FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

I've done it and I don't mind doing it because it doesn't get that hot here(in the triple digits) and I only feed enough for my birds to eat in one setting...but I've read posts in the past where someone just let their feed get rained on until it was wet and it sat out in the hot sun, where it grew some lethal bacteria that killed her flock upon the eating of it.

Now..me? I don't pay much mind to being safe..I just use common sense and it gets me by. But not many out there have it any longer, so if I tell them to go ahead and feed wet feeds in a hot year like we are having and it wasn't fermented, grew some nasties and killed some birds, we'd never hear the end of it on this forum about how someone fed their birds fermented feed and it killed them all. DANGER! DANGER!!!!

So...realizing that not everyone has sense as it isn't so common any longer, I just advise that they make sure it is, indeed, fermenting/fermented before they feed it out.

 

[wlhtx]

Bee, I have I admit that, at this very second you're response was like a breathe of fresh air. I just got through reading a post elsewhere about how something is "common sense" that - in all actuality - was a big hubbub of unnecessary goop that people claim is futile because they are scared of something that most likely will never happen.

Sorry for the rant.

 

[RedneckGurl]

Okay, that being said....it hasn't been our usual "hot as Hades" summer here in north Alabama. We haven't had a single day reach past the mid 90's yet. NOT that I'm complaining mind you....not in the slightest. I could do without the torrential rains we've had but that's another story. Can I just keep the plastic bucket in the storage area of my coop and stir it once or twice a day without it ruining?

 

[wlhtx]

My auto correct on my phone keeps messing up your and you're today. I need to review better before hitting reply. Grrr...

 

[sarahsunshine]

I've done it and I don't mind doing it because it doesn't get that hot here(in the triple digits) and I only feed enough for my birds to eat in one setting...but I've read posts in the past where someone just let their feed get rained on until it was wet and it sat out in the hot sun, where it grew some lethal bacteria that killed her flock upon the eating of it.

Now..me? I don't pay much mind to being safe..I just use common sense and it gets me by. But not many out there have it any longer, so if I tell them to go ahead and feed wet feeds in a hot year like we are having and it wasn't fermented, grew some nasties and killed some birds, we'd never hear the end of it on this forum about how someone fed their birds fermented feed and it killed them all. DANGER! DANGER!!!!

So...realizing that not everyone has sense as it isn't so common any longer, I just advise that they make sure it is, indeed, fermenting/fermented before they feed it out.

Yes, but that was something *stupid* to do to begin with - hence the "not so common" sense. I mean, If you were to leave your feed out on a day that was in the triple digits, without a lid, AND it got rained on, and then you went on to feed it to your chickiens... then you *deserve* to lose your flock. I call that experiential learning! But if it smells bad enough that I wouldn't eat it (and don't want to clean it), then why would I feed it to my chickens?

Sorry...

Considering I am Alberta, Canada, and we are *lucky* to *maybe* have a couple days in the 90s in the summer, I'm not too worried about over-heating - though things do get hot if left out in the full sun. No, best to keep your feed in the shade at the very least, if not under a roof of sorts (mine is in a canvas tent right now). And if the feed smells bad, it probably is!

 

[Beekissed]

Okay, that being said....it hasn't been our usual "hot as Hades" summer here in north Alabama. We haven't had a single day reach past the mid 90's yet. NOT that I'm complaining mind you....not in the slightest. I could do without the torrential rains we've had but that's another story. Can I just keep the plastic bucket in the storage area of my coop and stir it once or twice a day without it ruining?

Yep...stirring it once a day is sufficient when you go to feed out of it. All will be well.

Yes, but that was something *stupid* to do to begin with - hence the "not so common" sense. I mean, If you were to leave your feed out on a day that was in the triple digits, without a lid, AND it got rained on, and then you went on to feed it to your chickiens... then you *deserve* to lose your flock. I call that experiential learning! But if it smells bad enough that I wouldn't eat it (and don't want to clean it), then why would I feed it to my chickens?

Sorry...

Considering I am Alberta, Canada, and we are *lucky* to *maybe* have a couple days in the 90s in the summer, I'm not too worried about over-heating - though things do get hot if left out in the full sun. No, best to keep your feed in the shade at the very least, if not under a roof of sorts (mine is in a canvas tent right now). And if the feed smells bad, it probably is!

That's the thing, though...see..FF does smell bad to some people. And the longer it ferments and the warmer it is, the more it smells. Some people say it smells "rotten' to them...which, to us country folks, just means fermented, but to those not familiar with eating fermented foods this is how they tell if something is "bad"..if it smells bad.

Past the first stages of fermentation, when it merely smells slightly sour, it can get a little rank and then people cannot judge good from bad if they only go by smell.

I have a highly sensitive nose and can often tell you what bacteria is infecting a wound just by the smell....can even tell when folks have a sinus infection just by smelling their breath when they talk, so my nose and other people's noses are two different things. I don't put much faith in another person's judgement on what smells bad...particularly after reading the posts on this thread!

 

[amyandkids]

I have now read so much about ff and definitely want to feed it to my chickens. but my dh made me nervous about it saying it smells too much like alcohol! I know some threads say it is supposed to have a beer smell, and neither one of us has ever eaten "fermented food" so I don't know if its rite. I used scratch, water and a little bit of ACV,2 days later it had the film on the top and as I stirred it again my dh said "I cant give that to my girls it is moonshine"!!! I didn't think it smelled too bad but I was nervous, I don't have that good of a smeller, but it did have the beer smell is that rite??

 

[sarahsunshine]

amyandkids - that sounds good to me! Looks like it's doing the right thing.

 

[wlhtx]

My DH can't feed out the ff. He has a sensitive nose and swears that the ff smells rank. It doesn't bother me that bad...

There is info out there about there bring two kinds of fermentation. The beer making kind and the fermented feed kind. There are different scientific names for each, but I can't remember them off the top of my head. You can do a little more research, but if your chickens eat it then I bet you're fine. IMO

 

[amyandkids]

thank you! ill feed them tomorrow and ill watch for a while to prove to my DH my girls aren't gonna turn out to be fall down drunk

! then I can tell him I WAS RITE! it will be a good day.