FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[luvblues7]

Too late. I just live my life and don't worry about the things I cannot control. That horse has done left the barn long years ago and no one can get him back in. Just live each moment like it's your last and you'll be prepared when it is your last one.

Life is so short..fill it with meaningful action.

AMEN Bee, and remember what is TRULY important in life, God, Family, and Friends!

KPGOLD....... I'm so excited for you on the first egg. Finding that first egg, or any egg as far as that goes, is such a simple pleasure that brings such joy to a chicken lovers heart. Congrats!

 

[kpgoldstar]

Thank you Niquire. I stir it at least 6 times a day and it does not smell at all. I think I will add a little more ACV and put it in a glass container.

Can others input for me as well? Thanks.

Beekissed--what do you think?

I don't use buttermilk or ACV at all. Mine is strictly chick starter and water (will be layer feed and water next week when my order comes in!) Have you refreshed your bucket at all or are you on the same batch you started 10 days ago? I only stir mine twice a day when I feed out and mine is fairly dry so I don't get the scoby on top. It should smell sour, like pickles or sour dough bread. I know some feeds smell more than others. Mine is barely noticeable. You really have to stick your nose in it. Others have to keep it outside the smell is overwhelming. I'm not sure why.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

For those of you concerned about growing a culture of undesirable things in your fermented feed, there is always the option of adding a starter to it. Here is one study that duscusses the reduction of "undesirable" things in fermented pig feed ... the fermenting pig feed process seems very similar to the fermenting chicken feed process (backslopping, etc.) except the fermented pig feed sounds wetter.

And ... where does one obtain the starter?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19583798/

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I currently use kefir with 10 live active cultures and Gro2Max, a powder that contains cultures of bacteria and yeast formulated specifically for chickens.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I currently use kefir with 10 live active cultures and Gro2Max, a powder that contains cultures of bacteria and yeast formulated specifically for chickens.

Can a room-temperature dry compound be alive enough to help? Or is that just for probiotics?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Well, probiotics is what fermented feed is isn't it?

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

What does refresh the bucket mean? I started over with no starter in glass--the feed smelled nice, like sourdough a bit. No mold--I probably did not need to start over but the white film covered every inch of the top and did not seem right to me--threw it all away. i stir, I replace. i dont know what happened.

 

[niqueie]

I said refreshed, but what I meant was new feed and water added in. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[roostereggs]

I am excited to see the difference in percentage of feed we will be using. I start a new bag next week and will keep track. I would have to go look, but currently for my 8 adults, a 50# bag of dry free feed lasts me 12-13 days or so.

Not sure how to compare with the littles because of their fast growth rates, but a 50# bag of dry grower feed lasted exactly 6 weeks for 18 chicks. I started their FF this week (8 weeks old).

Does anyone know when they will reach their full mature adult weights? I have Marans and CCL/SBELs. And some RIRxEE and Rhodebars.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Well, probiotics is what fermented feed is isn't it?

I'm asking about the format of the commercial starter products.