.

I thought that the alfalfa cubes would be a much higher fiber content (loaded with sticks). Are they not?

These statements make me think that mine isn't fermenting to it's full potential. Mine really only bubbles when I stir, I never see bubbles when it's just sitting there. Any suggestions?

If your ff is nice and thick then you won't see bubbles. You may hear them if you're sitting near by on a quiet evening. In the morning before you feed, you may see little holes in the surface of your ff. These mean that it is fermenting just fine.

I feed once a day for the big birds, and twice a day for chicks. I don't drain anymore because it was so tiresome. I probably go through 1/3 of a garbage can a day and I feed roughly 150 birds. That's chicks included in that, but also turkeys and geese. The turkeys eat 2 or 3 times that of a chicken.
I'd like a simpler way for my mass of birds. I'm trying a two bucket system for the chick feed since I only have a few (well 18), and the water is not draining off the chick starter. I think you don't have the soupy mess like a lot of us do because you use whole grains and mash. I only have access to crumble or pellets, both of which are clogging the little holes I made. Is there something I can do to better this?

According to Bee, you can give lay pellets to chicks. I just wouldn't start them on it. I bought one 5 lb bag of starter for 4 chicks and when that's gone, they're going to get what everyone else gets.

 

[TeacherDude]

Thanks for keeping FF simple! It has been an effective practice for me with my small flock of 14 chickens. The eggs are larger, the poop less messy, the chickens eat it (so does the dog!), and the routine is simple, fast, and effective. Even though I'm a newbie (again) to chickens, I really think I've learned enough to do it without this thread...yet I keep returning...but now sure why now. Everything seems to repeat or get very nit-picking.

 

[aoxa]

We've been in the midst of torrential rain and wind storms here in the PNW for days now and no end in sight. My seven birds are confined to coops with out access to green stuff until the storms pass so the thought of adding alfalfa to my FF sounded intriguing.
A 40 lb. bag of alfalfa cubes cost me $12.
I will ask about the timothy grass pellets next time.
I soaked six alfalfa cubes in warm water for a few minutes then tossed the whole thing in the FF. Stirred once. Gave a sample to all the birds. They gobbled it down faster than ever I've seen since getting them! Especially the 3 1/2 month old Silkie chicks!
My FF is two weeks old now and a bucket full of bubbly goodness. Sometimes it's soupy sometimes it's thick as mortar. Never seen any mold ever. No mess, no fuss, just scoop and go. I use the two bucket method. It works very well for me and I just use one scoop and one bowl each feeding. About two gallons going at any time. The same liquid with mother I started with two weeks ago. I just add every other day to keep it percolating. Pretty straight forward and easy.

[COLOR=4B0082]I thought that the alfalfa cubes would be a much higher fiber content (loaded with sticks).  Are they not?[/COLOR]

These statements make me think that mine isn't fermenting to it's full potential. Mine really only bubbles when I stir, I never see bubbles when it's just sitting there.  Any suggestions?

[COLOR=4B0082]If your ff is nice and thick then you won't see bubbles.  You may hear them if you're sitting near by on a quiet evening.  In the morning before you feed, you may see little holes in the surface of your ff.  These mean that it is fermenting just fine.[/COLOR]

I feed once a day for the big birds, and twice a day for chicks. I don't drain anymore because it was so tiresome. I probably go through 1/3 of a garbage can a day and I feed roughly 150 birds. That's chicks included in that, but also turkeys and geese. The turkeys eat 2 or 3 times that of a chicken.

I'd like a simpler way for my mass of birds. I'm trying a two bucket system for the chick feed since I only have a few (well 18), and the water is not draining off the chick starter. I think you don't have the soupy mess like a lot of us do because you use whole grains and mash. I only have access to crumble or pellets, both of which are clogging the little holes I made. Is there something I can do to better this?

[COLOR=4B0082]According to Bee, you can give lay pellets to chicks.  I just wouldn't start them on it.  I bought one 5 lb bag of starter for 4 chicks and when that's gone, they're going to get what everyone else gets.[/COLOR]

I don't give layer to any of my birds. Never have, never will. Right now my staple food is the turkey grower. I have heard far too many people explain how layer can damage organs of unlaying chickens (i.e.: chicks, roosters, hens in molt, old hens taking a break, etc). Plus layer is not a good food choice for breeders. Flock raiser is ideal, but most use game bird feeds for their breeding birds. I find it too pricy myself, and like the results of the turkey grower.

I do have a small bag of chick starter though. I have been making a mix of the starter and some of the FF the older birds are on.

 

[pigeonguy]

Yep easy peasy never had to start over. I do add ACV when the smell starts to go away. It does bubble a lot when stirred but it also has bubble holes is the mix before that. I have put some effort into figuring how much dry to put back in but that was easy enough. If I take out 6 scoops FF I put back in 4 scoops dry and a little less than 3/4 gallon of water. That makes it real sloppy but then the next morning it only has a little water on top about an inch I stir it and that night when I feed it has soaked that up and looks thick with a generous layer of mother on top. My 5 gallon bucket is 2/3 full I take out half (6 scoops) that leaves 1/3 of a bucket add back the dry (4 scoops) next night it is 2/3 full.
What I carry to the coop 6 Scoops ff 2 scoops dry stir together. No holes in my trough to drip into the litter (moisture is bad) and make a mess and the trough is clean the next day.
Now that's what works for me. So take whatever feeding method works for you and do whats below.

If you are having mold problems do yourself a favor.
1 Make sure you keep the sides of your bucket scraped clean so that it can dry and not mold.
2 Feed out of the same bucket and replenish it every day.
3 Never use more than half of what is in your bucket before refilling.(if you need more than that
you should have two buckets of FF.
4 Don't let it ferment more than 24 hours it is not necessary and IMO raises the acidity to high
giving watery poops. To much of a good thing is a bad thing.
5 Shake your ACV before using to stir up the mother. Ain't no good if you don't.
5.5 Add one touch of ACV on Wednesday and another touch on Sunday.

It does not matter if your doing it the way Bee does it with two buckets or if your doing it the way I do with one bucket. This will prevent your mold issues.

Now I said if your having mold problems do that. If your not keep doing what your doing it seems to work for you.