How do you keep your feed costs down!!?

[delisha]

I have raised Cornish X in Wisconsin since around 1985. I grow Spinach, Clover, Oregano and some mixed grasses in their pasture area. All my chicks are on the ground by week two. I ferment my feed and free feed them for the first week. They love to eat and will eat all day long on the pasture. I feed the FF twice a day after that. Afternoons and at lock up. Because I do pasture, my birds do take a week or even two longer to be ready. The savings are worth the extra time. The chicks on FF feather out much faster.

I can grow out 25 checks at a time on pasture and 150 lbs of feed. Weather permitting.
Average butchered size is 5 1/2 lbs, 6-7 weeks.
Cold weather and hot weather are hard on Cornish. Try to avoid growing birds during extremes.

I would never grow out a chick of any variety on layer, ever.The additional additives are needed for layers and can be detriment to chicks and bone development. Internal damage does not matter for Cornish, because they are butchered before it becomes a long term problem. It does and can be a problem for all other breeds that are not butchered early.

For additional savings you can add spent grains from brewery's after they are three weeks old. Just add it to the fermented feed.Fermenting your feeds cuts down on loss. they eat less and feel fuller. Less rodent attraction because no feed is on the ground. Less waste. Additional health benefits allow the chicks to retain and gain weight faster.Less poo to clean up and virtually no odor.

1 day to 3 days old

week - 10 days olds and almost feathered out

 

[chicken dude]

what is fermented feed?

 

[Arielle]

Bulk feeds are much cheaper; bagged feed costs the labor to load the bags and load the bags into trucks and the cost of the bags. One feed company has about a25% savings on bulk feed with 3 ton minimun delivery.

Find local feeed sources. Fish? 10% of diet can be fish. Meat by products-- feed back processing waste ( cooked)

Birds fed real animal protein need less protein to grow well.

 

[delisha]

There are different types of fermenting. I use UPACV.

For 10 new chicks

2 cup of chick starter or developer (unmediated)
2 cups of warm water with electrolytes
1 tbs of UPACV (Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar)

I use a sanitized plastic coffee can.... I cover it with a towel
place the dry feed in, pour the warm electrolytes over the top and add the ACV, stir
In two hours check the feed and add additional water to just cover feed.

In two days it is ready to start feeding. For 10 new chicks feed 1/4 cup of feed 5 times a day. If they are big eaters add more at each feed. If they leave food in the dish reduce amount. At the end of the day add 1 cup dry and 1 cut warm electrolyte to your coffee can .Your liquid will continue to ferment and have a sour dough smell.

For adult birds

I use 2 3 gallon buckets, one bucket will be inserted inside of the other. You can invert a small plate in the bottom bucket to set the top bucket on.
The top bucket has 1/4 inch holes drilled in the bottom and up the sides about 1/2 way up. At feeding time, pull up the top bucket and drain the feed. Lower it back down into the liquid, after you remove the amount you are feeding.


2 coffee can scoops of dry feed (I use all-flock)
2 coffee cans of warm water
1/4 cup UPACV
stir and in 2 hours check and add more water to keep covered
I lightly place the lid on
At the end of the day, add 1 coffee can of dry and cover with water

This will feed 10-20 adult birds

You do not need to add any more UPACV

Take a picture of your birds before..and take one a month later...you will be amazed at the condition improvement of your birds and your wallet will thank you.

 

[Arielle]

There are different types of fermenting. I use UPACV.

For 10 new chicks

2 cup of chick started (unmediated)
2 cups of warm water with electrolytes
1 tsp of UPACV (Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar)

I use a sanitized plastic coffee can.... I cover it with a towel
place the dry feed in, pour the warm electrolytes over the top and add the ACV, stir
In two hours check the feed and add additional water to just cover feed.

In two days it is ready to start feeding. For 10 new chicks feed 1/4 cup of feed 5 times a day. If they are big eaters add more if they leave food in the dish reduce amount. At the end of the day add 1 cup dry and 1 cut warm electrolyte .Your liquid will continue to ferment and have a sour dough smell.

For adult birds

I use 2 3 gallon buckets
the top bucket has 1/4 inch holes drilled in the bottom and up the sides about 1/2 way up


2 coffee can scoops of dry feed
2 coffee cans of warm water
1/4 cup UPACV
stir and in 2 hours check and add more water to keep covered
I lightly place the lid on
At the end of the day, add 1 coffee can of dry and cover with water

This will feed 10-20 adult birds

You do not need to add any more UPACV

Take a picture of your birds before..and take one a month later...you will be amazed at the condition improvement of your birds and your wallet will thank you.

I didn't quite understand your instructions. Is this a one batch method? OR is this a starter, in which I continue to add feed regularly, and remove some regularly?

 

[delisha]

Yes..it is continuous feeding..

If you look at the measurements you will be able to see it.

2 cups of dry
2 cups wet
4 cups total

feed out 1 1/4 - 2 cups a day... depending on size of chicks 1/4 cup 5 times a day =1 1/4 cups of feed

You will be left with at least 2 cups of fermented feed in the coffee can at the end of the day

replace 1 cup wet 1 cup dry
2 cups total..or .the amount you feed out that day



you will always have feed in the bucket, you add the new feed to what is left in the bucket..that is what continues the fermentation

I hope this explanation helps... I am sorry I was not clear

My measurements is for my amount of birds..you need to adjust it for how many birds you have.

 

[Arielle]

Yes..it is continuous feeding..

If you look at the measurements you will be able to see it.

2 cups of dry
2 cups wet
4 cups total

feed out 1 1/4 - 2 cups a day... depending on size of chicks 1/4 cup 5 times a day =1 1/4 cups of feed

You will be left with at least 2 cups of fermented feed in the coffee can at the end of the day

replace 1 cup wet 1 cup dry
2 cups total..or .the amount you feed out that day



you will always have feed in the bucket, you add the new feed to what is left in the bucket..that is what continues the fermentation

I hope this explanation helps... I am sorry I was not clear

My measurements is for my amount of birds..you need to adjust it for how many birds you have.

Yes, not I understand the process. It is like my mother's sour dough mix we used every SUnday for pancakes. I can do this!! DH came home wiht Braggs tonight!! So excited!!

 

[wyoDreamer]

Also, Delisha didn't mention that the bucket with holes goes into the other bucket. When it is time to feed - raise the bucket with holes so that the feed is out of the water and let the feed drain. After feeding, drop the bucket back into the ferment liquid so the new dry feed can soak up the moisture and start to ferment.

 

[emptynesterMom]

I have been wanting to try fermented feed for my birds, but was unsure if I should wait until the weather is warmer. Do you keep your fermenting feed in the house or in the coop? I am in VA and the temps are 20s-30s at night and 40s-50s during the day. Is that too cool to keep the fermentation process going? Thanks

 

[delisha]

I have been wanting to try fermented feed for my birds, but was unsure if I should wait until the weather is warmer. Do you keep your fermenting feed in the house or in the coop? I am in VA and the temps are 20s-30s at night and 40s-50s during the day. Is that too cool to keep the fermentation process going? Thanks

I live in Wisconsin so I totally understand your concern. You do need a warm place to ferment. I am fermenting in the house during the cold weather, as soon as the weather improves it is going back out. I just leave it outside by the coop. I have to weigh the cover down to keep the birds out, but, it is worth the extra work. I saved over $300.00 last year on feed.
You might be OK when you increase an average of 10 more degrees