FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[lazy gardener]

I don't understand the issue with flies being related to FF. Is your run bare ground? I'd more likely guess that the flies are breeding in the poo, and just attracted to the FF. If the feed is not left out for more than 24 hours, the fly maggots wouldn't have time to mature, therefore, any eggs laid in the feed would be eaten. I feed twice/day, and the feed bowls are usually scraped clean twice/day. If your FF is left open to the air, no covering what so ever, perhaps that might be a bit of an issue, and you could cover it with a top to allow air exchange, but exclude flies. Are you actually seeing maggots IN the FF???? You might consider putting a deep mulch in your run, if it's bare soil. That should attract plenty of beneficial organisms to help rid the area of flies.

 

[Beekissed]

I've never seen a fly on my FF and I leave my bucket in the coop with the lid cracked. Never saw a fly on the feed in the trough nor in the bucket. Maybe the feed you are fermenting has a fish meal or meat protein as the protein source and the smell is attracting the flies? The usual report on flies and FF involves fruit flies only and they are attracted to any fermentation and pose no problem.

You might place netting around your bucket and feed once per day each evening, just enough the birds clean it up well by the time it starts to warm up the next day.

I agree with LG.....some composting deep litter and really good ventilation may help also.

 

[Siggie]

I have been using the FF for the past 3 years and it has saved me a bunch of money. Before I switched I was buying 50# lb of EggMaker Pellets every month. By keeping this record I noticed I really need to cut back on the Scratch! I not only mix it up in their feed but they get a bit of it in the morning. My flock also free ranges.

Just in the last year I started keeping a record of how many eggs I received from the hens, eggs sold, etc. etc.

Here is what I showed for the first 5 months of this year:

Eggs: 554
Sold: 36 dozen
Free: 7 dozen

Egg Maker Pellets: $24.50
Scratch w/Sunflower Seeds: $38.25
Shavings: $6.50
Chick Starter/Grower: $13.98

I am in the black, but it wouldn't support my husband and I.

YAY! That's what I wanted to see!! I am a new to chickens and when I started buying feed it was outrageous! I buy organic, non GMO, no soy and the prices almost killed me because I had to have it shipped...I was going through a 25lb bag every week and a half and then I found out about fermented seeds. Good news also...I found a feed store only 75 miles away and they carry Cashton's (WI brand) that is organic, non GMO and with a no soy version!! The 50lb bag is about $38. The price combined with the fermented process has made a 50lb bag last almost a month!! So when I see numbers like yours, I am more positive!! I know I won't be able to live off selling eggs but I (and my husband who is very skeptical) would hope to break even or make a little

Thanks for the great info!!

 

[Pendragonz]

I have been using the FF for the past 3 years and it has saved me a bunch of money. Before I switched I was buying 50# lb of EggMaker Pellets every month. By keeping this record I noticed I really need to cut back on the Scratch! I not only mix it up in their feed but they get a bit of it in the morning. My flock also free ranges.

Just in the last year I started keeping a record of how many eggs I received from the hens, eggs sold, etc. etc.

Here is what I showed for the first 5 months of this year:

Eggs: 554
Sold: 36 dozen
Free: 7 dozen

Egg Maker Pellets: $24.50
Scratch w/Sunflower Seeds: $38.25
Shavings: $6.50
Chick Starter/Grower: $13.98

I am in the black, but it wouldn't support my husband and I.

TexasLisa, how many chickens are we talking about? It's nice to see detailed record keeping such as yours. Just wondering how many birds.

 

[TexasLisa]

TexasLisa, how many chickens are we talking about? It's nice to see detailed record keeping such as yours. Just wondering how many birds.

Good Morning!!

I have 8 hens, 1 rooster, and 4 chicks.

 

[roddycn1216]

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?

1. I am new to chickens and the oldest chicks I have right now are 9 weeks old. I have 28 birds total

After being on BackYardChickens and reading and learning, I discovered the benefits of fermenting feed. I feed Scratch and Peck feeds and I decided to read what others thought of the feed and, little did I know, THIS FEED IS DESIGNED TO BE FERMENTED LOL!

2. I have been doing this for 3 weeks now.

3. My method of doing this is pretty simple. I took a 5 gallon bucket, put my feed in there (less than half of the 5 gallon bucket because it absorbs so much water.). When I started, I let it sit for 3 days before I fed it. But, BY WHEN I DID FINALLY GET TO FEED IT, they gobbled it up! The Scratch and Peck feed fermented WONDERFULLY on it's own. I did not add ACV. After 12 hours, I had the bubbling and tell tale smell of fermenting... SOUR! One day I made the mistake of forgetting to add more feed after I fed and my water and feed level got down too low. I decided to add some of my own RAW, ORGANIC PROBIOTICS to my mix and within 2 hours I had fermentation. It was a total of 170 BILLION COUNT of probiotics so plenty of excellent quality bacteria in there!

4. I use Scratch and Peck feeds and have had great results with fermenting without having to add anything! My chicks LOVE this feed!

5. This is a great method to use and I LOVE IT because it saves me so much money because there is NO WASTE. Before I discovered this method, I was buying a bag of feed a week. Now, I buy a bag about every 2 weeks! But now my chicks are also free ranging so my feed rations are extending even more!!

 

[TexasLisa]

Welcome aboard Roddy!!

Isn't it exciting to know you can cut your feed bill in half?

How many chickens do you have and what kind?

 

[roddycn1216]

I was VERY EXCITED! At first, I was like "Oh Lord what have I gotten myself into!?" because it was so expensive to feed good food! Thank God for BackYardChickens so I could read up on fermenting LOL! Now that I have gotten them out of their brooder and in their brand new coop and I am very blessed to have a perimeter fence which protects them from predation... a 25lb bag of grower will last me, I bet, a MONTH. If I wasn't fermenting it MAY last me 2 weeks!

Oh and I have 5 Bantams, 6 I have no clue what they are LOL!, and 17 Barred Plymouth Rocks!

 

[Leigti]

I was VERY EXCITED!  At first, I was like "Oh Lord what have I gotten myself into!?"  because it was so expensive to feed good food!  Thank God for BackYardChickens so I could read up on fermenting LOL!  Now that I have gotten them out of their brooder and in their brand new coop and I am very blessed to have a perimeter fence which protects them from predation... a 25lb bag of grower will last me, I bet, a MONTH.  If I wasn't fermenting it MAY last me 2 weeks!  

Oh and I have 5 Bantams, 6 I have no clue what they are LOL!, and 17 Barred Plymouth Rocks!  

that's a lot of chickens. I have been doing for Manteen for about a year and a half. I use the one bucket method. I feed scratch and pack, or H and H brand. Fermenting allows me to get the more expensive food. My chickens also free range in the yard during the day.

 

[ShanandGem]

What do you FF experts make of this; I decided to try fermenting my feed this morning and it bubbled and started smelling yeasty no more than a couple of hours after I added the water. This feed is my own blend of commercial scratch,soybean meal, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and millet seeds, nutritional yeast, oyster shells and cod liver oil. I added maybe a 1/4 teaspoon of powdered probiotic, which started to foam the moment it hit the water.
My water is from a deep well and is untreated. Is it maybe the nutritional yeast just coming back to life? I wasn't expecting to see results this quickly. I won't soak my feed more than overnight before feeding as I think it would go haywire quickly.