MEAT BIRDS THREAD ~Plans, pics, pens, pluckers, processing! GRAPHIC!

[Beekissed]

I've had Brahma before...nice birds, heavy build, docile. That would be nice to have some roos to eat of the breed....with my luck, though, I'd get hens when I wanted roos. Always before I wanted more hens:roo in my hatches, as I always need more replacement hens than I need extra roos for meat.

Wonder what a Brahma roo over WR hen would produce?

 

[Snowhunter]

I'd like to note something interesting about the chicks.. observed this morning... ALL the BA's have pasty butt None of the CX do. I wonder if it has to do with having a higher consistent body temperature then the BA's?

 

[Beekissed]

Could be! Are you adding ACV to their water? They say it helps...I've never had pasty butt on any of my chicks and maybe that is why, because every waterer gets the ACV.

 

[TanksHill]

Snowhunter can you explain your clabber to me? I am not all that familiar with cows. On the oats are you using whole oats and then sprouting???

I tried to use sprouted organic grains and cobb/3 way only last year. I was feeding my laying flock and the meats the same thing. My egg production dropped drastically. I went form over a dozen eggs a day to 2 or 3.

I thought the sprouted grains would be enough of an increase in protein but I guess not. Any suggestions?

I guess I need to sit down with a calendar and figure out when to order my meats.

G

 

[Snowhunter]

I am not ignoring yall.. I promise! Just insanely busy here!! I will get back here tonight and explain the clabber and pics of the sprouting and all that as well as some updated chick pics

 

[peteyfoozer]

I clabber milk for the eggers and dogs but I have never done sprouts. Would love more info! What is the protein percentage on this kind of feed, do you think??

 

[Snowhunter]

Bee, I think the pasty butt was more of a temp issue.. warm PO to cold truck (heater didn't do much good) to warm coop? I do have the ACV in thier water.

The clabbering is basically letting the raw milk sour and form a solid type mass. That will get mixed w/the barley and fed along with sprouted oats, if I can ever get these oats to sprout. They're just regular whole feed oats and a PITA to sprout.

The sprouting just makes the nutrients in the feeds more digestable, so they utilize it better.

Here's the fodder rack I have built and you can see the various stages of things sprouting. Most of them are too thick, but I've remedied it and have been putting less per tray and it helps a lot.

Heres the trays I'm using. Holes in the bottom to facilitate drainage and give growing roots somewhere to go. I have it set up as a self watering system, so all I have to do is water the top trays and then it drains through each tray into the catch pan at the very bottom.

This is day 3.. note not very well sprouted. Too much seed per tray keeps them from sprouting properly. :/ But at least I got it remedied and it should be fine with the newer batches.

This is day 5ish,...

For the cows, its at its most nutritional around 6" in height.. but for the chickens, less works just fine I would think.

Oh, and heres the chicks yesterday

 

[Snowhunter]

I clabber milk for the eggers and dogs but I have never done sprouts. Would love more info! What is the protein percentage on this kind of feed, do you think??

Petey.. check the Fodder Feed thread on KFC Thats where I got all my info. Sprouts can be fed to chickens at couple days on. BYC has a thread about it as well, I think

 

[peteyfoozer]

I will do that! sounds interesting, thanks!

 

[Beekissed]

Thank you so much for posting the pics of the sprouts, your pans and methods~ and the chicks look great! I've heard the pasty butt has to do with temps... also maybe the CX also have such explosive and runny little poops that they can't even GET pasty butt!

I love the idea of the clabber for digestive health and performance, as well as nutrition. Excellent use of a little of one food source to make it more nutritionally valuable and digestible! Same with the sprouts. Fed in their first existing forms, they hold much less nutrition than the same amounts of grain and milk fed in the forms you have used them in....excellent repurposing, excellent frugalism and just excellent animal husbandry.

I'm going to try my meaties with the grains but I never buy or use dairy here unless it is buttermilk and I ain't wasting any of my precious buttermilk on a chicken! I'll stick with giving them Braggs style ACV for the cultured probios for increasing their nutrient absorption and replacing mineral and sodium loss.