Arizona Chickens

[wondertwinpower]

Demosthine is right, I do lacto fermentation, I got the two types mixed up. I don't add vinegar or anything else to my batch, I set the lid on the top of the bucket loosely, and I use water straight from the hose (in tucson). After I feed in the mornings, I add more dry grains and water, and stir. Then it's ready to go next time I feed. I do have the film that demosthine described.

Several things to note...  First, you don't need to add anything to get a good fermentation going.  There are natural yeasts in the air that will start that process very shortly.  Alcohol fermentation is not going to occur because it is an anaerobic fermentation, meaning without air.  In alcohol fermentation, the yeast offgases CO2, which is heavier than the natural air.  It will force the oxygen out of the bucket, creating a layer of CO2 that will essentially seal the bucket.  Thus, the reason you want to stir it every day.  This adds oxygen in to the mixture and ensures proper lacto-fermentation, which is what we want to achieve.

 

[mom-to-5]

Demosthine is right, I do lacto fermentation, I got the two types mixed up. I don't add vinegar or anything else to my batch, I set the lid on the top of the bucket loosely, and I use water straight from the hose (in tucson). After I feed in the mornings, I add more dry grains and water, and stir. Then it's ready to go next time I feed. I do have the film that demosthine described.

Is this the film you are describing...or is this mold? This is what it looked like this morning and usually when I start over. Am I starting over just as it gets "good"?

 

[maryhysong]

Demo,
The way you describe it I'm thinking that it may not have been mold, ugh! Perhaps I was doing it right all along???
I do add dry feed every time I feed the chickens (twice daily), stir it and add water as needed.
I do have the organic Big Sky layer with fishmeal so that could explain the smell I usually get before I see grey stuff on the sides of the bucket and the top of the water.
Ok, I'll continue with no starter, and try not to over think it.
Like I said the chickens love it so I guess I shouldn't be too concerned. They will come up to me while I'm draining it, hop in my lap and try to eat out of the strainer, lol! I guess if they stop eating it I will know that something is really wrong.

you wouldn't be the first person throwing away a good ferment because they thought it smelled bad

Just like my ex LOVED sour dough bread but kept trying to throw away my jar of starter "because it stinks"

To me there is a very definite difference between the smell of good ferment and the smell of mold. Think about how moldy bread smells. That is what you DON"T want. If you get that smell and especially if you get grey, green, bluish fuzz then it is bad; dump it on the compost, bleach your bucket and start over. But if it smells alcoholic, vinegary, sour dough, sour pickle or even a bit like sauerkraut then it's all good.

I use the same feed with fishmeal and the first week it did smell fishy. Now there is no fishyness at all.

 

[chicksurreal]

Hello my AZ friends. I am in the Verde Valley and we are getting our first set of chicks this week. My dh works at Olsen's and we are getting them from there. I just got the lumber to start our coop today and we are super excited.

Welcome to BYC! We're pretty close to CV, about 35-40 minutes south-west of there.

Isn't it so exciting to get chicks for the first time? We're about 8 months into our first flock and it's been the best decision we've made in a long time! Have fun!

 

[chicksurreal]

Here is her list, hope this helps... I have not read it yet.. Been so busy getting ready for Easter dinner...

http://email.backyardchickens.com/w...yobJjn-2F-2BYypS-2FUm5GaS0iH0ETTRBHsA3nGeDfSH

Wow this link look wrong, I will post & then check it

Thanks very much for the link! it looks crazy but works fine! Lots of great information there!

 

[pipemum]

Is this the film you are describing...or is this mold? This is what it looked like this morning and usually when I start over. Am I starting over just as it gets "good"?

What you show in the photo is fine. That's the good stuff, no need to start over! Just stir it back in.

I feed all of my chickens fermented feed. I add the dry food and add water from my hose. I've totally disregarded the IT HAS TO BE CHLORINE FREE WATER type thing I've read around BYC, but really, hose water is totally fine and won't harm the FF or your chickens. I have my ff bucket outside, and I've had a new batch of ff fermenting within 24 hours--our heat helps start up the FF quickly. The ff has really been helpful with the Cornish cross meat chickens. They don't have nasty, smelly poops AT ALL. I picked up some from the feed store over the fall, and they had the typical nasty squirting poops that everyone talks about with the CX. A week on the FF, the stools firmed up and were regular. I think FF is great stuff and I spend no more than 10 minutes a week maintaining it--adding new mash, a few handfuls of scratch and other grains, and water to mix. For serving purposes, I mix to thick oatmeal consistency.

 

[pipemum]

Oh and yeah, I use the Big Sky feed with fishmeal too. The first bag I got of the stuff REEKED when fermented. Smelled fishy dry as well. Still getting the fishmeal feed, but haven't had any noticeable fish smells with the product since then. That first bag had what seemed to be crab shells mixed in...I haven't seen that since.

 

[mom-to-5]

What you show in the photo is fine. That's the good stuff, no need to start over!  Just stir it back in. 

I feed all of my chickens fermented feed. I add the dry food and add water from my hose.  I've totally disregarded the IT HAS TO BE CHLORINE FREE WATER type thing I've read around BYC, but really, hose water is totally fine and won't harm the FF or your chickens.   I have my ff bucket outside, and I've had a new batch of ff fermenting within 24 hours--our heat helps start up the FF quickly.    The ff has really been helpful with the Cornish cross meat chickens.  They don't have nasty, smelly poops AT ALL.  I picked up some from the feed store over the fall, and they had the typical nasty squirting poops that everyone talks about with the CX.   A week on the FF, the stools firmed up and were regular.  I think FF is great stuff and I spend no more than 10 minutes a week maintaining it--adding new mash, a few handfuls of scratch and other grains, and water to mix.  For serving purposes, I mix to thick oatmeal consistency. 

Yippee! Thank you so much for helping! For the past 5 months I have been ditching good FF, geesh! I wish I had asked earlier.
Thank you, thank you all for helping me figure this out.

 

[wondertwinpower]

Yep, that's the film. Just stir it in and keep going!

Is this the film you are describing...or is this mold? This is what it looked like this morning and usually when I start over. Am I starting over just as it gets "good"?

 

[pipemum]

I found what punctured my EE's foot. One of the rungs came off the ramp to the coop, with the pointy as heck screws still embedded. Poor thing must have really gotten a jab to have been so under the weather for a day or two. Seems to be all healed up though.

The silkie mix is ready to go back in the big girl coop. I found an egg from her in the meatie coop. But the other hens are vicious towards her. They chase her down in the yard. Last night, she waited until they were all settled in the coop, and then ventured up, and all heck broke lose in there. She came scrambling out immediately. Poor thing has been running to ME for protection. That's a big deal, because my chickens want nothing to do with me if I don't have food. She's so tiny and other hens are so big. I might try putting her in after they've been sleeping a bit, but that is really hard since she roosts in the very back of the meatie pen and I'd have to crawl in to get her. Llike, crawl through a tiny door, through poopy litter, grab her, and then back my big butt back out, in the meantime, trying to untangle my hair getting snagged on hanging hooks and such. Minor design flaw in the meatie coop! Anyway, even if I placed her in coop in the dark, she'd still have to fend off attacks all day. Ugh. Maybe I'll get her up in the coop tonight, and then tomorrow I'll hang veggies all over the layer run so that they have something else to do besides chase this poor thing all over. After all , she's not a new hen, they all grew up together as chicks, but since she's been raising the meaties a whole 6' away, things have shifted.