Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[ChestnutRidge]

I am not good w/ measured recipes

I don't measure the dilute, and I never diluted it the 20:1 before diluting the stuff again. I made the straight stuff and store it as straight and use it from that I usually put about somewhere between table and teaspoon in my sprayer of water, it is way over concentrated,(according to how dilute they use it as) but it is cheap and easy to make so I don't sweat the concentration.


I didn't know about the second molt either until recently.

I thought they had some super-diluted thing... Your method sounds good to me. I like it.

Thanks!

Well, I gave 7- and 4- week old chicks some mildly fermented feed (it had been in for less than 24 hours) and the 7-week olds rushed to it and gobbled it down in minutes. The 4-week olds were more timid, but theirs was gone by the time I got home from work, too. I scooped out some for them and just dumped in about the same amount of dry and stirred it in with the rest. We'll see how this works. I gave them a second round, and they went right to work on that as well. So far, so good. At this stage, it has a pleasant smell, and they are eating it. I'll let you know how it goes from here!

 

[Beekissed]

Mine has always had a pleasant smell...slightly sour, picklish smelling but not acrid at all. My birds still prefer it and my coop~after 10 wks of CX and the last 2 wks of them being confined to the coop exclusively~has no smell whatsoever, no flies..nothing!

An added benefit of them being raised on forage is that they keep their deep litter actively turned and fluffed to keep moisture down as they search and search for bugs. The confinement has allowed those toned, free ranging muscles to loosen and become more lax and they also are putting on more weight when they aren't running it all off.

The meat is flavorful, mild and tender!

I really have enjoyed working with the FF and it has extended my feed so very much while keeping my birds healthy and clean!

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Two days without the Ff and I noticed alot more flies around the coup, two days back on FF and there weren't any flies today. They are also staying out in the fields all day, not running me down at noon wanting to eat something. I really should find some sort of measure for their daily allotment instead of guessing, but they didn't eat as much tonight at five or so, whereas the broody and her four chicks are up to three heaping spoonfuls. The hen actually peeked around the corner asking for more...I guess they like it

 

[Kassaundra]

How do you get no flies w/ FF??? The Okie flies love FF.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know...but I LOVE it!

It could be purely happenstance, as we are noticing very few flies at all this year....just some bottle flies when butchering and sometimes not even then. The other morning I processed the whole morning without a single fly visit.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

i think it's no flies around the 'poop' on the ground where I feed. You would notice them cause they are big enough to carry a parachute. Actually, I haven't seen any around my feeders or bucket but thanx for the heads up, I am keeping everything outside right now (convienence) and keep a eye out...I should be thinking about attracting coons too. But my system is so small and I will start two going in case of accidents.
I finally finished my once a year spring cleaning the coop. I told myself it was because I didn't want to raise dust with the broodies in there, but when the grandkids said it stinks, well...time to get going.

 

[galanie]

Texas flies love FF too. And since I feed close to the back door, well, the feeders are a bit farther away now.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote: Florida flies love FF too! I would cover the buckets with nylon stockings (knotting the legs together and using the waist part to stretch over the rim) but there were still large swarms practicing their landing patterns around the table where I kept my fixin's. I was fermenting chick starter and layer pellets, haven't tried doing the grains because they're more costly. Don't know if that makes a difference to the flies.

But I've stopped for now, the liquid got funky for the last batch, and the flies got on my nerves. Although I'm looking forward to doing FF in the fall when I get another batch of CXs. We're starting a new contest at the South Fla Fair (in Jan) for meat birds. Those entering will all select their chicks from a common order to raise at our homes, then we bring our best 3 to show at the Fair. I'm hoping that by feeding FF my birds will bring home a prize!

A few months ago a small group of us did something similar -- not for entering in a contest, but just to raise & then come together for processing. It was interesting to see the differences between each of our birds, and hear about all the different methods we each were using.

 

[dirtylittlefly]

Poo question!

Background: I've got 2 Cuckoo Marans, one Silkie, and a Barred Rock. They're about 9 weeks old and *still* in the brooder in my spare room! (Coop is almost done.... spoiled chickens.) Since starting FF 2 weeks ago, I've noticed a decrease in smell, instead of nasty chicken pooo it's more of an ammonia smell by the end of the week. We change out 2 in shavings once a week. I've had a couple batches of FF go south on my so I only ferment for about 12 hours, leave some in the bottom and add more ACV every other time. Now that I'm adding it more often I'm making larger batches again to try and get the ferment longer but they devour it so fast. They're getting Nature Smart Organic chick crumbles that I'm fermenting using the sourdough method. When I feed it to them it's usually about the consistency of Almond butter, sometimes more like oatmeal. Also, their water intake is much less than before and I also supplement their water with leftover whey from yogurt making. They love their half-spoonful of plain yogurt in the evening as well.

My question is.... their poo is soft. Not runny like diarrhea, but very soft and smooshes apart when I poke it. It leaves a pretty clearish wet spot around it so the water content is definitely higher. It's a darker shade and formed, so long as it's not dropping from a tall height. Has anyone else noticed this? Is my feed too wet and they're just excreting excess water?

 

[Beekissed]

I wouldn't worry about it as they have the ability to regulate their own water usage, so too much water in the feed doesn't matter because it only keeps them from haunting the waterer. During the hotter months chicken stool tends to be a little more watery and it may just be due to their drinking more...not sure if that's the reason but I don't see anything wrong with it. I drink more when it's hot out too.

I keep my FF bucket with the lid on it, snapped closed on one side and slivered/cracked open on the other side...this keeps my lid on but lets air flow happen. I keep it right in the coop next to the feeder~it doubles as a roosting spot for these crazy CX so the lid is encrusted with poo.

Even with the poo on the lid top, there are no flies....I think we may just be having one of those years that has no flies. The deep litter helps with this as there is no visible poo on the surface, the chickens keep it worked into the bedding. I don't see any flies on the feed itself that is left in the trough and the only visitor to the feed buckets seem to be tiny sweet ants. They don't go inside the bucket but they sure do like the fluid that has spilled down the sides and dried.