Can you refrigerate fermented feed to stop the process?

[thecatumbrella]

I've been making some fermented feed. It's become very fermented at the 3 day mark. I forgot to feed it to the chickens. Can I drain it and put it in the fridge to stop the fermentation process? Would that just kill all the good bacteria I've been cultivating? I'm scared to feed it on day 4. It was pretty pungent this afternoon (in a good way)!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Refrigeration won't kill it but it will slow it down. I refrigerate if I'm gone for any reason.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Refrigeration won't kill it but it will slow it down. I refrigerate if I'm gone for any reason.

Good to know. I definitely flew too close to the sun. Went to refrigerate it this evening and WOW... it must ferment at an exponential rate.

Threw it out in a barrier of 3 ziploc bags and will restart.

 

[Perris]

what sort of feed were you fermenting? If it was whole grains you could just have rinsed it thoroughly.

 

[thecatumbrella]

what sort of feed were you fermenting? If it was whole grains you could just have rinsed it thoroughly.

It’s the Scratch and Peck whole grain feed, which also has tiny vitamin pellets as part of it. I’ll try rinsing it if I mess up again. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Good to know. I definitely flew too close to the sun. Went to refrigerate it this evening and WOW... it must ferment at an exponential rate.

Threw it out in a barrier of 3 ziploc bags and will restart.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt!

 

[Triangle Nostril]

I put Scratch and Peck fermented feed in the fridge when there are leftovers since I tend to make pretty big batches. Sounds like you were too late this time, but if you get into this situation next time then I'd put whatever you have in a recycled take-out container or something (with a lid) for storage. I'd probably think of it like yogurt - will just keep the active cultures a bit dormant. I wouldn't store it for more than a few days though, week at most (though it'd probably still be safe as long as it's properly stored and the fridge is cold enough, I wouldn't trust it past that point though).