Cornish Cross Spring 2020

[Lazy Gardener]

I love doing my FF. Have been doing so for years, and even this winter, when temps down into single digits, the birds have been able to eat their FF with me only having to add some dry pellets on a few days. IME, i would still have to be carrying the same amount of water out to the birds every morning. But, with FF, at least 1/2 of their water is in the feed. Less water for them to muck up in the heated bowl, and I don't have to top off the heated bowl as often. I found that my bird's consumption of FF is .19#/bird/day compared to .25#/bird/day when feeding dry. So... a definite savings.

 

[Beekissed]

I love doing my FF. Have been doing so for years, and even this winter, when temps down into single digits, the birds have been able to eat their FF with me only having to add some dry pellets on a few days. IME, i would still have to be carrying the same amount of water out to the birds every morning. But, with FF, at least 1/2 of their water is in the feed. Less water for them to muck up in the heated bowl, and I don't have to top off the heated bowl as often. I found that my bird's consumption of FF is .19#/bird/day compared to .25#/bird/day when feeding dry. So... a definite savings.

That saving really adds up with CX birds, as their consumption is so high. I feel the FF keeps them better hydrated, less prone to heat issues, and also seems to add more flavor to the meat....CX don't have much flavor to begin with compared to an older DP broiler, so any added flavor is a bonus.

Now, more than ever, the need to make feed stretch is imperative, so FF is a great way to help do that....also keeps down illness, flies, and smells.

 

[baymule]

I have some clabbered kiefer in the refrigerator in the refrigerator that I've been saving for fermenting the feed with. I'll be mixing up some fermented feed tomorrow. How long do I let it set before feeding it? It will be in a building that gets rather hot, how will that affect it?

 

[baymule]

Bay, how many bags did you buy? My count right now: 9 bags layer, 1 bag starter, 3 bags grow and show. I've never had this much feed on hand, and it flies completely in the face of my "Never have more feed on hand than you will use in 6 weeks. However, at this time, i think I'd rather have stale feed available than NO feed!

I'm trying to count up in my head. We got 9 bags of hog feed, have 6 bags whole corn, 20 bags 14% all purpose pellet-the sheep, horses and chickens all eat it, and 10 bags of game gird crumble for the meat chicks.

 

[Beekissed]

I have some clabbered kiefer in the refrigerator in the refrigerator that I've been saving for fermenting the feed with. I'll be mixing up some fermented feed tomorrow. How long do I let it set before feeding it? It will be in a building that gets rather hot, how will that affect it?

Makes it ferment rather quickly, especially with a starter like that. You'd likely mix it the night before and be ready to feed it out the next day~that first day you'll detect a slight yeasty smell, but each day after that the smell will grow stronger into a sourdough smell. Save a little in the bottom of your bucket each rebatch to "back slop" the next batch. Don't worry about it getting too fermented, with the CX you'll be feeding it out rather quickly. Don't worry about any white fuzz you may see on the feed or the bucket, just stir it in....in that hot of a storage place, it will be yeast growth but that's all good.

Might want to feed it to the layers as well....you'll be shocked at how sweet and mild the eggs taste. Takes the sulfur taste right out of them, leaving a nutty, sweet and clean flavor behind. Also takes that farmyard smell and taste out of their meat. It's kind of cool how that simple process provides so many benefits, both to the animal and their environment but also to the end result of the meat. Same with hogs...increases wt. gain, increases health, increases flavor of the meat...decreases overall food cost.

 

[baymule]

Thanks Bee.

 

[baymule]

The pasture the chickens are in was a snarl of green briars and saplings a year and a half ago. I pastured chickens there last spring and doing it again this spring. There are some stumps that have to get cut down to ground level. Most of them I can lift the tractor over, but there was a tall stump that was in the immediate way, so I asked a neighbor to come cut it for me. He cut several for me and I will pay him with a chicken. LOL still have some more to cut, but I have a couple weeks to get them done.

This is where I’m going with the tractor, down over and back.

I started them on the fermented feed Friday evening. They were all excited to get their food, chirping loudly, and plunged into the pan when I set it down. They jumped back out, looking for their Feed. Other chicks jumped in the pan, not liking what they found. Confused, hungry, chirping loudly and milling around, I laughed at the silly dirty birdies. I sprinkled the top of the mush with dry crumble. THAT they recognized and they chowed down. I had to keep adding dry crumble to get them to eat. Yesterday morning , same thing. Had to add dry crumble to get them to recognize it as their food. Yesterday evening the pan was empty. They had eaten every speck. I had dry crumble ready, but didn’t need it. When I set the pan in the tractor, the Chicks swarmed like a wad of piranhas. It was an eating frenzy.

This morning I’ll move the tractor over, move the 5 gallon water container over, fill up the pan and watch the piranhas dig in. I have 2 buckets going, I feed one in the morning, one in the evening. @Beekissed do you think that is enough time to ferment or do I need to let it set longer?

 

[Lazy Gardener]

It it puffs up, it's ready. If it doesn't get the "puff", you can add an other bucket into your rotation. Ugly white buzzards you got there, but they will be tasty. I envy your fresh green pasture to rotate them through!

 

[baymule]

The piranhas are fat and sassy. I doubled the amount they get in the mornings. They no longer have that desperate starving feeding frenzy. The tub I feed them in will hold 2 1/2 big Folgers coffee cans. They can eat that twice a day. Fermented Feed is 1 1/2 to 2 cans in the morning and 1 can in the evening. They are satisfied. They swarm the new Feed when I set it down, but they are not starving. It is a huge difference in their behavior.

I over seed the poop pads with giant Bermuda and water it in. I planted this pasture last spring with giant Bermuda and babied it all summer, running up the water bill to keep it alive in the drought. With the combination of chicken poop, new seed and Sheep barn clean out, this pasture should be roaring with growth for next year, maybe by fall.

 

[Beekissed]

This morning I’ll move the tractor over, move the 5 gallon water container over, fill up the pan and watch the piranhas dig in. I have 2 buckets going, I feed one in the morning, one in the evening. @Beekissed do you think that is enough time to ferment or do I need to let it set longer?

If you backslop and if temps are hot, it could be enough time. They usually say 12-18 hrs for a good fermentation to be throughout the mix, but if you are keeping it 70* or above where you are storing your feed, that process is likely sped up a bit.