Fermented feed feeder

[JulesChicks]

Hen, do you have a pic or description of the "good ol way" and how you/ Bee Kissed does it? I've been fermenting in buckets and then dishing it out twice a day - x3 types of feed. It's too much clean up so I'd like to make this simpler. I'm already going to one type of feed soon but I will still have the daily cleanup. If you do in a some sort of dish, how would you add to it? I recently got a rubber dish with higher sides, so hopefully that has put a stop to the scratching/walking through it, pooping in it, etc in that pen. Thanks!

 

[TeaChick]

I'm started seeing the advantage of scooping into a dish over the feeder, but if the feeder needed no stirring it would be equal if not easier (because you could leave the birds and keep feeding FF) it's so strange, it worked very well at first (stirring once a day) I'm not sure which change impacted its function the most... Leaky seal, temperature...
Stirring probably aided in the seals breaking. But with the "good old way" you don't need to stir anything, in my feeder you sure have to stir... There are bulk feeders for pig slop... Wonder how they work...

I ferment in a five-gallon bucket and use a litter scooper to toss the feed out for the chickens. (I free range so I just toss the fermented grains behind the back porch, talk about lazy lol). It's pretty easy, so I'm not necessarily looking for less work per se. Right now, I put a scoop of each grain in about every other day (or several scoops if the kids have mixed the grains for me) and I add de-chlorinated water as needed to keep it stir-able.

Can you post a pic of the pig slop feeders you're talking about?

 

[TeaChick]

Hen, do you have a pic or description of the "good ol way" and how you/ Bee Kissed does it? I've been fermenting in buckets and then dishing it out twice a day - x3 types of feed. It's too much clean up so I'd like to make this simpler. I'm already going to one type of feed soon but I will still have the daily cleanup. If you do in a some sort of dish, how would you add to it? I recently got a rubber dish with higher sides, so hopefully that has put a stop to the scratching/walking through it, pooping in it, etc in that pen. Thanks!

There are YouTube videos about FF buckets and feeders. I toss it on the ground, but a lot of chicken keepers have troughs. They're two long 2x6s nailed or screwed (maybe glued) together, and then those are rested in V cuts in two short 2x6s and nailed (or screwed or glued) down so the V of the two long 2x6s hold the feed.

You can ask @Beekissed , or there's a fermenting thread...Hang on, I'll see if I can find links for you. I already checked youtube, but I couldn't find the video I was talking about.

Here's the link to the thread on BYC. It's about fermenting feed for meat birds, but any chickens can eat FF.

Here's the link to a post on that thread that has a link to a video of @Beekissed with her chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/15510#post_13292329

LMK if this doesn't do it for you. I'll keep looking and see if I can find the link to the YouTube video(s).

 

[JulesChicks]

Thanks TeaChick I'll take a look at
Those later today. Do folks just keep refilling the troughs or do they wash them out? That's the link for me right now with 4-5 different feed bowls for the different coops/brooders.
Thanks for the links!

 

[hennible]

Internet doesn't want to cooperate I'll find a slop feeder pic later, what Ive seen was pretty massive, and I didnt really look into much.
No pics of the "good old way", I just dump a bag of feed in a Rubbermaid tote that's big enough, cover with water and leave it for 3-4 days (less if I had some already fermenting in the bucket) them I just scooped it into a dish or onto the ground when I was collecting eggs... Juleschicks ferment in a bigger container once your down to one kind of feed, I was doing 50lbs at a time, I just had a bowl on the ground, but if you don't want them walking through it, I'd find some gutter and mount it at chicken hight either on my fence or coop wall, or on a stand of some sort...

 

[hennible]

This is nothing like the slop feeders I saw originally but this could work... Omg could this work!!
Actually just do an image search for slop feeders, lots of applable designs!! You would need to soak and ferment and then fill the feeder but heck this would work for days of FF feeding *in theory*

 

[TeaChick]

Thanks TeaChick I'll take a look at
Those later today. Do folks just keep refilling the troughs or do they wash them out? That's the link for me right now with 4-5 different feed bowls for the different coops/brooders.
Thanks for the links!

IDK the video that @Beekissed did says, I'm sure, whether she does/did.
I don't. I just ferment in a 5-gal bucket and then chuck out scoop(s) of it. I had a ferment going for over a year and then I just had to toss it a bit over a week ago.
When I first started, I had to keep dumping it out at least once a week!

I was told that adding water as needed was of utmost importance; however, I found that it's much more important to not add chlorine. The ferment has done better leaving water to de-cholorinate overnight and making the ferment wait even though it was drier than I liked.

Internet doesn't want to cooperate I'll find a slop feeder pic later, what Ive seen was pretty massive, and I didnt really look into much.
No pics of the "good old way", I just dump a bag of feed in a Rubbermaid tote that's big enough, cover with water and leave it for 3-4 days (less if I had some already fermenting in the bucket) them I just scooped it into a dish or onto the ground when I was collecting eggs... Juleschicks ferment in a bigger container once your down to one kind of feed, I was doing 50lbs at a time, I just had a bowl on the ground, but if you don't want them walking through it, I'd find some gutter and mount it at chicken hight either on my fence or coop wall, or on a stand of some sort...

I feel ya. I hate when the intro-web is dis-cooperative!!!

This is nothing like the slop feeders I saw originally but this could work... Omg could this work!!
Actually just do an image search for slop feeders, lots of applable designs!! You would need to soak and ferment and then fill the feeder but heck this would work for days of FF feeding *in theory*

I see. What I'm doing is less work than that. =)

 

[Beekissed]

From the looks of those slop feeders they have a galvanized feeder tray....not something you want FF sitting around in for long. It will corrode those kind of feeders and the metals will leach into the feed. And it doesn't take long at all for that to happen...a day will do it.

 

[hennible]

Thanks for the heads up

 

[luckysaysgo]

I wonder if a large ceramic pot with a built in water catcher would work? Then a lid on top? Anyone tried this?