FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

The FF in my bedroom was making encouraging noises last night, though still not fermenting to the degree I like...lots of burping going on so it's starting to metabolize better in the warmer temps in my room, which are around 55-60*.

Snowing pretty steady here right now and roosters get another stay of execution for today....dead chickens walkin'!

Tension is getting high in the pen as they experience cabin fever from being cooped up. <snicker!> I give them several apples a day to give them something to peck at, but this situation has got to end soon. Waiting for a break in the weather.

Changed out hay in the nests to encourage exploration of the nest boxes...nice, huge, fluffy nests of sweet, green hay there now. Mama Hen jumped right up to inspect and lay her geriatric contribution to our food supplies. One egg. One ancient chicken laying one egg. Those youngsters better pay attention...Bee is sharpening her knives for processing day....

 

[RedneckGurl]

Bee, your temps have got to be a lot colder than what we are experiencing in north Alabama but I've found that when I take out a 5 gallon bucket of really hot water to thaw their frozen waterers, I don't use it all. I have been using that water to replenish my FF which I have in the coop in a flip top Igloo cooler. The temp of the water, plus the continued warmth generated by the fermentation process and being inside the cooler, has kept mine from freezing and it's nice and fluffy each morning when I go to scoop it out. So far our coldest night was around 19 degrees but the average between now and the end of February is typically the mid-20's to mid-30's overnight. I'm really happy to have read about the cooler idea because my FF was being kept in two plastic icing buckets from the Wal-mart bakery and I know it would have frozen in them for sure.

 

[Tikkijane]

I also love the cooler. When I was taking it in and out of the house, the sides got slopped which then molded.

Today I ended up making a large batch because they decided they really liked it and had a feeding frenzy. I am also not convinced that the dogs are leaving it alone when I'm not watching.

I had immediate bubbles going on when I added the new feed. It definitely has a smell, which I think is partly ACV.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, your temps have got to be a lot colder than what we are experiencing in north Alabama but I've found that when I take out a 5 gallon bucket of really hot water to thaw their frozen waterers, I don't use it all. I have been using that water to replenish my FF which I have in the coop in a flip top Igloo cooler. The temp of the water, plus the continued warmth generated by the fermentation process and being inside the cooler, has kept mine from freezing and it's nice and fluffy each morning when I go to scoop it out. So far our coldest night was around 19 degrees but the average between now and the end of February is typically the mid-20's to mid-30's overnight. I'm really happy to have read about the cooler idea because my FF was being kept in two plastic icing buckets from the Wal-mart bakery and I know it would have frozen in them for sure.

Yeah...the cooler was keeping it from freezing but I only replenish my feed about once every 2 wks now because I keep it batched up in large quantities now. My scoby went dormant from the continual cold temps in the teens and twenties...I'm sure it was still fermenting but just not at the level I like.

Doing well now, though, so it's inside for the duration of the winter. Soon as I kill these roosters I won't have to use as much and so won't be replenishing it even as often as every 2 wks. That will give it even longer to ferment..Yay!

 

[fenwickchic]

I have been fermenting feed only a little while. Never used ACV just filtered well water and had it sitting in my kitchen. It didn't take it long to start bubbling. I am using the 2 bucket method with tiny whole in the upper bucket thus constantly saving the fermented water. Then I moved it downstairs where it is a little cooler because I was having company and it does smell some and doesn't look very nice. After a week or so of having moved it, I got a film on the top that I had never seen before and it stopped smelling sour and started smelling nasty. There was a bit of mold along the sides, so I just dumped it all. Didn't want the hens sick and wasn't chancing it. Here is what the bucket looked like. I'm thinking I need to move it back to the kitchen, although the temperature can't be more than a 10 degree difference and we keep it at 68 degrees, so... What do you think? Can dry mash go bad kept inside in a cool area?

 

[Beekissed]

I've not seen anything like that but it could be that your healthy scoby went dormant and allowed other less beneficial yeasts/molds/bacteria to colonize the mix. That's one reason I moved mine inside...some germs thrive better in the cold than do the ones in the FF so I didn't want to take a chance at letting my good scoby go dormant or die, only to be replaced with something less desirable.

I'd have tossed it too!

 

[RoseMarie1]

The FF in my bedroom was making encouraging noises last night, though still not fermenting to the degree I like...lots of burping going on so it's starting to metabolize better in the warmer temps in my room, which are around 55-60*.

Snowing pretty steady here right now and roosters get another stay of execution for today....dead chickens walkin'!

Tension is getting high in the pen as they experience cabin fever from being cooped up. <snicker!> I give them several apples a day to give them something to peck at, but this situation has got to end soon. Waiting for a break in the weather.

Changed out hay in the nests to encourage exploration of the nest boxes...nice, huge, fluffy nests of sweet, green hay there now. Mama Hen jumped right up to inspect and lay her geriatric contribution to our food supplies. One egg. One ancient chicken laying one egg. Those youngsters better pay attention...Bee is sharpening her knives for processing day....

lol and speaking of roosters, I took mines harem away from him and I couldn't sleep tonight so I got up. I can hear him out there crowing his little heart out and it's 3 a m in the morning.. All the other neighborhood roos are answering him. Everybody is going to be ringing roos necks in the morning around here.

 

[azygous]

Reporting back here after doing FF for exactly one month. The results continue to be extraordinary. The flock of twenty is still gobbling it up like fine cuisine. I had a bit of trouble with it freezing a week or so back when the days were barely above zero. I solved it by filling a plant tray with boiling water and setting the feeder troughs in that. They weren't wanting to keep eating the FF after it had reached the freezing point. This solved the problem nicely.

Now for the truly astounding news. My serial feather picker Flo, a three-year old EE who has been a feather shaver since she was five months old, seems to have gone into remission since being on FF. She can be presented with temptation in the way of her BFF and former brooder mate Joycie thrusting her neck right under Flo's beak, and Flo will simply gaze at it benignly.

It's still too early to declare it as such, but FF may just be that miracle cure I've been searching for.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Probably because of more nutrient availability and possibly higher protein.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree! Good feedback...I always love to hear about how it's going down the road on the FF.

I know the roosters I took in a while back for butchering have all brightened up, the combs look so deeply red and healthy now, the feathers are looking glossy and fuller. I processed six of them this past week and they were good smelling while being butchered and also after, when the stock was being cooked down...just no gamey smells or flavor at all and these roosters were OLD and huge! Tough as nails and I had to cut the hides off every inch of the way, they were that tough and sinewy. I canned them up and they will be as tender as lambs. Their organs all looked lovely and healthy. Some were so big their drumsticks could barely fit into a quart canning jar!

I plucked a lot of the feathers dry, before skinning, to use in a sewing project. I washed them in warm water, soap and bleach and dried them well...they are all fluffed up and smelling sweet, ready to be placed into cloth to provide warmth.