Wetting feed

[Areyoucluckingme]

Hi all -

I'm hoping you can shed some light on this. It is currently in the triple digit temps here and my flock is warm! I got the bright idea to wet their food first and turns out they LOVE it. They usually were very picky about how much of the feed they eat and wasted a lot and now they gobble it down. They *usually* eat all of it so it isn't just sitting there for days going bad however, I realized that maybe this was a bad idea because of possible bacteria growth?

I've done some research and some places say it's totally fine and others say it can be really dangerous and make them sick. What has been your experience? In case this makes a difference, I feed USDA certified organic crumbles mixed with seeds, sunflower seeds, oats, corn, etc. It's basically crumbles with a "treat" mix, mixed into it.

I haven't noticed any sickness but definitely don't want to start.

 

[Tookie]

Hi all -

I'm hoping you can shed some light on this. It is currently in the triple digit temps here and my flock is warm! I got the bright idea to wet their food first and turns out they LOVE it. They usually were very picky about how much of the feed they eat and wasted a lot and now they gobble it down. They *usually* eat all of it so it isn't just sitting there for days going bad however, I realized that maybe this was a bad idea because of possible bacteria growth?

I've done some research and some places say it's totally fine and others say it can be really dangerous and make them sick. What has been your experience? In case this makes a difference, I feed USDA certified organic crumbles mixed with seeds, sunflower seeds, oats, corn, etc. It's basically crumbles with a "treat" mix, mixed into it.

I haven't noticed any sickness but definitely don't want to start.

Basically your talking about fermenting feed. Instead of just wetting their food, ferment it. All you have to do is put food in whatever container you choose with water and always keep about 1 inch of water on top. Stir it twice a day. You'll know when its fermented when you stir it and bubbles come up, it will also smell yeasty. It shouldn't take long to ferment it, it will probably take 1-2 days. Once its fermented give it to the chickens, if its too watery add some dry feed to it and then give it to them. As you use up the fermented feed add to it with the dry feed and it will never run out.