FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[bruceh]

So what is the best way to ferment the feed? Is there a right and wrong way?
Also if feed consumption is cut in half, as stated above, how can that be good?

fermenting is simple. take feed put it in a plastic bucket. next add water to cover ( optional put a glug or 2 of apple cider vinegar w/ mother ) the feed by 2 inches. let the water absorb into the feed. stir the feed. next add more water as necessary to make a consistency of oatmeal. let the feed sit for 2-3 days. each day stir the feed. make sure the feed is kept moist like oatmeal.
the cutting in 1/2 of feed used is when people fee range their flock and the birds find their own food.

 

[Beekissed]

So what is the best way to ferment the feed? Is there a right and wrong way?
Also if feed consumption is cut in half, as stated above, how can that be good?

I would advise doing some reading in the threads about this method of feeding to find out these things as they have been explained time and again in the course of the threads. I know that is sometimes difficult in very large threads but as the information is repeated over and over, it sometimes loses content that is important in the interest of brevity. Anything worth doing is worth the work of studying on it and researching it before implementing. It will give you a better understanding and help you decide on doing the method and also in what manner best suits your husbandry methods and goals.

The very beginning of these FF threads describe the most simple method of starting and the reasoning behind it, so once you have digested that information you can probably skip to the end of the thread to ask more detail related questions for more accurate information being given.

 

[ivy crew farm]

How long does a batch last once it's fermented for a day or two?

 

[Beekissed]

Mine has lasted since last fall...so who knows? As long as you are refreshing the mix with feed and more water as you get to the bottom of the container, it can go on indefinitely. That doesn't mean refreshing with feed daily as that is not necessary.

 

[RedneckGurl]

How long does a batch last once it's fermented for a day or two?

I guess you could say indefinitely as you use the remains of the initial batch of fermented feed to continue the process. I've been doing this now for almost three weeks and I've had to replenish my bucket just twice with some additional feed and water. Since the feed left in the bottom of the bucket is already fermented, you don't have to add any more ACV. Trust me - this is SO easy to do and my birds just love it. I have some who try to peck it off the scoop as soon as it comes out of the bucket, before I can even get it dished out. Because the grains and feed absorb water and because the fermentation process makes more nutrients available for the birds to digest and absorb, they require less feed to be full and to give them what they need, nutritionally, on a daily basis. It's not so much that they are getting less to eat but that they are getting more and better nutritional intake from a smaller quantity of feed. Before I began feeding FF, I was getting between 5-7 eggs per day. Over the past week or so, I've begun getting between 8-10 eggs every day. I honestly don't know anything else to account for this but the FF. It is the only thing that has changed. I'm using the same feed as before, I'm now just fermenting it. Beekissed is correct that you should read some of the other threads on here and do some research on your own if you think you still have questions or wonder if FF is for you and your flock. Don't over think this. The only thing you want to do is make sure the bucket and scoop are food-grade plastic and not metal. The acids produced by the fermentation will eat the metal and you don't want that. Good luck and happy fermenting!

 

[davemonkey]

Quick question: I've been doing this fermenting with scratch grains with notable results and an thrilled. But do some folk use layer pellets, for example, and other stuff as well? I was about to throw some pellets in my fermenting can, but I want to make sure first.

Thanks!
-Dave

 

[sarahsunshine]

Yep - I have 2 separate buckets - one for the layers and one for the grower feed. NOt really necessary, but my layers did even better when fermenting the layer feed!

 

[Beekissed]

Quick question: I've been doing this fermenting with scratch grains with notable results and an thrilled. But do some folk use layer pellets, for example, and other stuff as well? I was about to throw some pellets in my fermenting can, but I want to make sure first.

Thanks!
-Dave

Yep! I ferment all my feed, both mash and whole grains together. When I have chicks, I just place the starter crumbles right in the mix...it makes for a more pasty ferment but also easier to feed than even the whole grains because it absorbs more of the fluid. A bit messier when the grains have been ground up like that but it's still the same feed, just different cut. If you are currently straining your whole grains before feeding, it will take that step out of the process because you really can't strain the finer ground feed without it going through the holes, so most folks mix it to a mortar consistency and feed it like that. The feed doesn't have to stay submersed in liquid to stay fermented and stay good, so don't worry about that aspect of the thicker feed one gets with fermenting mash, pellets, crumbles.

 

[davemonkey]

Upon request I am starting a thread about using fermentation to improve feed nutritive value and health benefits.

1. Anyone doing it?
2. How long have you been doing it?
3. Your methods?
4. Grains/feeds used in this manner?
5. Your overall review of this method of feeding?

In the spirit of sticking to topic.... (For those like me who would have to look it up or ask..."UP/ACV" = Unpasturized Apple Cider Vinegar...[and get the one with "the mother" in it].

1. Yep.

2. Not long...couple weeks maybe

3. I have a large plastic coffee can that I was tossing kitchen scraps into daily. It started to smell horrible and I needed a solution. [Fast forward through a lot of details about how it all came together...I tend to get long-winded so I omitted this for the sake of brevity.] So...my method started out with 4 plastic cups worth of scratch grains (aka bird seed with "extras")...maybe about 6 actual measured "cups". To that I added some rolled oats we had laying around, some "quinoa" that I snuck in for fun, and beans and whatever else. [NOTE: It doesn't matter how much you start out with...this is not a lab experiment and you won't get a grade.

)

I dumped in a gloggle of the UP/ACV (maybe 1 tsp...maybe more) and covered all the stuff with water and mixed. It sat overnight, and the next morning I fed my chicken 1/2 of the contents. Immediately after feeding the chickens, I replace whatever I fed them with fresh grains, so I end up with a bare minimum now of 1) some old stuff and 2) the rest of the stuff that has soaked and fermented for 24 hours. I just repeat each morning...feed 1/2 of what's in there (along with kitchen scraps that I now sit atop the seed mix) and leave the other half to continue fermenting and provide the fermenting agent for the new grains.

4. So, far, scratch grains mixed with whatever amount rolled oats, beans, etc...that I can sneak out of the pantry. But now I want to toss in my layer pellets as well...if it turns out that this is okay.

5. I am thoroughly satisfied with this.

First of all, my kitchen does not stink because the coffee can, that used to smell up the kitchen with "rotten scraps odor" is now neutralized with the ACV. I smell NOTHING unless I stick my face inside the container...and even then it's not a terrible smell at all. (I wouldn't wear it as cologne...but still... )

Second, I can tell a difference in digestibility of the grains. When I first started to feed scratch grains (dry) and other seeds to my chickens, I could see the seed mixed into the poop. Now, I can't. It's that simple.

 

[sarahsunshine]

Upon request I am starting a thread about using fermentation to improve feed nutritive value and health benefits.

1. Anyone doing it?
2. How long have you been doing it?
3. Your methods?
4. Grains/feeds used in this manner?
5. Your overall review of this method of feeding?

Going with the trend

1) Yep
2) since beginning of July when I got my chickens!
3) Got a 5 gallon bucket, put in some feed (4-5 inches?), covered it with rain water by 2-3 inches, stired thoroughly, let it sit. Fed a bunch of soaked grain from the bucket to the chickens that night, then added a bunch more feed and water. Repeat 2-3 times a day.
4) Feed I use depends on what was available. I started with wheat spillage from the local heritage grain producer (exchange for our homemade wine). Decided it probably didn’t have enough protein so mixed that approximately 50/50 with organic grower mix from our local grain elevator. Then I split that in 2 buckets when my DH bought layer feed as well as grower – more so that there wouldn’t be too much calcium with the growers than because the layers needed the extra.
5) The chickens love it, it smells good, the neighbour’s dog who is fussy about food just goes nuts for it. Is there a similar cereal for people? I would love to have some too!