FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[BY Chicken Lady]

It's not necessary to keep water over the top. That is a personal preference and most of us tend to keep ours on the drier side. I don't want the extra hassle of straining my feed.

@BY Chicken Lady where are you? I am on the Colo. River in AZ.

I am in Central Arizona and SW Colorado.

I had issues with my FF going bad if I didn't keep it wet enough. Its not really a hassle to drain the liquid, I have an easy system that takes me all of about 30 seconds to do, and the reserved liquid is used to jumpstart my new batch daily.

 

[ReillyJ]

I am in Central Arizona and SW Colorado.

I had issues with my FF going bad if I didn't keep it wet enough. Its not really a hassle to drain the liquid, I have an easy system that takes me all of about 30 seconds to do, and the reserved liquid is used to jumpstart my new batch daily.

That's good to know!

I live in Western WA and while we're having a STUPENDOUS summer here, the temps at night drop big time and in my house it's about 58 and 77 during the day so i'm hoping the FF keep going, nothing i can do about it until i keep the pellet stove going at night which i'm not going to do yet, so it looks like i won't have to worry about keeping it real wet, i think the chickens have an easier time eating it drier, the wet just seems to get mashed on the floor or sides of the feeder

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Dried just a bit maybe a T. per hen a day i mixed it into their FF so they're encouraged to eat it, i figure it's healthy protein

Dried just a bit maybe a T. per hen a day i mixed it into their FF so they're encouraged to eat it, i figure it's healthy protein


I don't keep water over mine either, i think my hens prefer it drier, also.

My girls devour the pan of FF I give them each morning. It isn't soupy wet when I give it to them, I drain the liquids and reserve it for my new batch. The dry food they will pick at if they can't find enough to forage on.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

That's good to know!

I live in Western WA and while we're having a STUPENDOUS summer here, the temps at night drop big time and in my house it's about 58 and 77 during the day so i'm hoping the FF keep going, nothing i can do about it until i keep the pellet stove going at night which i'm not going to do yet, so it looks like i won't have to worry about keeping it real wet, i think the chickens have an easier time eating it drier, the wet just seems to get mashed on the floor or sides of the feeder

If its really cold in your house, check out the top of your refrigerator. Sounds silly but it actually stays a little warm up there. I keep my honey on the top during the winter months because it keeps it from crystallizing from the cold. I typically don't let my house get below 62 inside, but if we are gone for a few days we turn the heat way down and it can get cold inside.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

That's good to know!

I live in Western WA and while we're having a STUPENDOUS summer here, the temps at night drop big time and in my house it's about 58 and 77 during the day so i'm hoping the FF keep going, nothing i can do about it until i keep the pellet stove going at night which i'm not going to do yet, so it looks like i won't have to worry about keeping it real wet, i think the chickens have an easier time eating it drier, the wet just seems to get mashed on the floor or sides of the feeder

I should snap a picture of the FF dish when the girls are done eating...you only see a tan hue with tiny scratch marks where their beaks touched the dish...they eat every last morsel.

 

[LindaB220]

Thanks, LindaB

They didn't really want the dry pellets! I think they are certainly accustomed by now though. The FF is about 3 weeks in or so. I'll try to get some pics up. Maybe i can find a good layer pellet (not really impressed w/any out there!) and add that into the Scratch nPeck that i'm fermenting.

I think it's especially one that i'm a bit concerned about, i don't think she's the bottom of the pecking order so to speak but she's slower to come to the food bowl, but i cannot monitor her all of the time nor can i force feed her! I did post that i do need to figure something out to feed the FF out of and preferably more than one station because it's getting all over everywhere. OY

The easy way to do it is to get a rain gutter and cut it in half. That will give you 2 five foot troughs. 2x4 on each end to stabilize. Raise it as they grow. Easy peasy. I made a mistake when I got started and had a handyman make me one 6' long using 2x6" boards nailed into a v and attached on the ends. Too bulky, too heavy and I wish I'd found out about the rain gutter sooner. sigh

 

[ReillyJ]

OK here's some pics so bear with me.

Susie is the red one, sex link or RIR i don't know. i think she looks ok and she does have a great appetite but they always look on the scrawny side TO ME when i look at them from the front.

Betty the EE looks okay, the other EE Thelma is the one i question, i think she's shy with the food and gets aced out a bit but there's NOTHING I CAN DO about that, like..right now they're free ranging and i brought some of their FF out to them (they're way too stupid to go back into the coop to eat, drink water or lay--they do all that out in our yard while they're free ranging) and they gobbled it (i did add some pelleted feed to the ferment last night and of course it's dissolved so maybe they like the taste of it in combo) and i offered Thelma in a separate dish which she ate but then the others came over. I cannot babysit them so she's going to have to figure it out. I cannot expend anymore energy right now (have human health crisis going on right now)

but anyway, here's their pics (keep in mind camera intensity and saturation of colors can vary and may not necessarily be TTL)

i also do really think they've been through a molt, there were feathers everywhere and there's still odd little feathers sticking out of them.

THELMA



SUSIE




LUCY she looks good, she likes food FF



BETTY looks ok



Here's another shot of THELMA below





THELMA



FOOD DISH i just cleaned

 

[evemfoster]

OK here's some pics so bear with me.

Susie is the red one, sex link or RIR i don't know. i think she looks ok and she does have a great appetite but they always look on the scrawny side TO ME when i look at them from the front.

Betty the EE looks okay, the other EE Thelma is the one i question, i think she's shy with the food and gets aced out a bit but there's NOTHING I CAN DO about that, like..right now they're free ranging and i brought some of their FF out to them (they're way too stupid to go back into the coop to eat, drink water or lay--they do all that out in our yard while they're free ranging) and they gobbled it (i did add some pelleted feed to the ferment last night and of course it's dissolved so maybe they like the taste of it in combo) and i offered Thelma in a separate dish which she ate but then the others came over. I cannot babysit them so she's going to have to figure it out. I cannot expend anymore energy right now (have human health crisis going on right now)

but anyway, here's their pics (keep in mind camera intensity and saturation of colors can vary and may not necessarily be TTL)

i also do really think they've been through a molt, there were feathers everywhere and there's still odd little feathers sticking out of them.

THELMA



SUSIE




LUCY she looks good, she likes food FF



BETTY looks ok



Here's another shot of THELMA below





THELMA



FOOD DISH i just cleaned

Thelma looks good to me, but a little thinner in the chest than Lucy. But she doesn't look sick, just a bit lighter it also doesn't look to me like her crop is full. Did you take the photos before or after they ate.

 

[ReillyJ]

Thelma looks good to me, but a little thinner in the chest than Lucy. But she doesn't look sick, just a bit lighter it also doesn't look to me like her crop is full. Did you take the photos before or after they ate.

I feed them about 6:30 in the morning enough for probably a few hours until i let them out to free range and that's when that was and i just put down food after and she really went for it BUT of course gives up easily and gets aced out a bit, nothing i can do about it except keep offering it to them. i know she goes NUTS for shelled BOSS and dried meal worms but i'm trying not to give that now so she'll eat more of the FF but i thought those snacks were very nutritious at about a couple T a hen. Also i didn't even know what a crop was, kind of figuring it out!

 

[ak rain]

I have 2-3 stations for feed and water so the alphas can't hog more then one. it seems to work I have 8 layers 2 youths and 4 ducks.
Ak rain