FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[RoseMarie1]

I noticed my scratch grains have a lot of corn in it to. Must be cheaper than the other grains????

 

[Beekissed]

Yep, it is. I've seen more and more corn in my layer mash than previously as the cost of grains rise due to drought conditions. I don't really like it much to have that much corn in the mix, but it is what it is and my birds rely more on foraged foods than the feed I supplement them with, so I don't have to worry as much as other folks who have no choice.

I used to buy cracked corn to cut my layer ration in slow down times...before all the local corn sources went to GMO corn. The birds don't like it as much now and I can only guess why.

Even the simple headed chickens know that GMO isn't good food. Now when I buy grains to cut the mix I usually buy barley or oats.

 

[KrazyChromatics]

i recently started feeding FF i accidently made some in one of my birds dishes, i add about a 1/2 cup to a cup of dry feed to her dish, then when filling her water i would over fill it a little to kinda rinse it and some always flowed into her food side i noticed she was only eating the surface stuff and wasnt "able" to get the packed down stuff, so i reached in with my hand and mixed it up and smelled it, smelled actually kinda good, like vinegar and something else, but deff not rancid, before i could put the handful back she was attacking it with gusto, i took a little out and offered it to a few of the other birds that are housed alone and they ate it too without question... i had read a little about FF before and was interested but just haddnt done it yet...

a couple days ago i started with a mix is layer, dumor starter grower and purina flock grower added the up-ACV and fed a little out right then, then added a little more water and another scoop of dry... they all ate it with gusto... the next day i added a scoop of alfalfa pellets and stirre that up in the morning, i had been feeding hot alfalfa to my layers for a while now, they LOVE it, it will pull them off their roosts at night if i get up there past bed time with it, so figured its only right to mix it lol...

ive only got 1 5gal pail working right now, but ill have 3 15gal trash cans going once i finish off the dry thats in there, but i assume ill have to put a strong liner in there to keep the metal from leaching? in the am the bucket is swelled to the top and after breakfast ill add a scoop and more water, after dinner ill add 2 scoops and a half scoop of alfalfa and lots of water...

i used to have to fill their waters 3 sometimes 4 times a day and i was going through 4 or 5 scoops of dry feed to feed roughly 100 birds... now every morning they still have water, and ill only fill em up at night or mid afternoon if its hot.... im amazed lol.. and my layers never wait at their door to be fed even if their feeder was empty now i have an impatient gathering of hens that stalk me as i feed out lol... i do need to get a different feeder though, as i only have a hanging dry feeder so ill fill up the resivoire and dump the rest in the top but it doesnt feed out the same obviously lol, but where they can reach is literally licked clean, silly birds lol

 

[sarahsunshine]

It's not recommended to have fermented foods in metal at all... Could you find some plastic cans that are strong enough? Or just more 5gallon buckets?

How many birds are you feeding?

 

[bruceh]

you are right about the metal containers. the metal unless stainless corrodes then in return leaches toxins.

 

[22qZoo]

It must be the power of suggestion then , cuz every fall when it starts to cool off I start to crave popcorn .
Ok, so I know chickens don't get drunk off this ff but could somebody explain how it works, is it an acid / alkali thing, a starch conversion thing
does the protein content change ? I like to know how things work. My birds are loving it BTW

 

[Beekissed]

On the other FF thread there are studies done that explain the nature of the conversion and a few Google searches can render some articles on it as well. As it is converting the nutritive values of the grain it is also changing the nature and environment of the intestinal walls, so it's actually a dual action of increased ability to absorb the nutrients offered in the grains. Lots of reading but well worth it and interesting stuff when they explain about the changes in the intestinal villi and blood supplies.

 

[KrazyChromatics]

It's not recommended to have fermented foods in metal at all... Could you find some plastic cans that are strong enough? Or just more 5gallon buckets?

How many birds are you feeding?

Even if i use a heavy duty trash bag in between? or do u think theres too much risk of me punching a hole when i stir? hmm.. I'm feeding something like 160 birds

you are right about the metal containers. the metal unless stainless corrodes then in return leaches toxins.

 

[Beekissed]

I wouldn't risk it and have to possibly dump out all that feed into another place while replaced plastic liners. Too fussy and fraught with difficulty.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Yep, it is. I've seen more and more corn in my layer mash than previously as the cost of grains rise due to drought conditions. I don't really like it much to have that much corn in the mix, but it is what it is and my birds rely more on foraged foods than the feed I supplement them with, so I don't have to worry as much as other folks who have no choice.

I used to buy cracked corn to cut my layer ration in slow down times...before all the local corn sources went to GMO corn. The birds don't like it as much now and I can only guess why.

Even the simple headed chickens know that GMO isn't good food. Now when I buy grains to cut the mix I usually buy barley or oats.

I think I'll also check on barley or oats.