Fermenting feed

[Beekissed]

Thank you for the extra encouragement. I have been "playing" at chickens until now. I don't currently have the kind of records it would take to know the rate but I am setting up better records and getting more serious about each homesteading activity.

So I am currently putting the used "bunny hay" which includes pellets into the chicken pen whenever I don't needs it for plants. I am just starting with the rabbits so this procedure is in its infancy. Is that the type of thing you mean by deep composting? I have seen articles about chickens and composting and I do put a lot of scraps in there but because of where we live/our situation, there hasn't been anything that would create anything approaching a deep layer of compost until now.

It's a start, though you'll soon find that using all of one kind of material can cause matting and molding rather than composting, especially if you build it as deep as you'll need for good composting. It needs good air spaces in the mass to have good composting, so it will serve you well to place items in the mass that will increase air flow, even if it's just compostable bedding of different particle size and type~small branches, bark, wood chips, leaves, garden clean out of vines, corn stalks and shucks, etc. This past year I let the sheep eat the expired garden and found out how much that affected my DL in the coop....not nearly the rate of composting and heat generated in there as most of my bedding consisted of leaves and a little hay. Not good. My mass needed those vines, green stuff, corn stalks, etc. to create an ideal composting situation.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I am surrounded by trees. But the wind blows all of the leaves back into the woods, and I'll not go into the woods with the ticks and the poison ivy to rake leaves. So... my material is imported. I'm especially thankful when I can bring home bagged leaves. And our town dump has a composting area where I load up several times/year. Never enough, but every bit helps. I'm registered with "chip drop" have been for about 6 years, never successful there. And when chipper trucks are actually chipping on my road, and I beg them for chips, they'll never drop them here, even though I have easy access, and they drive right past my house. I pay $3.50 for a bale of trashy mulch hay.

 

[WildBird]

Fermenting rocks! To many many benefits and up-sides to name! I recently converted a friend to this and while they were previously using about half a five-galleon-bucket on three bantam chickens, they now ferment that half bucket and it spreads around to all of their chickens (I think they have 50+ at the moment!)

 

[HornyToadAcres]

Gee, am I the only one that read Fermenting rocks! And didn’t literally think it was rocks? LOL

I didn't either but didn't want to sound, well, I don't know. It so easily could have been me.

 

[CrealCritter]

"Rocks" is a figure of speech... often used in reference to Ted Nugget... Like: "Double Live Gonzo!", "Intensities in 10 Cities", "Motor City Mayhem", etc...

 

[HornyToadAcres]

I've been fermenting feed for about 10 years. It makes a huge difference in feed conversion rate. Also, as you mention, it cuts down on pilfering by wild critters. My rate is .19#/bird/day with FF, compared to .25#/bird/day when feeding dry. This is w/o free range opportunities. I'm also a firm believer that deep composting litter improves feed conversion rate, as well as viability.

Thank you for the extra encouragement. I have been "playing" at chickens until now. I don't currently have the kind of records it would take to know the rate but I am setting up better records and getting more serious about each homesteading activity.

So I am currently putting the used "bunny hay" which includes pellets into the chicken pen whenever I don't needs it for plants. I am just starting with the rabbits so this procedure is in its infancy. Is that the type of thing you mean by deep composting? I have seen articles about chickens and composting and I do put a lot of scraps in there but because of where we live/our situation, there hasn't been anything that would create anything approaching a deep layer of compost until now.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Bee, I like your comments. I think that next season, when I clean up the garden... I'll build a pile right under the roosts. It's my usual MO to clean things out in the fall to make room for the winter's accumulation. But... perhaps I'm going at it all wrong! One of my concerns is that the walls of the coop are wafer board, and I don't want the mass and moisture of the DL building up against those walls. Perhaps it's time to consider adding an inner wall to keep the moisture off the outer wall. I have some steel roofing that would do the trick.

 

[baymule]

Gee, am I the only one that read Fermenting rocks! And didn’t literally think it was rocks? LOL

 

[WildBird]

It's early yet. I had to read your post twice. I thought you were saying that you were fermenting rocks. So... scratching my head here, wondering, "How's that working for ya???"

Don't feel alone, I read the same thing....rocks? We are so old, aren't we?

I got lost on the "Fermenting rocks" also. I thought, does she actually get rotten granite from them?
My excuse - I have a terrible head cold.

I'm wondering if I'm paying WAY TOO MUCH FOR MY FEED!!!! my yard is full of rocks. Every spring, I have an incredible harvest of rocks of all size! Who knew! A bucket, half full of rocks, add water.... tincture of time..... feed out, rinse and repeat. Never ending supply of feed!!!

Gee, am I the only one that read Fermenting rocks! And didn’t literally think it was rocks? LOL

I didn't either but didn't want to sound, well, I don't know. It so easily could have been me.

I prefer Rock Soup

Yeah, sorry about that! I meant fermenting is great! But I'll stick with plain old grains for my chickens, thank you very much! 😆
And then I didn't check on for nearly a month, I just wanted to leave you all hanging!

 

[Beekissed]

@Beekissed is the queen of deep composting litter. She has a you-tube video somewhere. Bee, can you post it somewhere here for us? Or maybe you have, and it's buried???? Deep composting litter involves adding lots of mixed texture compostable materials to the coop and run to create a rich layer of bedding/compost. It breaks down while the added fecal material gets mixed in by the birds, and completely disappears. It works best in a coop with soil floor. Unfortunately, I don't have soil floor, and I have below freezing temps 6 months of the year. So... my system is not as functional as it should be. But, it IS functional enough that I DO find a few red worms in the mix when I do a partial clean out in spring and fall. My goal is to have at least 6" of bedding in my 500 s.f. run. Difficult chore, since the stuff melts so fast. But, I can go into my run, and harvest rich black compost for the garden when ever I want. Hidden benefits of composting litter: Decreased pathogens including external/internal parasites. B-vitamin production by the bacterial flora. Improved gut flora in the flock. Thus: improved viability, growth, and feed utilization. Studies have shown improved viability and growth in meat birds when successive broods of chicks are brooded on old litter from previous broods.

Sure can, though it's not the greatest of videos....