Fermented feed questions

[Sara Ranch]

I am seriously thinking about starting fermented feed for my guys & gals.

1. Can fermented feed be given to the ducks?

2. Can fermented feed be given to the turkeys?

3. Can fermented feed be given to babies (chickens, ducks, turkeys)?

4. Can I add other things to the feed, such as peas, lentils, beans to ferment in the batch?

5. My turkeys and a lot of my chickens refuse to eat from a dish/container/feeder. They want to eat from the ground. I don't think that works well with the fermented mush. Any feedback on whether the guys would eat the mush from a pan?

6. Does the protein value diminish with fermenting feed?

7. All of my guys are outside, all day. Some are free ranging. Some are in an open fenced pasture. Turkeys are in a covered fenced pasture. I rotate pastures. How often should I offer the mush?

8. What is a serving side of fermented feed for a chicken/duck/turkey?

9. I may be getting guineas in the future. Will they do well with fermented feed? Serving size? How often?

Thanks for the replies to come!

 

[lazy gardener]

1. Can fermented feed be given to the ducks? YES.

2. Can fermented feed be given to the turkeys? YES.

3. Can fermented feed be given to babies (chickens, ducks, turkeys)? YES.

4. Can I add other things to the feed, such as peas, lentils, beans to ferment in the batch? I'D NOT BOTHER.

5. My turkeys and a lot of my chickens refuse to eat from a dish/container/feeder. They want to eat from the ground. I don't think that works well with the fermented mush. Any feedback on whether the guys would eat the mush from a pan? THEY WILL EAT IT HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE. I OFTEN FLING SOME ON THE GROUND TO KEEP THEM FROM STAMPEEDING ME WHILE I FILL THEIR TROUGH.

6. Does the protein value diminish with fermenting feed? NO. IT ACTUALLY INCREASES. THE BACTERIA AND YEAST MANUFACTURE METHIONINE AND LYSINE.

7. All of my guys are outside, all day. Some are free ranging. Some are in an open fenced pasture. Turkeys are in a covered fenced pasture. I rotate pastures. How often should I offer the mush? HOW OFTEN DO YOU FEED THEM NOW? SAME APPLIES. GENERALLY, I FEED THEM IN THE MORNING, AND IF THEY ARE STILL HUNGRY AT THE END OF THE DAY, I MAY FEED THEM A BIT MORE. SOME FOLKS WHO FREE RANGE ONLY OFFER FF AT THE END OF THE DAY.

8. What is a serving side of fermented feed for a chicken/duck/turkey? GENERALLY, THEY WILL EAT A BET LESS THAN YOU ARE CURRENTLY FEEDING THEM.

9. I may be getting guineas in the future. Will they do well with fermented feed? Serving size? How often? YES. SAME INFO APPLIES.

THIS ARTICLE SHOULD HELP YOU: https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[centralcaligirl]

I'll just add to #6 above and say that the protein has been shown to increase as much as 12% when feed is fermented.

 

[Sara Ranch]

Okie dokie. (Thank you for sharing.)

To recap how to ferment the feed --

One cup feed to one cup water.

Stir often/several times a day.

About day 4 it will start to bubble - fermenting had taken place!

After stirring (again) then scoop out how much ya want to feed to the animals. If I take out a cup of feed, then add a cup of feed?

Or would it be 1/2 cup of feed and 1/2 cup of water?

**** Do you keep the fermented feed inside or outside? Any problems with insects (like fruit flies or little flies or ants) or rodents (mice, rats, other)?

**** Do you feed more in the winter, due to cold weather?

 

[Elyrian1]

Basically, although a lot of folks here do it on a bucket or trash can scale. I don't measure, I eyeball. Put in my water, add feed until I have that just stirred oatmeal and water consistency (prior to oatmeal thickening) and then let it set. With the high temps lately, it's been fermenting in a day or two. You'll know by the smell, kinda hits you in the nasal passages until you get used to it, might be fluffy even, it's kind of fun to stir when it's like that.

Since I keep mine in a bucket, I keep it in the garage, with the lid sitting on top but not fastened. I have a few bugs attracted to the smell, but haven't had any rodents.

Can't answer that last one yet, sorry.

 

[Sara Ranch]

I have a 5 gallon bucket (or two) set aside for this endeavor. Here, the temps haven't even reached 70 the last few days. Weather forecast indicates I won't see warmer weather for at least a week.

Lol - it's August and I am seriously contemplating turning on the heat! Who would have thought???

 

[Elyrian1]

Lol, lucky. Well with temperatures that low your ferment may take longer to kick off. Your nose will tell you when it's ready, here's hoping you don't get queasy easy. First few days I had to fight the urge to gag. Blegh

 

[Sara Ranch]

Ok. It's me again.

I have been doing the fermented feed for the last few weeks and have some observations and need some suggestions.

I started off doing 1 -> 5 gallon bucket. That quickly expanded to 4 -> 5 gallon buckets. I can easily go through all 4 buckets in a day. AND I am adding soaked oats, beans, peas to the mush to extend it. AND I am giving fresh fruit and other misc things to extend the feed.

The senior citizen flock LOVED it - however, the roosters with them hated it. Now they all run to eat it. They are in an open fenced pasture. They ask for seconds, and thirds, and fourths. (I only give them two servings a day.)

The coop flock hated it and refused to eat it in the beginning. Now they ask for seconds. They are in a large open fenced pasture and rotate between pastures. There's always green for them.

The turkeys hated it and refused to eat it in the beginning. Now they ask for seconds. The turkeys are in a covered kennel run that I move every two days so they have plenty of fresh grass to eat every day. They are still eating the fresh grass.

The Roo Gang hated it and refused to eat it in the beginning. Now they go through it all, although it takes them most of the day (I give a large serving since there are 19 of them plus 4 ducks.) Then they knock on the door and ask for more. (They really do.) They also free range and I often see them eating fresh fruit and veggies and grass and chasing bugs.

The bantams ask for a separate feeding station so they can eat their fill without having to be jostled by the big guys. I give that to them in the pavilion. They go through two containers a day, PLUS mooch off the big container for the Roo's.

The new comers go into a 10x10 kennel to learn the set up and meet the other guys. I offer them two servings day. They all turn their nose up at it in the beginning, but by early afternoon are asking for seconds by their second to third day outside. Once they are out with the rest of the group, free ranging.

My duckies loved it from day one. I think they just love stretching their necks and letting the big belch roar! The boy ducks look so pleased with themselves when they do a loud belch.

Apparently a few turkeys are now belching when picked up. Yes, big manly burps.

Here are my challenges ---

1. I am going through 15 - 20 gallons of the fermented feed a day, easily. It's hard to keep that much going at one time in 4 buckets. I could conceivably add another bucket or two to the mix, but I worry about the stuff going bad. Some of the batches ferment quickly while others seem to take forever! I can easily add feed to one in the morning (after serving breakfast) and it's ready for a late lunch serving most of the time.

2. It is messy as heck! Stirring the mush isn't that bad. But scooping from the bottom of the bucket? Ugh. I can easily wash my hands and arms so not a biggie. Getting the food out to the feeding stations? That's a messier story! I currently have 9 outside feeding stations. I do have to walk (slopes/uneven ground), go through gates, and secret passage ways to reach some of them. I put the mush into large tupperware containers and carry them that way. I still end up with some on me & my clothes.

I can easily set up the feeding stations prior to letting the different flocks out - no problem. But afternoon feedings? The guys can't wait to start eating the feed! They will gently eat it off my clothes, my arms, my fingers...

Is there an easier way?

3. At first, it looked like I was going to be saving on feed costs because the animals (except for the duckies & seniors) turned their nose up at the feed. Now I am going through the same amount of feed, if not more. What would be the appropriate serving size for --

a growing turkey
a layer
a rooster
a duckie
a growing chicken
a bantam

I am seriously thinking of taking those numbers and putting that much feed in the bowl and leaving it at that. The guys that are still hungry will tell me. EVERYONE (except for my babies inside that are not on the fermented feed yet) has access to grass, leaves, and bugs. (The number of chickens and their ages/maturity levels change constantly. So it's better for me to make a master chart of recommended amounts of feed and work from that.)

4. What is the consistency of the final product suppose to look like/feel like? Should it look like/feel like cream of wheat? A thick oatmeal? A loose, slowly drip from the spoon oatmeal? Or slide off the spoon at water slide speed?

5. I've noticed that the pellets poof up way faster than the crumble.

6. I add soaked oats, beans, peas/lentils, and stuffs to the feed to stretch it more. The guys love that too! They tend to pick out that stuff first.

7. To me, it appears that all the chickens/duckies/turkeys are putting on weight. (This would be expected from the animals that still have some growing to do. My seniors however, are also putting on weight. They needed to. Even some of my cockerels are beginning to look a bit plump.) It's also been some cold (and then warm weather) so I expect that the animal will add some winter weight to help stay warm.

8. To me, it appears that all the animals have softer, fluffier, and sometimes darker color coats now. A plus! And their combs, waddles, ears, and faces seem to be a brighter color. A plus!

9. Lol - this is probably the worst of it - but they all seem to end up wearing the feed on their combs, their waddles, their faces, and their feathers!!! They do clean their feathers. And they do help each other out with some grooming of the face area. But man, they all seem to be wearing it every day! My austrolorps are no longer a beautiful black.... This started when they first started eating the feed, they'd take a bite and shake their head, like "Whoa! That's some strong stuff! I'm not sure if I like it or not. Let me try another bite. Dang! That's a strong bite!" Now it seems to be from inhaling the food as fast as possible. Any suggestions for cleaning these guys up? I seriously want to take a hose to them they are so dirty on their heads from the feed! The turkeys do keep themselves clean - they aren't wearing the feed at all.

10. The animals drink a lot LESS water a day. I use to go through 7 gallons of water a day, easily. Now I barely go through a gallon a day. The feed has water in it, plus the cooler weather...

11. Time to feed the troops. Ugh. It use to take me an hour or less to get everyone out and feed with the dry feed and watering stations. Now it takes me easily 2-3 hours to get everyone out, food stations set up, and watering stations set up. (Not necessarily done in that order.) That's in the morning. Afternoon feedings take 2 hours easily. Evening clean up is at least an hour. With dry feed, there is no clean up. But with this stuff, I have to bring in dishes, wash them, and let them dry. Then there's cleaning the work table, the 4 cup measuring cup, the spoon, the tupperware containers....And then there's mixing the mash. That takes a good 30-60 minutes a day.

12. Oh yeah, friendliness. I have been shocked by how much MORE friendly my animals have become. After a feeding, they fly up to my eye level (if they can) or jump up on my lap or next to me to talk. They let me pet them so much more now than ever before.

I haven't started my babies on the mush yet, but planned to introduce it in the next week if I can improve upon what I am doing.

So ideas? Suggestions? Feedback?

I want to give my guys the best nutrition, but I don't want to spend the majority of my day making their feed and feeding them. I know there are some things I can do here to improve three feeding stations accessibility. That's on me.

 

[lazy gardener]

Glad your flock is looking better. I've consistently noticed that my flock looks very good, and the pullets start laying sooner than birds who are on same feed, but not fermented.

You do have some FF management problems. Let's see if we can solve them.

1. It sounds like you are making your FF too wet. I make mine the consistency of soft serve ice cream, or mayonaise, or peanut butter, or cookie dough, or drop biscuit dough. Getting hungry yet? All of those foods are thick enough that they hold their shape when plopped from a serving spoon.

2. Getting FF from your "ferment station" to the buffet line: You are working extra hard here. I presume you ladle it into the tupperware containers, carry it to the buffet line, then dish it into their feed containers? Given the fact that you have some interesting terrain, and obviously some space to cover, I'd suggest that you use a wheel barrow or a garden cart to transport it.

I use a wheelbarrow. (2 wheels, very well balanced so it requires minimal effort to push/pull over hill and dale) I simply plop my bucket into the WB, and transport it to the runs. Then, there is minimal lifting/carrying to get the bucket through the run doors to fill the serving containers: 2 gutter troughs, and an assortment of dog food bowls. I could easily transport 2 buckets in my WB if needed. When bucket is empty, I often use the hose to fill it half way with water, and then carry it back to the garage where I add my feed, stir, loosely cover it, and set it aside for the next feeding. I rotate 2 buckets so that each bucket has had 12 - 48 hours of fermentation prior to feeding.

In your case, you might like a garden cart. Do a google search for Gorilla Carts. Amazon has quite a selection. The cart would provide a more stable surface when moving your loaded buckets over difficult terrain.

3. Feed consumption. It's not uncommon for consumption to go up a bit when you first start fermenting. (Honey moon phase: "Look! She's giving us pudding for breakfast!!!") Then, typically, as the birds get settled into the routine, consumption goes down. Are you comparing the pounds of feed you are using to make your FF to the pounds of feed you were feeding dry? You have to look at dry weight, and not the volume of feed that is going into your feed dishes. B/C that FF fluffs up a lot. And, don't forget. If you have young un's, your consumption will go up as they grow.

And, finally, since your birds are so demanding, telling you how much they want...

https://onsizzle.com/i/people-think-i-am-crazy-because-i-talk-to-my-6572666

 

[barred2rock]

My girls FF is like a thick oatmeal (one to one ratio of dry feed to water). How much I feed depends on my girls. Some days they'll finish their morning serving by afternoon others it'll last until they're put up at night. I try to keep them in feed during all daylight hours. Although, unfortunately my girls don't get free range time (too many predators).