Fermented feed

[jolenesdad]

@jolenesdad did you read the entire thread? It’s not scoby

Yes sorry, it autocorrected away I meant to say SCOBY-like. It’s a darker film on top that isn’t mold. I have tossed everything again to start over I will post a picture of what I get.

 

[jolenesdad]

And to be clear, in the coop I get fuzzy, hairy, mold.

 

[Criticalicious]

I give FF in the morning and offer dry continuously. Most days, they eat all the FF then pick at the dry. The FF dishes are cleaned daily, so no mold forms.

When in doubt, use your nose. Bad and good ferment smell very different.

 

[Criticalicious]

The term "SCOBY" refers to a bacteria and yeast "mother" that can be reused to create more kombucha, yogurt, kefir, or whatever kind of SCOBY it is. Sometimes when I look at fermented foods, I think of the live probiotic organisms as "SCOBY" even though technically that's not true.

 

[jolenesdad]

Thanks @Criticalicious !

 

[snow5164]

I agree with scoby-like , and I’m not nit picking , but I worked for weeks and my scoby failed .... I’d love it if it was that easy

I’ve never in 5 years had bad ff.
Only make what you feed for the day plus one cup more.

I almost empty the bucket each morning, add more and leave it til the next morning.

Just soaking over night is still better then dry, I did an initial 4 day soak years ago.

 

[jolenesdad]

How wet do y’all make it? I put pellets in covered with water, stirred and left a bit of water on top and they absorbed it all when I just checked. It’s uniformly moist. If I want it on the less-sloppy side... can I leave it just moist?

Also, is sloppy better? It seems most threads say you don’t need it real wet with standing water on top?

 

[snow5164]

It’s all a matter of opinion,
5 years ago water on top so it didn’t get mold was the norm .

I like mine sloppy because birds can only benefit from liquid. They thrive on water and this tastes good and is loaded with good stuff.
( no I don’t drink it )

There is no right answer ,
How do you like your oatmeal

 

[jolenesdad]

I’ll go sloppier this time and see how that works!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Am I completely negating the benefits of fermented feed if I only give enough fermented feed to last MOST of the day and also leave free choice regular pellets out for them once the fermented feed is gone, or should I try and feed the fermented in an Am and PM batch?

I only give FF in the morning, and then free choice crumble or pellets rest of the day. I just find it to be less hassle and the birds can choose what they want to eat.