FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Windy Bay Farm]

Love you Bee.  You have made such an impact on my chicken life.  I've learned so much from you.  

X2 Wonderful woman !

 

[RoseMarie1]

X3 yep WONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDERFUL WOMAN!!!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Sure am missing that WONDERFUL woman on here! Waiting for all those pix of her tweaking. Can't wait to see them!!!

 

[LindaB220]

Morning all, gonna get rain today so leaving my babies in the storeroom. 6 days old. And so tiny, and running like the wind. I have the outside are made up in a utility cart and the cardboard in it has a rim. They are running the walls. So cute. I only got them on FF yesterday and they are adjusting rapidly. These are SBEL's super blue egg layers. (cream legbar over white leghorn. I was so impressed that 11 of 14 hatched that I ordered more. Got 18 in the box yesterday. My shipment of basques and coronation sussex was a bust. Too far to ship from Pa to La

 

[MamaKitty913]

It's a good thing I subscribe to this list....

I think we have a responsibility to clarify bad/wrong/deliverately misleading information. It's not a "difference of opinion."

If I had an egg bound hen and someone told me ro break it and then scoop out the parts with a spoon, I sure as heck hope someone would counter that information as soon as physically possible. Editing is fine if the bad information gets removed.....

X2

 

[momofthehouse]

I started my first batch today . I used all poultry flock got now due to I don't have layers yet and was out of chick start. I put half feed and half water in a five gallon bucket. What smell is good and what smell is bad... Alcohol smell?

 

[momofthehouse]

And how many times can I add dry food to the existing bucket ?

 

[EmeraldSkye]

Here are the sources I found most helpful:

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/fermented-feed.html

http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/im-using/

And her follow-up FAQ blog: http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

I use one crock-style glass jar that I already had sitting around, wishing it had a purpose. It's like the first jar picture on the first link. I find that my girls like it best just put on the ground. I think it's because perhaps the bowls I was using allowed the feed to be too wet for them as they ate it and they walked away from the bottom of the bowl before finishing it. If I put it on a patch of dirt that I brush off straw and poop from then they eat all of it. I think it's because the extra moisture drains away, leaving the feed easier to eat. Now, this is my experience with the grain-style feed I'm using but your experience may be different with pellets, plus you might choose a different style bowl than I was using.

-Laurie

 

[aatx]

And how many times can I add dry food to the existing bucket ?

I mix up enough to feed 3-5 days. Use until there is about a cup or two of FF left. Then I do what they call backslopping and add water, mix well, then add the dry feed and mix well again. Mix will be fermented in just a few hours, so ready to feed the next day (or earlier if needed). So, I do this about twice a week. I could make a bigger batch, but it gets too fermented for me after a week or so, so I like the 3-5 days. The only time I add feed is during this backslopping, or, if water is pooled on top, I'll add a bit of extra feed and stir it in good. This cycle can repeat endlessly.

 

[evemfoster]

And how many times can I add dry food to the existing bucket ?

Momofthehouse, you can use the same starter as many times as you like. Once you get the correct fermenting bugs going the leftover feed and juices super charge the next ferment. Pretty much guaranteeing your next batch is a success. And the well inoculated starter allows you to take far less time to finish up fermenting the next batch.

I am fermenting chick starter for just half a dozen chicks right now and have been feeding out and topping off my original batch grown in a 2 gallon bucket for 8 weeks. And i plan to continue using the same starter through the life of the chickens, changing the type of feed added to the bucket at the appropriate ages. There’s no need to start up more than one container unless you have so many chickens one container isn't large enough.

I mix my feed so it’s thick like cooked oatmeal, it gets thicker as it sets and soaks up the liquids. When i feed the chickens the consistency is very thick batter to lumpy cookie dough. The chickens like the cookie dough best.

I feed out about half the feed in the bucket leaving about 2 to 3 inches in the bottom of the bucket. I then add just enough feed and water to bring the level back up to the original height. Made this way the new batch will be ready for feeding out the next day. I believe its called backslopping. Someone please correct me if i have the term wrong. If the chickens got their fill free ranging that day i don't worry, the fermented feed will be just fine for days.