Arizona Chickens

[nicollee]

I'm going to ferment it with the regular stuff .

how do you ferment their food, how long does it take?

 

[FeatherPugs]

My chickies have never liked fermented feed. I've tried multiple times. Wet feed they are crazy for but let it ferment - no no no!
We got rain last night around 9pm too. About half hour/45 minutes and then a couple 5/10 minute showers later in the night. Had to be a pretty gentle rain as nothing is puddled or muddy this am. Felt good out there when I fed this am!

 

[nicollee]

My chickies have never liked fermented feed. I've tried multiple times. Wet feed they are crazy for but let it ferment - no no no! !

I know fermented foods is an aquired taste.. think pickles, saurekraut, kefir or kimchi. I'm sure it's the same way with chickens. Fermented foods are high in probiotics, and I am interested , but possibly too lazy to bother(being honest). If you wet your food down, how much do you do at a time? do they eat it all at once? When my chickens food gets wet they peck around it. How "wet" do you make it, mush? Mine like oatmeal.

 

[cactusrota]

I went to the feed store yesterday and the regular feed I buy was infested with bugs. Not happy and have been thinking about trying something else so I picked up an all flock pellet. I'm going to ferment it with the regular stuff as I make the change over and see how it goes. This bag is 50 lbs and was $3 less than tge 40 lb bags I was getting of the other stuff. We will see how it goes I guess.

I find mash actually works much better for a fermented feed than pellets or crumbles do. It seems to be a coarser grind so makes more of a "grits" type texture, where pellets and crumbes I think are a finer grind and end up making a cakey mud.

 

[cactusrota]

how do you ferment their food, how long does it take?

It's alot like sourdough starter. The first time you'll want to let it go a good 3 days to get a good yeast established. After that I only do 24 hours in the summer and 48 hours in the winter (I rotate two buckets), because with the summer heat it doesn't take long at all, and I only do a light ferment... not a real strong one, so it's not real sour. As long as there's a tiny bit left in the bucket after feeding that's usually enough to get the next batch going. Mine is a mix of 2 parts mash, 1 part scratch, and 1/2 part alfalfa/timothy pellets. In the winter I add BOSS to the mix. I mix water in until the water is about 1-2 inches above the mix. 24 hours later it's swelled up to another 1/3 more than it was when dry and there's a little bit of bubbles popping at the surface due to the fermentation. I offer a little bit as a supplemental to chicks as early as a week old (no scratch in it at that age). It takes them a few days to catch on, but soon they're diving into it as soon as they see it. After that it's all about the wet/fermented feed, and the dry feed in the hanging feeders is just a snack to nibble on.

 

[FeatherPugs]

I free feed my flock with crumbles. So the wet feed is a treat to them. I feed it at night generally I use it most in the summer when it is very hot to get more water down them. I essentially make it so its about a gruel consistency and if some is left over, it kinda dries and they eat the rest in the morning after the lights go on - they eat the left overs and their feed from their buckets. I don't put anything extra in it like scratch but I do put garlic, oregano and such as I think is needed and whatever is available to me. So there is no real science to it for me.

 

[igorsMistress]

I ferment in a bucket up to 2 days in winter and one day in summer also. My chickens don't care for it any longer than that.

I often ferment pigeon feed without corn and use the liquid to jumpstart feed.

 

[meetthebubus]

My chickies have never liked fermented feed. I've tried multiple times. Wet feed they are crazy for but let it ferment - no no no!
We got rain last night around 9pm too. About half hour/45 minutes and then a couple 5/10 minute showers later in the night. Had to be a pretty gentle rain as nothing is puddled or muddy this am. Felt good out there when I fed this am!

I free feed my flock with crumbles. So the wet feed is a treat to them. I feed it at night generally I use it most in the summer when it is very hot to get more water down them. I essentially make it so its about a gruel consistency and if some is left over, it kinda dries and they eat the rest in the morning after the lights go on - they eat the left overs and their feed from their buckets. I don't put anything extra in it like scratch but I do put garlic, oregano and such as I think is needed and whatever is available to me. So there is no real science to it for me.

I do mostly the same I never bothered with fermented feed @nicollee don't worry about admitting not wanting to chickens are a lot of work as it is lol
But I think it's great you want yo try it


My buffs rarely like wet food my Easter eggers LOVE it I go by them as to how often if I see them leaving the wet to look for dry j lay off and then if they leave the dry I give them wet they currently have it all over their faces lol

I put in enough water to cover the feed about 1 inch or 1/2 inch covered water and they dig in before it starts soaking it up lol

 

[Michelle Guynn]

Mine have access to dry all the time. In the evening I give them some mixed with water and the love it. I mix what is left in the morning and it’s usually gone by the tim I get home from work.

 

[nicollee]

@cactusrota @igorsMistress @FeatherPugs @meetthebubus
Thank-you
I will look for mash next time, I get food. I know I used to use it for my horses when I was a kid.
The Aloha's are hilarious, and the NN babies(from BlueBaby) got to explore the yard with Five for a few hours yesterday.

I won't be taking pictures for a bit, thanks to the thief who stole my phone