Silkie thread!

[Mumsy]

thank you so much,I will definately give this a try. I assume it will help w/not having to buy a lot of meds. Again thanks

You are very welcome!

I'm an old timer. I've been raising chickens on and off my entire life. That's 60 hard lived people years. I've done it the 'buying and treating with lot's of med's' way. I simply got tired of spending so much $ on feed and the other poison stuff and seeing no real change in my flocks health, worm, external parasites and disease load, and fertility. Those problems become super problems and super bugs and it takes more and more stronger chemichals to treat those super bugs and super problems. Not until I started feeding them FF exclusively did I see a real change
. It's kind of a balancing act. Getting your ferment to a place where you like making it, it's easy to make, and the chickens like eating it and start thriving. Besides feeding my Silkies FF I dust them with wood ash and use Nu stock if they have mites or lice. I know this makes for dirtier white Silkies but I prefer doing it than having poison floating in the air for them to breath and for me.

I like saving money. Who doesn't? FF saves on your feed bill, your med's bill, and you get healthy fertile Silkies. What's not to love about that?

 

[PaintedFeathers]

Just got put on a list for an OES litter planned for the end of summer! YAY! and the woman is near by too! Gonna be expensive but well worth it! Now for the hard part... waiting! Her dogs were shown on the OES episode of dogs 101!

On a side note, if you ferment layer feed, does it retain it's calcium levels or does the calcium break down?

 

[Mumsy]

On a side note, if you ferment layer feed, does it retain it's calcium levels or does the calcium break down?

I never feed layer. Ever. It can damage the kidneys of male chicks. I offer oyster and grit free choice to layer flocks and penned breeders. I feed back crushed eggs shell to the free range birds.
Fermented feed makes the protein content of grains more easily absorbed by birds. Instead of passing the extra in excretment, it is utilized by the bird. Fermenting grains gives you the biggest bang for your buck when feeding livestock.

 

[PaintedFeathers]

I never feed layer. Ever. It can damage the kidneys of male chicks. I offer oyster and grit free choice to layer flocks and penned breeders. I feed back crushed eggs shell to the free range birds.
Fermented feed makes the protein content of grains more easily absorbed by birds. Instead of passing the extra in excretment, it is utilized by the bird. Fermenting grains gives you the biggest bang for your buck when feeding livestock.

yeah I don't give it to my roo, but I currently only have 2 hens, Nori who does lay and Icelynn who doesn't yet but hopefully soon. I mix it with starter/grower h and h feed. Is this fine? Can I ferment the H and H with a small amount of the layer? The layer has min calcium 3.4% max 3.9%.

 

[RockerHen]

Wet her crest back and take a photo for us.

This is the best pic I could take...she was none too pleased about me poking around her face. Also it's upside down for some reason. Kind of hard to see but it has roughly an oval shape with little bumps/knobs all over it.

 

[crystal10asee]

You are very welcome!

I'm an old timer. I've been raising chickens on and off my entire life. That's 60 hard lived  people years. I've done it the 'buying and treating with lot's of med's' way. I simply  got tired of spending so much $ on feed and the other poison stuff and seeing no real change in my flocks health, worm, external parasites  and disease load, and fertility. Those problems become super problems and super bugs and it takes more and more stronger chemichals to treat those super bugs and super problems.  Not until I started feeding them FF exclusively did I see a real change
. It's kind of a balancing act. Getting your ferment to a place where you like making it, it's easy to make,  and the chickens like eating it and start thriving. Besides feeding my Silkies FF I dust them with wood ash and use Nu stock if they have mites or lice. I know this makes for dirtier white Silkies but I prefer doing it than having poison floating in the air for them to breath and for me.
I like saving money. Who doesn't? FF saves on your feed bill, your med's bill, and you get healthy fertile Silkies. What's not to love about that?

sorry, I'm still curious as to why the second bucket.I understand its for drainage reasons ,but why can't u leave out holes and do just one bucket? Or does the excess build up toxins or something

 

[Mumsy]

yeah I don't give it to my roo, but I currently only have 2 hens, Nori who does lay and Icelynn who doesn't yet but hopefully soon. I mix it with starter/grower h and h feed. Is this fine? Can I ferment the H and H with a small amount of the layer? The layer has min calcium 3.4% max 3.9%.

I personally wouldn't ferment the layer. Read the label really carefully. Is there animal by product in it? Are there a lot of ingrediant's you can't even pronounce the names in it? In my experience, if you can say yes to those two questions, your ferment will stink. You wouldn't want to feed it to your birds. You wouldn't want it sitting in a bowl on your kitchen counter.

I would ferment your starter/grower if it is vegetable based. Add goodies to it. Like the powdered garlic, Oregano, Thyme, Basil, or a little yogurt. It will smell yummy to you and your chickens will go crazy for it. Chickens are omnivores. They want and crave meat. I don't ferment meat in my mash but offer little bits of raw meat to my birds. They love it. Make sure the pieces are little bits so they can get them through to their gizzard no problem. Offer oyster, egg shell, and grit free choice. You can't go wrong feeding this way. You can always up the protein content of your ferment by adding ground Pumpkin seed or whole wheat.

 

[crystal10asee]

yeah I don't give it to my roo, but I currently only have 2 hens, Nori who does lay and Icelynn who doesn't yet but hopefully soon. I mix it with starter/grower h and h feed. Is this fine? Can I ferment the H and H with a small amount of the layer? The layer has min calcium 3.4% max 3.9%.

I'm just learning(obvious I know). I had know ideal about the boys not being able to eat the Layin mesh!!!! I'm literally killing my boys and clueless! Seeing as how there housed in the same pen. So glad I saw this thread.thank you soooo much! I have a feeling you'll be hearing those words many times if this keeps up.

 

[Mumsy]

sorry, I'm still curious as to why the second bucket.I understand its for drainage reasons ,but why can't u leave out holes and do just one bucket? Or does the excess build up toxins or something

When fermenting a larger amount of mash, the double bucket system makes it easier to keep the mash back slopped with the ferment juice.

Ingrediant's I use to make Fermented Feed for my layer flock or keep them healthy. Cod Liver oil gell caps and eye droppers for ailing birds.Bag balm for my chapped hands.

My double bucket system. Smaller bucket with holes allows the fermenting liquid to freely back slosh the mash.

The mash in the inner bucket. I stir every day. I add fresh crumble every other day. Think about how you would make sour dough bread starter. You need to feed the ferment. It starts to go bad when it sits too long. Like more than four or five days without fresh.

 

[crystal10asee]

I love this. Is that literally some kind of squirell nuts? O.k. now I'm just stupid!

When fermenting a larger amount of mash, the double bucket system makes it easier to keep the mash back slopped with the ferment juice. Ingrediant's I use to make Fermented Feed for my layer flock or keep them healthy. Cod Liver oil gell caps and eye droppers for ailing birds.Bag balm for my chapped hands. My double bucket system. Smaller bucket with holes allows the fermenting liquid to freely back slosh the mash. The mash in the inner bucket. I stir every day. I add fresh crumble every other day. Think about how you would make sour dough bread starter. You need to feed the ferment. It starts to go bad when it sits too long. Like more than four or five days without fresh.