FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

Maybe start the batch with distilled water and then let the FF work on the rest of the water when you refresh feed. I'd say if you had a good, strong colony of LABs and acetobacter going they just might be able withstand the harsh town water.

 

[niqueie]

I use awful San Diego tap water for my FF. We get what is left over after LA has taken what they want. It is so gross that I don't even like to brush my teeth with it. I use a brita filter for our drinking water and it makes it a lot better. But I do give my birds the water directly out of the tap and I ferment their feed with it too. I haven't seen any problems from using it directly out of the tap.

Also I do have DL in my coop currently and today we were working on the run. The coop smells great again. I added some pine shaving and their poo is back to solids mostly already. So glad for FF.

I'm really excited because I'm getting a truck load or 2 of FREE mulch delivered to my house today to cover the run so I'll have DL in my run now too. Love that it's free and I'm saving it from whatever waste it would go to otherwise. Now the hard work will be hauling it up my steep hill to the coop.

 

[niqueie]

Sorry,  I know this is "off topic" but this is my "go-to" place for all answers to my questions.  In a week I will have some 20 baby chicks and today it is 38 outside (it was 90 last week end!)  My space inside is limited.  I have an outside baby coop but it was designed for summer use.  So I can put a tarp around it to prevent wind and a lamp inside for warmth. Does having light 24/'7 hurt the babies?  Will they be warm enough?  I have 8 in a huge Rubbermaid tub in the house right now.  They have some feathers, are about two weeks old.  At what age can they be put outside?  And how much cold can they stand?  I know I was a fool to hatch chicks now but I wanted the rooster's products before I had to get rid of them. (I still have 2 roosters and no one has complained.  Any day now....)   HELP!     : (

I kept 20 chicks in 2 big free boxes from Costco, stuck together. They were in my house for a couple weeks like that with a heat lamp on them. They were all very happy. It was fun for the 1-2 weeks but after that they needed to go out. I'm sure, as others have pointed out they can go outside as long as you make preparations for them to be protected and warm. Take pictures of those babies. I just love the babies.

Bee, your brooder looked good enough to make a bed in. It looked so cozy.

 

[Beekissed]

I spent a lot of time out there watching the chicks. It was a great brooder both times because it can be opened up to gain more space or closed up a little to conserve heat, with just moving a bale here and there. The chicks found it quite cozy and the second batch were raised right in the DL from the older flock, so they got a good shot of everything my flock has from the get go.

 

[azygous]

Sorry to interrupt, but quick question on starting a batch of FF. I scrubbed out a plastic bucket and half-filled it with flock raiser, a couple cups of Feather Fixer, a couple cups of scratch grain and some BOSS and ACV with the Mother. Then I mixed warm water into it until it was the consistency of wet cement. Is that wet enough to begin with or do I need to add more water?

Do I cover it? I have a cloth draped over the bucket right now. Is that okay?

Okay, that was two questions. How much water and do I cover it?

 

[fosterson]

Sounds like what I did and I had nice bubbly fermentation going on within 18 hours. You MIGHT need more water come morning -- the feed will soak up a LOT. I just added a tad more warm water in the morning till it was at a consistency I liked.

 

[azygous]

Did you cover the bucket with anything?

 

[fosterson]

At first, just another bucket turned over on top of it like a 'lid'. But that provoked too much curiosity from my cat, so I laid a towel over and used a massive industrial rubber band to hold the towel on. Now the cat just wants to SLEEP on the towel. *shrug*

 

[Beekissed]

Sorry to interrupt, but quick question on starting a batch of FF. I scrubbed out a plastic bucket and half-filled it with flock raiser, a couple cups of Feather Fixer, a couple cups of scratch grain and some BOSS and ACV with the Mother. Then I mixed warm water into it until it was the consistency of wet cement. Is that wet enough to begin with or do I need to add more water?

Do I cover it? I have a cloth draped over the bucket right now. Is that okay?

Okay, that was two questions. How much water and do I cover it?

You'll need more water and it's according to the absorption of the feeds you are using...which you will not be able to gauge until you see how much it has absorbed by morning. You can add more until it's about 2 in. over the feed right now and see how it goes. You'll want your mix to be mortar-like for feeding out, so just add a little water if you find it too dry in the morning. But..don't add until you've stirred it well. Sometimes there is a pocket of fluid in the middle of the feed that rises to the top once you've stirred the feed. Just play with it a little until you learn how much water your feed can take.

You can cover it or not, your choosing. Most do, but leave a way for air to escape and exchange.

 

[azygous]

Thanks Bee! This is kinda fun, like science experiment! I draped a loose kitchen dish towel over the top.

Do you think it will be ready enough to feed to the chickens by Monday morning?