I have eaten bbq coon, pretty good, has to be cooked right.
PREP Chickens and logistics as we age. (OP Oct 2021)
- Thread starter Jeff Allen
- Start date
Jeff Allen
Producer
This is what I bought. When I cut the grain hole, I started about 3" wide at the bottom and went up, like a funnel, so we can get a hoe in there later when we need to.
SMV Industries Grain Gate, 18" - 918 | Blain's Farm & Fleet (farmandfleet.com)
J
Jeff Allen
Producer
The grain comes in the bulk bags as pictured.
What did we save?...well, its actually more expensive than crumbles, but, we did "save" having to lift 50lb bags of crumbles about 120 times minimum, and its real grain instead of whatever is in crumbles.
J
Samuel Adams
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Fermenting chicken feed....
8 minutes and some......
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oV13p80yt58
8 minutes and some......
Samuel Adams
Has No Life - Lives on TB
And another.....on sprouting.
Works for any whole grain, untreated.
9min
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nHKii4-mp3I
Works for any whole grain, untreated.
9min
Samuel Adams
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I can tell you how many times I DIDN’T pee on the electric fence, though dared by my moronic companions to do so.
Well, I guess I can’t.
Too many times to count.
Morons.
Well, I guess I can’t.
Too many times to count.
Morons.
Peeing on it is not on my to do list.I can tell you how many times I DIDN’T pee on the electric fence, though dared by my moronic companions to do so.
Well, I guess I can’t.
Too many times to count.
Morons.
Samuel Adams
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Good idea.
You catch on, quick !!
You catch on, quick !!
PoultryNet® 12/48/3 (with drivable posts)
Used to contain chickens and other poultry. Same electrifiable mesh as standard 48" tall PoultryNet, but with stronger and stiffer drivable posts.
33dInd
Veteran Member
I used a electric dog control box
T post. Plastic insulators made for t post
Ground rod and then stretched thin wire all around the enclosure
Of course I also had a six foot chain link fence inside that electric wire and an Avery roof over the run
Jeff Allen
Producer
Well, I'm stuck in the office today and thought I might post a 6 month follow up to my original post.
The feed is over 1/2 gone, with a little bit left in the top tote (which was plump completely full). We have not touched the bottom tote, but its only about 1/3 full, so, we've used just a little over 1/2...obviously our feed needs go way down in the summer as all birds are eating what they are supposed to be eating...grass and bugs...
The feed stored perfectly. Zero issues with condensation. The totes are stored under a north facing lean too, so zero sun exposure other than reflected light from the outside world. No bugs, spider webs ect.... I do spray down our entire facility with fipronil twice per year, so we have very few little nastys around anyway, but, most importantly, none took up residence in either of our feed totes!!
So, I'm calling this one a huge win! DW isn't super pleased with the feed as it has a lot of "fines" in it, which is wasteful, so she will switch feeds next go around, but the storage method is spot on awesome!
If you ask a question on this thread and I don't respond, please hit me up with a PM....I get stupid busy sometimes and I missed the fence question above, but it was answered correctly by Marsofold, so thank you! That fence is stupid good, very high quality and if normal adults utilize it, will last a very long time...our oldest is around 7 years old and I'm not kidding when I say it looks like its two weeks old....it really does not show any wear at all. HIGHLY RECOMMENED!!!
Attaching pics of whats left of the grain in the top tote and our last set of chicks off the incubator, these are 10 days old and wow, do they grow faster than chicks that have been shipped! Getting food and water right after birth supercharges the birds for sure!
J
The feed is over 1/2 gone, with a little bit left in the top tote (which was plump completely full). We have not touched the bottom tote, but its only about 1/3 full, so, we've used just a little over 1/2...obviously our feed needs go way down in the summer as all birds are eating what they are supposed to be eating...grass and bugs...
The feed stored perfectly. Zero issues with condensation. The totes are stored under a north facing lean too, so zero sun exposure other than reflected light from the outside world. No bugs, spider webs ect.... I do spray down our entire facility with fipronil twice per year, so we have very few little nastys around anyway, but, most importantly, none took up residence in either of our feed totes!!
So, I'm calling this one a huge win! DW isn't super pleased with the feed as it has a lot of "fines" in it, which is wasteful, so she will switch feeds next go around, but the storage method is spot on awesome!
If you ask a question on this thread and I don't respond, please hit me up with a PM....I get stupid busy sometimes and I missed the fence question above, but it was answered correctly by Marsofold, so thank you! That fence is stupid good, very high quality and if normal adults utilize it, will last a very long time...our oldest is around 7 years old and I'm not kidding when I say it looks like its two weeks old....it really does not show any wear at all. HIGHLY RECOMMENED!!!
Attaching pics of whats left of the grain in the top tote and our last set of chicks off the incubator, these are 10 days old and wow, do they grow faster than chicks that have been shipped! Getting food and water right after birth supercharges the birds for sure!
J
jed turtle
a brother in the Lord
Ah, subject matter that interests me...
been hauling 22 year old whole grains out from the old root cellar from Y2K, that , of course, Exhibit all the affects of being stored in bags in a dark somewhat damp environment. Atrocious, I know. Anyways, I have been theorizing that I could dump the grain into buckets and fill with water and yeast in the summer sun and the yeast -I think - will break down the mildew-smelling whole grain into more basic components which I might be able to dry out in the sun to a powder that could be fed to - what?- mealworms? And then feed those to the chickens. Anyone ever been down that road?
Jeff Allen
Producer
I would offer another option...assuming you have chickens!
What DW does to "super conserve" feed if she is inclined, is she puts the whole grain into a big pickle jar. The jar is filled with grain, then water. This is allowed to soak/ferment for a few days (needs to be over 50f for fermenting I'm told, so we use the green house in winter for this operation as it never goes under 50f). Then feed directly to the birds. They LOVE this sort of grain and nothing is wasted!
Lots of info in the internet on this. Our operating plan on all our old grain (we are planning on rotating our long term human food grains every 20 years, and every 5 years we add a bunch) is to feed it to the chickens. With inflation, the grain purchased 20 years ago for potential human use, will end up being a great chicken feed value 20 years later...
J
Walrus Whisperer
Hope in chains...
Weevils are dang near all protein!
Walrus Whisperer
Hope in chains...
My chickens would have joyous parties when I brought out a sprouted grain tote to them. They loved the stuff!
Walrus Whisperer
Hope in chains...
When you have lots of fines, feed them as a wet mash. Uses them up just great!
jed turtle
a brother in the Lord
Thanks Jeff, I do appreciate it. And I just watched a YT this morning about fermenting grain. My major concern is the mildew/ mold smell in the grain. I guess I will just have to try both methods -fermenting naturally, or using yeast to kick it off- to see what produces something that won’t kill off the whole flock.
Jeff Allen
Producer
After watching chickens for I guess 50+ years now...I'm not sure what natural thing you could feed them, that they would eat, that hurts them.... Probably wise to test your new experiment on only one or two birds...but, I wouldn't have given that a second thought...if they eat it, they will be fine is my experience. They seem to know not to eat things that would hurt them...
J
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
My flock got a mixture of kernel corn, oat and barley. The feed was supplemented with oyster shells (to make the shells hard). I ran a few geese with them to keep off the hawks. In summer they ate all the bugs they could catch and did a good job of keeping the ticks at bay. They also got any garden and kitchen waste deemed appropriate.
Jeff Allen
Producer
Quick update.
It’s been a little over a year.
System worked perfectly.
No pesky bugs or rodent issues (rodents are aggressively exterminated with great success, but that would be another thread).
Feed was easy to use and the birds absolutely love it.
The only concerns I have are:
1. The two totes stacked are about 3” lower than the shed. This isn’t a problem now…but…with age comes poor motor control, risk of damage to building is high.
2. This feed is stupidly expensive. Source will change by the time we retire for sure.
So, I’d highly encourage anyone to use this system, works great!
J
It’s been a little over a year.
System worked perfectly.
No pesky bugs or rodent issues (rodents are aggressively exterminated with great success, but that would be another thread).
Feed was easy to use and the birds absolutely love it.
The only concerns I have are:
1. The two totes stacked are about 3” lower than the shed. This isn’t a problem now…but…with age comes poor motor control, risk of damage to building is high.
2. This feed is stupidly expensive. Source will change by the time we retire for sure.
So, I’d highly encourage anyone to use this system, works great!
J
BadMedicine
Would *I* Lie???
I concur! I'm going to plant this far and wide this year i nthe hopes of having supplemental feed "on the hoof" next fall. Also planting a huge variety of heirloom kales and squash. And mangel beets. Going to put up as many calories as possible and see how much or which the chickens will tolerate. -Also trying to find the best free rangings/foraging birds possible. Pretty excited about the icelandics, bought an incubator and going to hatch a few dozen next year and let nature sort 'em out! :-O something akin to the "STUN" method "shear, total, utter neglect."
This golden amaranth seems pretty good!
20Gauge
TB Fanatic
We just installed today a new feeder for our chickens. It is a 30 gallon plastic drum. We attached a pipe so we can refill from the outside of the coop and it has caps we can remove to fill the drum directly.
Both sides of the drum have access for the birds and they stick their heads into a pvc elbow that we have opened the back of. A lot less waste, but there is still waste.
We can now feed them once a week with this method.
note: the drum is about 8inches above the ground on blocks to make it easy access for the birds.
Both sides of the drum have access for the birds and they stick their heads into a pvc elbow that we have opened the back of. A lot less waste, but there is still waste.
We can now feed them once a week with this method.
note: the drum is about 8inches above the ground on blocks to make it easy access for the birds.
Look into comfrey, and stinging nettles. Both are very high in protein. Oilseed sunflowers (not the giant Russian striped seed types, but the sort they sell for bird seed) are an excellent energy source.
Summerthyme
When I had pigs sometime back I used to store grain in metal drums and light a small candle on top then seal.
My theory was that would kill weevils etc as oxygen would be used up by flame.
Never had any problems with pesky bugs.
Also used to soak the grain but if you soak too long it can become alcoholic I think as it used to have that Smell to it
My theory was that would kill weevils etc as oxygen would be used up by flame.
Never had any problems with pesky bugs.
Also used to soak the grain but if you soak too long it can become alcoholic I think as it used to have that Smell to it
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
Just a reminder for nubies. Chickens feed during the day and roost at night. Rats usually hid during the day and eat at night. At first we left the feed out at night. We didn't end up with a few fat rats. We ended up with lots and lots of rats that took a while to get rid of.
KMR58
Veteran Member
I‘m still doing this. I recently figured that I am using about 1/3 the quantity of feed fermented than I was dry. My girls are healthy and laying well.
Racoons=Stringy Meat. Goes good with Corn on the Cob.