Fermented feed smells weird

[Greystone farm]

So I tried fermenting some grower feed for my chickens. It’s been a few days and I opened the lid to check on it to find that it smells very strongly, almost like cheese. It kind of smells like vomit. I’ve read that this means I should toss it, but the feed itself doesn’t look rancid or moldy to me at all. I’ve attached some pics below. Should I throw it out???

 

[Battlepants]

Toss it, the bad bacteria took over and this batch went bad. Ideally, you want it to smell like a bakery, but smelling like a brewery is also acceptable.

 

[Greystone farm]

Toss it, the bad bacteria took over and this batch went bad. Ideally, you want it to smell like a bakery, but smelling like a brewery is also acceptable.

Okay. Thanks!

 

[Percheron chick]

I'd shoot for a more watery consistency. I want it to not have any lumps and bumps on the top. No feed out of the water. In this heat, it doesn't need to ferment more than 24-36 hours.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Fermented feed, in my experience, has always had a kind of gross, sour smell. I still feed it to them except for one batch that had a worse smell and visible mold because I didn't put enough water. Mine have never gotten sick.

Maybe try it again and compare it with this batch. You can even stick this batch in the fridge and wait to compare them. Honestly in my experience different feeds have made smellier or less smelly fermented feed. The stinkiest I've made so far was made from Producer's Pride 16% layer pellets. DuMor Organic layer pellets were slightly less smelly. I'm gonna try it with Nutrena this week.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Especially in summer I would shorten the amount of time on your ferment (24 hrs for first serving with the goal of using it up by day 3 or so). Compare how it smells at that point to how this batch smelled.

Also not sure how tightly you covered it... I leave mine uncovered but if you need to keep flies out, some cheesecloth over the top will let it breath while excluding bugs.

 

[Tonyroo]

The smell should be like yeasty bread. When you mix the feed with water, have the feed under the water by half an inch. So there's a water surface and not the feed. If your indoor climate is on the warm side use the feed after 24 hours.

Make enough for 2 day use at a time in a contain. You can use multiple containers to overlap through the week.
If the container doesn't have a very wide opening, you can use several layers of cheesecloth to cover the opening and tie it tight to the container. When ready to use flip the container upside down with the cheesecloth and you will be able to drain the water. Flip it back and use it.