FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

I am thinking that it is probably not the high protein in the feed. I ferment 30% game bird feed for my quail with no strange smells. I can't tell the difference in smell between the pail for the chickens of plain old layer rations, and the one for the quail (just went and took a test sniff to be sure).

That's good to know!!

1. Yep
2. about a year.
3. Water and commercial feed in a plastic bucket. When it starts getting low (after about 5-6 days) I add more feed and water.
4. I have two buckets going. 1. Purina layer ration for the chickens 2. Game bird Growth and plumage (30% protein) for the quail.
5. Takes a bit more work than free feeding but not a huge issue with my chicken flock of 10 and 5 quail pens. I love that I can brood the chicks in the house and they don't stink at all! I also like that they don't eat as much (the chickens - my quail have never had dry food) on FF as they do when they are free fed. (I have never tested that officially though, I suppose it is possible that I am feeding less in their "meals" then what they would eat given the choice.) When I first started, egg production jumped noticeably.

Great feedback!!!

 

[monkcat]

That's pretty bad, then, if the dog won't even eat it. That stinky squirrel thing sounds just like my dog...nothing is too nasty for him to consume.

That's pretty hot! Most folks who live where you live are keeping their FF in a basement or some such place that's cool...sort of like us folks who live in colder climates bring ours in for the winter to keep it from freezing.



Great feedback and I'm so pleased to hear how well your flock is doing on the FF! Isn't it wonderful to have meaties that don't smell bad? Even when you process them you'll find their innards don't smell bad like they normally would...and the meat tastes sweeter as well.

Thank you for the compliments, they just make my day....sometimes it feels like one is talking to the wall and no one is listening and then comes along some wonderful folks like the ones on this thread today and it all seems worth it. If even one person is helped along with this info and are pleased with the results, it feels wonderful for having written it...when many are helped, it's like a gift!

I haven't been chiming in, but I can promise you I've read every post and am soaking it up like a sponge. Got my baby chick food soaking in water fermenting as we speak. Hope to pick up the chickies Monday and should be fermenting okay by then I think. It's upper 70's in my house ~78. Started it Friday. I for one am enjoying learning from other mistakes and successes.

 

[Tikkijane]

Maybe after all my spring choring is done and there is a little lull in work in the heat of the summer...that would be a good time.  But it still wouldn't help anyone who runs onto this thread and hits that first page.  Not unless we could link it over on that page.  Meanwhile TikTokk has an amazing rundown on such things so I usually just give newbies the link to her blog site when they ask questions that have already been answered a million times. 

Even with that, there are over 200 comments. Many of them ask the same things that are IN the FAQ. I know it's a long post, but boy howdy. I have taken to quoting the original words. If I could html it {I can't, per the design}, I'd collapse it and have internal links.

And even with all of that, there are still more frequently asked questions! I may have to do other posts and link to the FAQ. I recently gave a more detailed reply on why FF isn't getting them drunk....

I've concluded that many folks generally don't like to read/research in detail. Maybe it's another symptom of our "want it/get it now" society {shrugs}. They want all the "necessary" info boiled down to just a few wee bites. I'm all for condensing, but sometimes just the nitty gritty isn't enough.

For whatever that's worth.

 

[Beekissed]

I appreciate all that you do on your site with the FF info, TikkTok, I really do...you save me so much time and words, words, words, just from the work you have done there. But, like you've said, sometimes even doing all that work isn't enough....folks want miracles.

 

[cjwaldon]

One thing I've noticed is comments on how often people are stirring their ff. Stir daily, stir three times a day, stir, stir, stir. I don't do that. I back slop, add water, stir, add new food, stir, done. That's it. I do not stir again after I have set up the bucket. My buckets ferment for two or three days before being used, sometimes up to five days. I use a bamboo spoon to stir. After the liquid is soaked up it's too thick to stir with my spoon. I have never gotten around to getting something better to stir with. The food still ferments just the same. Sometimes I end up with thick layer of scoby on top. I just ladle it out. The chickens eat it just the same. No fuss.

 

[Beekissed]

Same here. If I stir at all after the refresh, it's just to scrape feed off the sides of the bucket, but it's nigh impossible to stir a mix as dry as mine. I don't know where the stir, stir, stir thing came into the picture....I've never stressed excessive stirring on here. I think it all comes down to folks thinking they are doing something and it makes them feel better in some way.

Just like all the complicated feed mixes and added proteins here and there....it's not necessary and even renders the whole purpose of fermenting regular feed~to increase nutrient value and save money in a very simple way~a moot point. When a person starts throwing money at a simple thing and also trying to complicate it, it is no longer a simple thing and what it was is robbed of it. Always leaves me shaking my head in wonder as to why folks want to complicate their lives just so they can say they are doing more than the next person for their animals. Richer and richer foods and more complicated routines will never equal good flock care....ever. Quite the opposite, really.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

What?! Stirring is not necessary??? Where did I get the idea it was? For crying out loud! I am one of those people who has to complicate everything for some bizarre reason, but I don't enjoy it and the stirring stops now!

Thanks!

Okay, so give it to me straight... is sprouting wheat a waste of money and time as well? I sprout for the family so already have sprouting trays, etc., and only feed small amounts of it to the chicks. I enjoy watching the birds go after it, but not really good for them?

Some people feed only straight barley or wheat fodder to their birds because they can get 6 lb of feed from 1 lb of seed, thus cheaper. What say you to that idea? My birds do have a large, green (not dirt and poop) chicken yard that changes with the electric fence and they get to go through compost, etc., for a balanced diet.

 

[Beekissed]

If you are already feeding a balanced ration and they have access to greens, it's probably not worth the time and effort. Maybe in the winter time it would benefit. Since fermentation of the feed provides more nutrition and benefits, it's not really necessary if you are buying chicken feed anyway. It's doubling down and there's no need for it.

It's fiddly and time consuming, takes up space and one has to be careful or they will mold...and not in a good way. If I had chickens and they were penned all the time with no access to greens, even then I'd not do it...I'd just do grow frames so they could feed themselves the sprouted grains over and over without any work on my part.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Beekissed, thanks so much for your time and help. Words of wisdom duly noted and I will simplify my life!

 

[n3kms]

I got my first chickens a year ago. I had been reading on BYC off and on for 4 years before that. I had designed my chicken coop to have a dirt floor and planned the deep litter method. I was fencing in a large run but hoped I would be able to free range a good bit. I had studied upon feeders and feed in final preparation for my chicks and came across fermented feed. I had read probably the first 50 pages and probably should have taken notes because when you have a question you think you have read about it but it is sometimes difficult to find what you know you have read and can't remember. I didn't even know you could search an individual thread. I do most of my reading on my phone and that may not be available through the app. I have been feeding fermented feed for a year now and it is all my chickens have ever had, feed wise. It seems the easiest thing in the world to me now but before I got my first chicks it seemed so complicated and I was so worried about doing something wrong and making my chicks sick. I actually stepped out of my comfort zone and asked some questions and then got ridiculed for asking. Once I got the link to Tikktok's page I read it and that made some things more clear. But I had read from the beginning of the thread and not the later stuff so before I asked my questions I didn't know about the link. Also, I consider myself to have average to above-average intelligence. I have two children with clearly above average intelligence. But I also have two kids(twins) with learning disabilities. One with Aspergers who could read the whole thread and understand it but be thrown off by the detractors because he doesn't comprehend that mindset and would consider them as sincere as everyone else. Then his sister has dyslexia and it would take forever for her to read the whole thread and she would get confused at times because words move around for her. There are other people with all kinds of life issues and situations and those people are asking questions to try to raise healthy chickens. I'm continually amazed when I follow the incubation and broody threads at the patience of those that are doing the helping as the same questions are asked over and over. But each person is treated as though their situation is important to the teacher because the teacher really is interested in helping them. All this is said because I get distressed about all the complaining about having to answer questions and about people being lazy. If you don't want to answer questions then DON'T! There is no need to be so negative all the time. You don't have to answer question 50 times in a row if you don't want to. If I had read the later post a year ago and had seen all those types of remarks I certainly would not have opened myself up to being called lazy on a public forum.