FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

Well, it has been three days now. And they have not touched it. They have been locked in the coop with nothing else in there but water. I give them a fresh spoonful each morning. And they won't eat it. It has a sour smell not a rotten smell so I think it is still good. But I'm getting worried, I don't want to starve them or make them sick. They are molting so they need some food. I will leave it in there overnight again. But should I just give it up and let them out tomorrow or should I keep trying?

Try throwing it on the ground. Sometimes a bird just wants to scratch at something before they think it's food. Trust me...they'd eat it before they would starve and they won't get sick from not eating.

Your chickens are just used to things being a certain way and now it's changed, so it's an adjustment. If you have any BOSS, you can mix a little of that in with it, then toss that FF on the ground and see if they don't start thinking it's food.

 

[redsix]

I'm in the process of switching from starter & grower to layer feed. I've been fermenting the starter & grower. The layer feed has animal protein in it. I wet a batch of it down. The first thing I noticed is that it absorbs more water than the starter and grower. I mixed the starter & grower and water at a ratio of 1 to 1. The second thing I noticed is the layer feed has a disagreeable smell to it. Is the animal protein going to go bad if I try fermenting it? Is anyone fermenting a layer feed that has animal protein?

 

[Beekissed]

It won't go bad but it will smell like a rotting carcass...or so I've been told on this thread. They ferment fish and other meats all the time in other cultures and that's for human consumption, so it's not going to do anything bad to your feed except smell really bad.

 

[Leigti]

The layer feed I am using has fish meal in it and it does not smell bad. It smells sour like it is supposed to. I have boss for mantid in it. They have never been big on that either. I think I have weird chickens :-( I will try throwing it on the ground tomorrow. I did feel their crops and there is a little bit in there so they must have gotten some of it. But nothing like usual. I guess it's going to come down to who can be more stubborn.

 

[Leigti]

Let's just pretend that they actually eat it tomorrow. So then what do I do? Can I start feeding it to them in the mornings and then opening the door? I leave before sunrise so they are still technically asleep. Or would it be better for me to feed it to them in the evening? I don't always get home before it's dark however. Will them being out in the yard all day make them so they will not eat it again? I think it is very important for them to be out in the yard and I feel bad for keeping them cooped up. I realize this is all hypothetical right now but I'm trying to plan ahead trying to be optimistic.

 

[Beekissed]

The layer feed I am using has fish meal in it and it does not smell bad. It smells sour like it is supposed to. I have boss for mantid in it. They have never been big on that either. I think I have weird chickens :-( I will try throwing it on the ground tomorrow. I did feel their crops and there is a little bit in there so they must have gotten some of it. But nothing like usual. I guess it's going to come down to who can be more stubborn.

That's the thing with feeding FF...they don't have to eat as much of it to get same or better nutrition than they did when eating dry feeds. That's why it can cut your feed bill nearly in half.

Yep...your chickens are a tad odd if they won't gobble up BOSS like it's the last thing on Earth to eat.

All birds love BOSS, don't they?

Let's just pretend that they actually eat it tomorrow. So then what do I do? Can I start feeding it to them in the mornings and then opening the door? I leave before sunrise so they are still technically asleep. Or would it be better for me to feed it to them in the evening? I don't always get home before it's dark however. Will them being out in the yard all day make them so they will not eat it again? I think it is very important for them to be out in the yard and I feel bad for keeping them cooped up. I realize this is all hypothetical right now but I'm trying to plan ahead trying to be optimistic.

If they free range all day, they will continue to do so, regardless if you feed FF or not, no matter if you feed morning or evening. Since you get home after dark, it does no good to feed it then. I'd just dish it out in the morning, If you get home and see they left some behind by the time they went to roost, I'd feed less the next day and keep doing that until that feeder is picked clean by nightfall.

I have a feeling your chickens have never truly been hungry before, so they don't quite know what to make of it when they don't have a continual buffet in front of them.

My chickens will eat a little FF, then go right back to free range, whether I feed mornings or evenings. They will keep picking at it all day...or the next morning if fed in the evening, so that the trough is completely empty by the time they get fed once again.

 

[Leigti]

No, I don't think they have ever been hungry. And even though my yard isn't planted with very much stuff they don't seem to like table scraps either. They'll eat a little bit. And they could've cared less about the boss. They do eat the dry food. With only two chickens it's almost difficult to do the fermented food because they eat so little. Although I seriously doubt either one of them ate more than a teaspoonful if that today. I could barely feel anything in their crop. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'll get more chickens in January and it might be easier then with more.

 

[lazy gardener]

I do believe that a larger flock is easier to manage. There's a sense of competition with more birds. They'll chow down, just to keep someone else from eating it!!!

 

[Beekissed]

I've never had just two chickens but I have seen just a couple in a pen away from others and LG is correct...when the food competition is no competition, they seem to eat way less food and with less urgency.

I'm betting that starting a daily ration of set amounts of food might get them back into a more vigorous feeding habit.

It would be kind of hard to ferment for just two chickens.

 

[jerrey]

Try throwing it on the ground. Sometimes a bird just wants to scratch at something before they think it's food. Trust me...they'd eat it before they would starve and they won't get sick from not eating.

Your chickens are just used to things being a certain way and now it's changed, so it's an adjustment. If you have any BOSS, you can mix a little of that in with it, then toss that FF on the ground and see if they don't start thinking it's food.

why do you think fermented food is good