- Thread starter
- #31
So sorry for not posting updates. Our life exploded with craziness.
We kept feeding the two tractors separately, one with fermented and the other with dry crumbles. The tractors were moved every other day, so there was no build up of poop in either. We did notice that the fermented feed eaters did have less poop and it did not smell as bad, but with moving the tractors so often, neither was bad.
We did not notice a difference in the amount amount of water they drank. Each tractor had a 5 gallon waterer which never ran dry in a day.
In the end, the fermented feed chickens ate just under 5 pounds of feed less than their dry feed counterparts during the course of their lifetime - not really enough to make a significant difference.
Honestly, in the end, we did not notice a dramatic difference in either tractor on any of the variances. The white broilers from both fermented and dry were ready to be butchered at 10 weeks. The red rangers took 3 weeks longer to get to the same weight. There were runts and giants in each category, but overall, their weight was the same (with the whites being a little larger on average).
We determined that the amount of time and energy it took to feed our meat birds fermented feed was not worth it for us (meat chickens are just one of several animals on our mini-farm). If we were not going to have the meat birds in tractors, it may have been worth it to reduce the amount and smell of the poop; otherwise, we won't feed fermented feed.
We kept feeding the two tractors separately, one with fermented and the other with dry crumbles. The tractors were moved every other day, so there was no build up of poop in either. We did notice that the fermented feed eaters did have less poop and it did not smell as bad, but with moving the tractors so often, neither was bad.
We did not notice a difference in the amount amount of water they drank. Each tractor had a 5 gallon waterer which never ran dry in a day.
In the end, the fermented feed chickens ate just under 5 pounds of feed less than their dry feed counterparts during the course of their lifetime - not really enough to make a significant difference.
Honestly, in the end, we did not notice a dramatic difference in either tractor on any of the variances. The white broilers from both fermented and dry were ready to be butchered at 10 weeks. The red rangers took 3 weeks longer to get to the same weight. There were runts and giants in each category, but overall, their weight was the same (with the whites being a little larger on average).
We determined that the amount of time and energy it took to feed our meat birds fermented feed was not worth it for us (meat chickens are just one of several animals on our mini-farm). If we were not going to have the meat birds in tractors, it may have been worth it to reduce the amount and smell of the poop; otherwise, we won't feed fermented feed.
