Meatie Experiment: FF 'vs' Crumbles

[jrsckn]

Busy past few days with all the heat and moving chicks around to keep them cool.

Day 21 6/19/12 Tues

Finish bucket #14 started #15, start #16 fermenting (total 116C including bucket #16)
Fed CC 4C (total 58C)
Moved meaties from my front porch to the garage where it's cooler



Day 22 6/19/12 Wed End of Week 3 Weights

Fermented Feed Chicks
Fed bucket #15
Total feed consumed to date : 108C
Total feed during week 3 : 60C, approx 18.75lbs
Weights in oz. : 14.125, 11.625, 15.0, 15.5, 15.75, 16.375, 17.375, 17.625, 17.75, 18.375, 18.625, 18.625, 19.0, 19.125, 20.125, 20.125, 20.875, 21.125
Average weight : 17.6181 oz.
Average gain in week 3 : 8.4101 oz.
3.3333 C eaten per chick, avg. week 3
2.5231 oz. gained per C feed

Crumble Chicks
Fed 4C toCC which were consumed before weigh in and 4 more after weigh in for a total of 66C on day 22
Total feed consumed to date : 62C
Total feed during week 3 : 29C, approx 9.0625 lbs
Weights in oz. : 20.875, 21.5, 22.375, 22.375, 22.75, 23.625, 24.75, 27.625
Average weight : 23.2345 oz
Average gain in week 3 : 10.5154
3.625 C eaten per chick, avg. week 3
2.9008 oz. gained per C feed

Conclusion:
This week, the CC have a better feed/weight gain conversion by 0.377 oz./C
Last week the FFC were better by 0.5017 oz./C
I did not get starting weights on the chicks at day 1 because I was too concerned with getting the chicks off to a good start and not stressing them out too much so for overall calculations I will use 0 oz. for day one to make things simple. Overall, after 3 weeks, the CC have a gain of 2.9980 oz. / C and the FFC have a gain of 2.93635 oz. / C. So, at this point both methods are virtually equal as far as cost. But, overall, the FFC have eaten 6C per chick and CC have eaten 7.75C/chick giving them a faster growth.

Starting at week 5, I plan on sepatating the FFC into two groups. Group one will consist of 9 chicks which will continue on the fermented crumbles and group two will consist of 9 chicks eating fermented crumbles and grains split 50/50. Also, none of the chicks have been out to the tractor yet because of the weather being hot/cold/hot... so hopefully I can get them out soon.



Day 23 6/21/12 Thurs
Finish bucket # 16 start #17
Start #19 fermenting (140C)
Feed CC 4C (70C)

 

[jrsckn]

Day 24 6/22/12 Fri

Finish bucket 17 & 18 ( 132C ) start bucket 21 ( 156C ) fermenting.
Feed CC 8C (78C)



Day 25 6/23/12 Sat

Move chicks into temporary outdoor "pen" for foraging and to reduce indoor waste
Bucket 19 ( 140C ) empty, start # 22 ( 164C ) fermenting
CC still working on previous day's feed ( 78C)

 

[jrsckn]

Day 26 6/24/12 Sun

Fed CC 8C ( 86C )
Finish bucket 20 and start #21 ( 156C )
Start # 23 & 24 fermenting with broiler feed ( chicks had been on medicated starter but have been outside and I feel confident in their immune systems )



Day 27 6/25/12 Mon

Finish bucket #21 & #22 ( 164C )
Fed CC 4C broiler feed ( 90C )
I rotated out bucket #22 and fed it to my pullets so all the meat chicks would start the broiler feed on the same day.
So, bucket #22 in now fermented broiler (bucket#23 and bucket #24 is now #23)
Start bucket #24 & 25 fermenting
Day 2 outside.
The smell soming from the CC brooder is putrid. The smell from the FFC is unpleasant but it has an almost sweet smell. There are 10 more chicks in the FFC brooder and it smell 100% better than the CC brooder.

Total starter feed : FFC 156C CC 86C
Total broiler feed : FFC 8C CC 4C
Total 164 90


Day 28 6/26/12 Tues

Fed CC 8C ( 98C )
Finish bucket #23 and start #24 (180C)

FFC will be split up into two groups on 6/29; one group will be fed ff and the other will be fed ff and grains in equal amounts. Measurements will all be weighed due to the density a cup of corn, crumbles, and oats all being different.
Buckets will be labeled starting with 1A for ff/grain and 1B for ff and each bucket will contain 3lbs of feed.
Start bucket 1A fermenting : 1lb 8oz crumbles, 12oz cracked corn, and 12oz whole oats = 3lbs
Start bucket 1B fermenting : 3lbs crumbles

 

[jrsckn]

Day 29 6/27/12 Wed End of Week 4

Finish bucket #24 & 25 : 188C or roughly 60.75 lbs ( 156C starter @ 5oz/C and 32C broiler @ 6oz/C )
Fed CC 4C : 98C or roughly 31.375 lbs ( 86C starter @ 5oz/C and 12C broiler @ 6oz/C )
Total feed for all chicks : 92.125 lbs; according to Whelp Cum. intake for 26 pullets should be 104.546 so chicks are almost on target.

Calculations will include both cups and pounds but starting next week all calculations will be in lbs only since all feed will be weighed.

Fermented Feed Chicks
Total feed consumed to date : 188C 60.75lbs
Total feed during week 4 : 80C 27.00lbs
Weights in oz. : 32.25, 30.75, 32.875, 20.125, 28.625, 35.5, 24.375, 30.125, 33.00, 26.875, 34.25, 26.375, 27.375, 34.00, 28.875, 35.375, 24.625, 36.875 = 542.25oz
Avg Weight : 30.125oz. or 1.883lb ( 0.8864lb behind Whelp but their Cum intake is 0.646lbs less as well )
Avg weight gain in week 4 : 12.507oz.
Avg C eaten per chick : 4.444C/chick
Avg lb eaten per chick : 1.5lb/chick
Avg oz gained per C fed : 2.814oz./C
Avg oz gained per lb fed : 8.338 oz./lb
Overall gain oz./C : 2.884oz./C
Overall gain oz./lb : 8.926oz/lb

Crumble Chicks
Total feed consumed to date : 98C 31.375lb
Total feed during week 4 : 36C 12.250lb (20C*5oz+16C*6oz=196oz/16oz/lb=12.25lb)
Weights in oz. : 34.125, 37.25, 37.50, 39.25, 35.375, 45.25, 37.00, 40.00 = 305.75oz
Avg weight : 38.219 oz. or 2.389lb ( 0.358lb behind Whelp but their cum intake is 0.099lb less as well )
Avg weight gain in week 4 : 14.984 oz.
Avg C eaten per chick : 4.5C/chick
Avg lb eaten/chick : 1.531lb/chick
Avg oz gained per C fed : 3.330oz./C
Avg oz gained per lb fed : 9.787oz./lb
Overall gain oz/C : 3.120oz/C
Overall gain oz/lb : 9.743oz/lb

Conclusions:
Week 4 shows the CC : weigh 8.094 oz. more than the FFC
gained 2.477 more oz. than FFC
ate 0.056 more C/chick ( or 0.031lb/chick ) than FFC
gained 0.516oz more per C fed ( or 1.449oz/lb ) than FFC
Overall feed : CC 12.25C/chick or 3.922lb/chick
FFC 10.444C/chick or 3.375lb/chick
Overall gain shows the CC gained 0.236 oz more per C fed than FFC ( or 0.817oz more per lb fed )

So, the CC are converting their feed more efficiently than the FFC but the difference is less than an ounce per pound of feed which is a very small difference considering only 3-4 lbs of feed has been consumed so far. FFC are growing half a pound slower than the CC but at this point, the drastically reduced smell is a fair trade off.

 

[WalkingWolf1]

I commend you for the effort you have put forth thus far. Know that many folks anticipate your updates and your "analysis" tendencies have been put to good use.

 

[jrsckn]

I commend you for the effort you have put forth thus far. Know that many folks anticipate your updates and your "analysis" tendencies have been put to good use.

Thank you!


Day 29 6/27/12 Wed Continued

After the week 4 weigh-in, I did some quick math and separated the FFC into two groups based on individual and group weight. I wanted to have both groups close in overall weight as well as having an equal number of chicks in the same weight range. I managed to get both groups to within 0.75oz with as little stress to the birds as possible since it was so hot.
Group 1 (9 chicks) will be SFFC (straight fermented feed chicks); their weights are : 20.125, 26.875, 27.375, 28.875, 30.75, 32.875, 33.00, 35.5, 35.375 = 270.75 oz.
Group 2 (9 chicks) will be FFGC (fermented feed + grains chicks); their weights are : 24.375, 24.625, 26.375, 28.625, 30.125, 32.25, 34.00, 34.25, 36.875 = 271.50 oz.
Group 3 (8 chicks) is still the CC, no change


Day 30 6/28/12 Thurs

Start feeding weighed feed to chicks.
CC - 3lbs
FFGC - start bucket 1A - 3lbs: 1.5lb crumbles, 12oz. cracked corn, and 12oz. whole oats
SFFC - start bucket 1B - 3lbs crumbles
Kept chicks in the garage where it's cooler since temps were predicted to reach 100 with 40-50% humidity
CC panted a lot more than the FFGC and SFFC



Day 31 6/29/12 Fri

Finish bucket 1A and 1B in a.m. feeding
Mix bucket 3A and 3B; 3lb in each like previous buckets
Feed CC 3lbs
Start bucket 2A & 2B
FFGC do not like the whole oats, they leave it



Day 32 6/30/12 Sat

Feed CC 3lbs ( feeder was empty) - 6lbs consumed, 9lbs fed
SFFC - Finish 2B 7 a.m. feeding - 6lbs consumed, Started bucket 3B (9 lbs) 10:30am feeding
FFGC - Still working on 2A (6lbs) 7am but all the whole oats were consumed overnight, finish 2A at 10:30am
Mix buckets 4A and 4B; 3lbs each

So far the CC are still eating more than the other groups even though they have one less chick and the SFFC are eating more than the FFGC

 

[jrsckn]

Trying to get caught up on posts

Note: cumulative feed weight for each group of chicks listed from now on in daily posts is since week 4 when the chicks were separated. Through week 4, the CC ate 46.375lbs and the FFC ate 60.75lbs so totals listed would be in addition to that.


Day 33 7/1/12 Sun

Fed CC 2.5lbs
Finish 3A and 3B; Start 4A and 4B
Ferment 5A & 5B


Day 34 7/2/12 Mon

Finish 4B, 4A (12lbs ea)
CC fed 3.5lb (15lbs)
Ferment 6A: 1.5lb crumbles, 12oz cracked corn, 12oz oats
Ferment 6B
Start 5A & 5B
Started using 2nd bag of brooiler feed


Day 35 7/3/12 Tues

Finish 5B & 5A (15lbs each)
Ferment 7A &7B
Start 6B; use 1/3 of bucket

 

[jrsckn]

Day 36 7/4/12 Wed : Week 5 Results

Crumble Chicks
Feed consumed week 5 : 15lbs
Feed consumed to date : 46.375
Weights in pounds : 3.023, 3.000, 3.203, 3.094, 3.109, 3.555, 3.125, 2.984
Average weight : 3.137 lbs
Avg gain in week 5 : 0.748 lb
Avg lb eaten per chick in week 5 : 1.875
Avg gain per lb fed week 5 : 0.399lb
Overall lb consumed per chick : 5.797
Overall lb gain per lb fed : 0.541lb gain per lb eaten

SFFC
Feed consumed week 5 : 16lbs
Feed consumed to date : 46.375lbs
Weights in pounds : 2.633, 2.406, 2.781, 2.930, 2.773, 2.891, 1.898, 2.445, 2.383
Average weight : 2.550 lbs
Avg gain in week 5 : 0.668 lbs
Avg lb eaten per chick in week 5 : 1.778 lbs
Avg gain per lb fed week 5 : 0.375 lb
Overall lb consumed per chick : 5.153lbs
Overall lb gain per lb fed : 0.495 lb gain per lb eaten

FF+GC
Feed consumed week 5 : 15 lbs
Feed consumed to date : 45.375 lbs
Weights in pounds : 2.563, 2.141, 2.547, 2.852, 1.914, 1.984, 2.984, 2.438, 2.422
Average weight : 2.427 lbs
Avg gain in week 5 : 0.544 lbs
Avg lb eaten per chick in week 5 : 1.667 lb
Avg gain per lb fed week 5 : 0.326 lb
Overall lb consumed per chick : 5.042 lbs
Overall lb gain per lb fed : 0.481 lb gain per lb eaten


Cost to Date
$15.99 Purina Start n Grow : $0.32/lb
$16.99 Meatbird Broiler $0.34/lb
$ 9.99 Corn $0.20/lb
$ 9.99 Whole Wheat $0.20/lb

CC
Starter 26.875lb
Broiler 19.5 lb
$1.904 per chick through week 5
$0.607/lb live weight

FFC

Through week 4 before separated:
Starter 48.75lb
Broiler 12lb
$1.094 per chick

SFFC week 5:
Broiler 16lb
$0.605
Total through week 5 : $1.699 per chick
$0.666/lb live weight

FF+GC week 5:
Broiler 7.5lb
Grains 7.5lb
$0.45
Total through week 5 : $1.544 per chick
$0.636/lb live weight


Conclusions: To date the CC are still the most efficient and cheapest per pound. But the difference in cost is only $0.06 per lb between the CC and SFF and only $0.03 between the CC and FF+G. The benefits still out weigh the meager savings.

 

[jrsckn]

Day 36 7/4/12 Wed Continued

The chicks were weighed at 7am and by 11am, 4 of the CC were found dead from the excessive heat. Three more CC were pretty bad off and 2 of them didn't make it. Only one CC was up and moving around, the rest were piled on top of eachother baking in the heat. Two of the SFFC were found suffering from the heat and didn't make it either. All of the FF+GC were ok.
Total losses: CC - 5 Leaving : 3
SFFC - 2 7
FF+G - 0 9

Remaining chicks were reweighed at 10pm after it cooled off for possible use in next week's calculations since it is impossible to determine which chicks were lost.

CC: 3.094, 3.375, 3.22; based on these weights, the largest chick was lost.
SFFC : 2.156, 2.75, 3.219, 2.641, 3.047, 3.156, 3.227; based on these weights, the two birds lost were of middle weight, the largest and smallest chicks made it.
FF+GC : 2.688, 2.344, 3.125, 2.805, 2.789, 3.313, 2.109, 2.203, 2.617


Chicks didn't eat very much due to the extreme heat. Finished 6B and approx 1/3 of 6A



Day 37 7/5/12 Thurs

Finish 7A and 7B
Ferment 9A & 9B


Day 38 7/6/12 Fri

Finish 8A (24lb) and 8B (24lb)
Ferment 10A and 10B


Day 39 7/7/12 Sat

Finish 9A and Start 9B
Ferment 11A : ran out of wheat so : 1.5lb crumble and 1.5lb corn


Day 40 7/8/12 Sun

Finish 9B, 10A, 10B
Ferment 11B, 12A, 12B


Day 41 7/9/12 Mon

Finish 11A (33lbs) and 11B (33lbs)
Ferment 13A , 13B


Day 42 7/10/12 Tues

Fed CC 1lb (19lbs)
Finish 12A, 12B
Ferment 14A and 14B 1.5lb finished the bag and 1.5lbs 3rd bag of broiler

 

[thunderbolt&marjorie]

Sorry to hear about your losses. This heat has been so extreme; I just got my chicks and glad we have days not above 90!
Thanks for all the detailed record keeping!