FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

The new feed trough is working like a dream...wish I had made one like it long ago. The bar across the top keeps the birds out of it and the new height also keeps the bedding from being kicked in it as much.

The new ferment smelled just like the old ferment within a week, so the experiment to see what happens when you start a completely fresh batch after using the same one for three years yielded nothing much...just the same ol' FF.

 

[aart]

The new feed trough is working like a dream...wish I had made one like it long ago. The bar across the top keeps the birds out of it and the new height also keeps the bedding from being kicked in it as much.
...

Was intrigued by the bar keeping the chicks from standing in the food trough.....

......but was wondering if they might perch on the bar and poop in the trough?

 

[Beekissed]

The adult birds don't as they are not in the coop all day long....out foraging. Young birds may find that a great place to roost....I'll find out soon enough and report here. If so, they will be pooping in the trough and I'll have to figure out a way to stop all of that. Most likely I'll just tip it on its side after I collect eggs of an evening so they can't use it.

 

[aart]

The adult birds don't as they are not in the coop all day long....out foraging. Young birds may find that a great place to roost....I'll find out soon enough and report here. If so, they will be pooping in the trough and I'll have to figure out a way to stop all of that. Most likely I'll just tip it on its side after I collect eggs of an evening so they can't use it.

Not just at night but anytime.....is this trough only being used for youngins or all your birds?

I had to put a wire above a feeder once because the chicks wanted to perch on the feeder and of course poop in it.

 

[Beekissed]

This is an adult feeder but I imagine as soon as the broody and chicks are let out of the pen next week they will be using it as well. They won't be perching on anything until Mom starts perching with the flock again and most...actually ALL... will attempt to perch on the roosts with her and will be quite successful at it. That's the beauty of having a broody mama with chicks...they usually will go wherever she goes and are integrated into the flock and, consequently, onto the roosts, much sooner than chicks without a mentor and protector.

All of that is another wonderful benefit of free ranging a flock and trying to raise them naturally...it all fits together much better than when we interfere too much. By the time they leave their mama and make their own pack, they will be almost as big as the adult birds and still won't be using that as a perch, as they will have already established a pecking order on the roosts.

 

[elizmartin]

I have read there is a maximum time for fermenting of 5 days. In fact, I have read a whole lot of stuff that all contradicts each other...I don't really know what to believe! Some say aerobic, some say anaerobic. Some say there is dangerous alcohol in the fluid, others say it is fine...most say 3 days but no more than 5, some say the longer the better. Some say "yay ACV to kick start", others say the ACV makes the ferment bad for chickens...I just hope I have done it right and they don't all get sick or drop dead on me! It is a bit freaky to be honest!

i wouldn't stress, considering what chickens will eat…if it starts to smell fowl, throw it on the compost pile. ( has happened when temperatures are hot and not used and becomes dryer ). my loose chickens eat it anyway. Ideally it should have a sweet fermented smell, kinda apple-y. I also feed beer grain mash,mostly barley and as long as i keep adding water to the barrels it keeps for weeks. note: mash is not a complete feed and will help keep their weight up but will hurt their laying unless they get plenty of layer too.

 

[Beekissed]

"Foul" is subjective....I wouldn't throw out your ferment simply because it smells rank. In the summer time it usually goes past a "sweet ferment" in about 2 days and that's okay. It's not spoiled or bad, nor is it through fermenting and spent. Just feed it out as per normal and refresh as needed and you'll do fine. If FF spoiled in 5 days my chickens have been living on spoiled feed for 3 yrs and counting.

 

[elizmartin]

"Foul" is subjective....I wouldn't throw out your ferment simply because it smells rank. In the summer time it usually goes past a "sweet ferment" in about 2 days and that's okay. It's not spoiled or bad, nor is it through fermenting and spent. Just feed it out as per normal and refresh as needed and you'll do fine. If FF spoiled in 5 days my chickens have been living on spoiled feed for 3 yrs and counting.

Hi, thanks for the word correction….twice now the feed has been truly spoiled, left in a corner too long when life became too busy. I was speaking of weeks when forgotten in the garage, major mold growth, in the heat. Never happens in the cooler winter.

 

[Chiks N Stiks]

Just a question about the feeding process... how do you keep the feed from drying out while you are feeding the chickens. I give it to the chicks, and it dries out before they eat all. Don't they need to have feed available at all times? When it's in storage, it's closed and the moisture stays in. When I bring it out, it dries out within a few hours. Thank you.

 

[Beekissed]

Just a question about the feeding process... how do you keep the feed from drying out while you are feeding the chickens. I give it to the chicks, and it dries out before they eat all. Don't they need to have feed available at all times? When it's in storage, it's closed and the moisture stays in. When I bring it out, it dries out within a few hours. Thank you.

No, they don't need to have feed available at all times, so you don't need to worry about that one. And it helps to keep it more moist if you don't locate it directly under the heat lamp....I try to keep it as far away as possible from a heat lamp. Then, if it dries out anyway, you can just stir it up a bit with your finger or a stick and it will loosen the feed up into little crumbs again and they will clean it right up.

If they don't clean it all up, dump it on the brooder floor and they will immediately start scratching it and pecking at it. Soon it will be gone and then you can feed them again a little later. I usually only feed chicks twice a day and it's enough for them to eat all they want for the first half of the day but still have a clean plate before dinner time, then I do it again and they have a clean plate before breakfast. Works just fine.