FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

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??

It's fine. The bacillus grown by the ACV will consume sugar alcohol and all is well. I haven't had a drunk chicken yet and all their livers look fine....

 

[22qZoo]

Good morning, Are the little metal feeders a problem with the FF? I've heard you shouldn't put avc in the galvanized waters .

 

[Beekissed]

The metal galvanized feeders will present a problem as they will corrode over time. I'm presently using a metal rain gutter that had a baked on coating finishing the inside that protected it from corrosion but lately I've seen many places where that coating has been compromised by the pecking beaks over time, so I will switching out to PVC pipe...which will be indestructible and stand the test of time.

 

[bruceh]

happy to report all the chickens on the fermented feed for the last year and a 1/2 are doing fantastic. no illness great feathers overall still have that pep in their step. bee, i mis the old timers thread..

 

[Beekissed]

Me too, Bruce...me too! It's a shame in this world when a few trouble makers ruin it for everyone but that's why that thread no longer exists...and many suffer for the loss of it and from their selfishness.

 

[sarahsunshine]

OK, so I've been feeding FF for 2 weeks now, and one of my buckets started getting a little white fuzzy mold on the inside of it. It's not the red or black that I have heard about, but I don't like the idea of mold... If this white mold an OK mold, or should I toss it and start over the whole bucket? I've been storing the feed in an outdoor shed, and it doesn't get very hot here (central Alberta/ Canada - we are lucky to get 30C(85f) a couple times a summer and this has not been one of them!

 

[RoseMarie1]

I'm going to sale some of my roosters and maybe a few of the BA pullets pretty shortly and I was wondering something....... they are used to eating ff now and if I sell them and the person doesn't want to bother with fermented food will they do OK with the switch being used to ff? Why I ask is this....the other day I had some of their chick starter from when they were very little and had stuck it in the freezer because it was pure powder and they couldn't eat it. Figured I would mix it with yogurt and did just that. Well the other day I wanted to use up the rest of that starter and it was pretty thick with the yogurt and the starter. I was out there with them and I could tell they were having trouble getting it down like it was choking them. I ran and got water and poured in it to make it more soupy so none of them would choke. So now I'm a little worried for them if they are put on dry food and them being used to ff and it's wet. Any had problems with them going back to dry foods once being on ff?

 

[wlhtx]

I've fed mine dry a couple times lately. It's obvious that they do not get nearly as excited about it, but they didn't have a hard time eating it.

 

[Beekissed]

They eat dry just fine but they need to consume more water with it and have to eat it more slowly, it seems.

 

[sarahsunshine]

Let me retry my question... it seems tohave been missed.

I've been feeding FF for 2 weeks now, and one of my buckets started getting a little white fuzzy mold on the inside of it. It's not the red or black that I have heard about, but I don't like the idea of mold... If this white mold an OK mold, or should I toss it and start over the whole bucket? I've been storing the feed in an outdoor shed, and it doesn't get very hot here (central Alberta/ Canada - we are lucky to get 30C(85f) a couple times a summer and this has not been one of them!