FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

Tried fermented foods for the first time the other week, all I did was put 1 cup of feed in a jar with 2 cups of water (just make sure all food is covered by water otherwise it will mold). I think it took about 2-3 days of sitting on my counter to ferment (depends on the warmth, my house is cold), it had a sour smell, not moldy. I fed it to the chickens in a glass dish, they ate it up. Not complex at all and it worked for me. I remake a jar each day so I have a continuous supply, each day a new jar is ready.

I just want to ask the rest of you fermenting-foodies, did this attract more predators for you? After doing this for the first 2 days, I lost a chicken. Looked like a raccoon caused it and it happened during the day! I've never had a problem during the day with predators..

On the plus side, I got the most eggs I've ever gotten in one day after 1 week of fermented foods. One of my hens had stopped laying at the beginning of summer and just started laying after the food was introduced.

I think that may have been mere coincidence, though the meat of the chicken sure does TASTE better after they've been eating FF, I doubt the coon would know that.

The smell of the FF in your coop or feeders may have attracted that coon to the area, though....it's a tantalizing smell that can travel a far piece and it definitely smells stronger than regular feed. Could have just been that food is in shorter supply out there in the winter months and now your chickens are on the menu.

And...no, you don't have to use mother ACV to get your FF started or going, so no worries about that information. And you definitely don't have to have the feed covered with water to get a good ferment and it won't "mold" if you leave it exposed over the water, though you may see some yeast growth....and if left long enough that way, mold will start to grow, but most feed it out long before then.

 

[Molpet]

most of us use this method
I didn't have more predators...
https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Those of you who use commercial feeds (pellets, crumbles, whatever), how do you strain it after it has fermented? Regardless of it's original form this feed is quickly reduced into a gooey mush which just clogs the strainer (even the screen mesh type) making it impossible to strain so the chickens now have to contend with this soupy mess. I eventually mixed in some dry feed to stiffen it up so they could eat it, but this kinda compromises the savings benefit. I could just ferment grains, but I heard that doesn't really supply the same nutritional balance that mixed feed does.

Suggestions?

Hi.

I used to try that.

Keeping water above my mix and straining for fear of mold. I live in what should be the mold capitol of the world, the PNW. Everything molds here. But not once since I started fermenting (maybe 9 months) have I had mold. I did get a white fluffy stuff once that was yeast, mixed it in and never looked back. I mix once a day and rinse the sides of my bucket down once a week when I am adding new feed.

Now I mix thicker. I start just with feed and water, no acv or starters, and mix it once daily. I now have a batch fermenting while I feed out the current batch. When I get to about one days worth of feed left, I use the stewing batch and replenish the starter batch. Usually 5-7 days is how long it takes to feed out.

I haven't successfully measured ever. So the batch that isn't being fed out will be thickened or thinned according to whatever I was off either at my next stirring of it (which I do when I feed out daily), or halfway through the week so the added grain can still ferment but it didn't take as much effort to stir the thick mix.

I am doing 50# batches in 18 gallon totes, so I guesstimate the water amount. The feed always swells when it absorbs the water so I leave room for expansion (and stirring) in the container.

I know Bee said she doesn't stir hers. But if I don't stir mine, it has layers in it. Usually near the bottom is a much thinner layer and the thick stuff sits on top. I mix it back together and get my original consistency again.

 

[FlyWheel]

Hey Flywheel,

What I do to make it as easy as possible is to put a cup or so of past fermented feed into a bucket, fill the bucket 1/3 with water (which should mix the starter feed throughout), then add feed up to the 2/3-3/4 level. Mix thoroughly, adding just enough water to come to the top of the feed, just barely. Let it sit and the water will soak into the feed, also bringing more air throughout the mixture. I usually have to add a little more water after that, but you want a thick consistency.

Adding only enough water to get soaked up aerates the mix quite well and it ferments quickly. I have gone to a two bucket system so that I always have a bucket ready to go.

I really did find it was worth the effort. My feed bill dropped by at least 40% in trials, you get that much less waste, my birds were very healthy, and I was actually able to brood 140 of them in my basement without much smell.

Good luck!

So then it doesn't have to be drained, just feed it to them as mush? Great.

The way you described is pretty much how I did my second batch. 1:1 water feed, stir, and as the feed absorbed water add more until the consistency stabilized where I liked it. Right now it is @ the consistency of wet mortar. I 'back slopped' it with about 1/4 cup of the prior mix. I don't use buckets though, all I have is 11 birds. I found a pair of glazed stoneware food containers at the GoodWill store, about 11/2 quarts each, hopefully these will make enough so I can rotate them.

Also, I thought I would add some whole grains to the mix just to make it more interesting to the chooks, and while I was in TSC I found a bag with a pretty impressive label:

It's got nearly twice the nutritional value of regular scratch "feed" (at least of those nutrients listed on the scratch) probably because there is more in it than just corn and wheat, which is what I was looking for. But the really funny thing is, this stuff is labeled not as a feed, but a treat!

 

[ShanandGem]

It's COLD here right now and I have been having trouble with the FF freezing into a giant ice cube before everyone gets a chance to eat it all. I spotted a couple of frostbitten tips on the comb of my daughter's rooster so as of yesterday everyone has heat. It's still below freezing In the coops, but the water stays liquid for a hour or so longer than it used to.

 

[Beekissed]

Some folks use heated dog dishes for keeping their FF unfrozen. I've found I can keep mine well until they can eat it all if I just put it on the DL in my coop...it's the only time I ever feed on the ground and it's only necessary here if it's single digits and below zero for many days on end. Most of the time they eat it all before it can freeze.

If you've gotten frost bitten tips, it's most likely a ventilation problem rather than a cold issue.

 

[ShanandGem]

Some folks use heated dog dishes for keeping their FF unfrozen. I've found I can keep mine well until they can eat it all if I just put it on the DL in my coop...it's the only time I ever feed on the ground and it's only necessary here if it's single digits and below zero for many days on end. Most of the time they eat it all before it can freeze.

If you've gotten frost bitten tips, it's most likely a ventilation problem rather than a cold issue.

I agree on the ventilation front. This young rooster likes to snuggle down in the nesting area with his hens on top of him (literally). It has to be a pretty humid environment. I moved them to a different coop with roosting bars only, unless he wants to sleep on the ground.
And even my deep litter is frozen. It's been -10 for close to a week and they're calling for -20 by Monday.

 

[WPFarmstead]

So then it doesn't have to be drained, just feed it to them as mush? Great. The way you described is pretty much how I did my second batch. 1:1 water feed, stir, and as the feed absorbed water add more until the consistency stabilized where I liked it. Right now it is @ the consistency of wet mortar. I 'back slopped' it with about [SUP]1/[SUB]4[/SUB][/SUP] cup of the prior mix. I don't use buckets though, all I have is 11 birds. I found a pair of glazed stoneware food containers at the GoodWill store, about 1[SUP]1[/SUP]/[SUB]2[/SUB] quarts each, hopefully these will make enough so I can rotate them. Also, I thought I would add some whole grains to the mix just to make it more interesting to the chooks, and while I was in TSC I found a bag with a pretty impressive label: It's got nearly twice the nutritional value of regular scratch "feed" (at least of those nutrients listed on the scratch) probably because there is more in it than just corn and wheat, which is what I was looking for. But the really funny thing is, this stuff is labeled not as a feed, but a treat!

It's a treat, because it's low in protein for layers and high in fat. Definitely not an everyday feed, similar to scratch.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree on the ventilation front. This young rooster likes to snuggle down in the nesting area with his hens on top of him (literally). It has to be a pretty humid environment. I moved them to a different coop with roosting bars only, unless he wants to sleep on the ground.
And even my deep litter is frozen. It's been -10 for close to a week and they're calling for -20 by Monday.

Brrrrrr!!!! We usually don't see those kinds of temps until Jan/Feb around these parts! Supposed to get single digits next week and start seeing some real winter weather finally.

Got any nice, dry leaves to put on top of that deep litter? They don't freeze up like the wood shavings, straw and such. The fact your deep litter is freezing would seem to indicate it's got a lot of humidity in it too, so opening up a few areas of ventilation may help with that issue and covering the damp/frozen DL with a dry layer may help as well.

 

[ShanandGem]

Brrrrrr!!!! We usually don't see those kinds of temps until Jan/Feb around these parts! Supposed to get single digits next week and start seeing some real winter weather finally.

Got any nice, dry leaves to put on top of that deep litter? They don't freeze up like the wood shavings, straw and such. The fact your deep litter is freezing would seem to indicate it's got a lot of humidity in it too, so opening up a few areas of ventilation may help with that issue and covering the damp/frozen DL with a dry layer may help as well.

I don't mean frozen like an ice cube, but definitely not giving off any noticeable heat. I throw down a little scratch daily and everyone digs in it. It couldn't keep my FF from freezing though.
The ground is frozen hard here already.