FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[chicken curious]

 
I have seriously thought about fermenting their dog food. Any thoughts? since we are on the subject, what's one more jar on the counter? Would their poop smell less and would there be less of it?

I tried fermenting the dogs food since he loves the chickens FF... he was tired of it after a week and refused to eat it
He is also intolerant of grains and scratches hotspots when he eats it, so I sprinkle red pepper on top of the buckets of ff for chickens to keep him out

Red pepper on top...great idea!

 

[igorsMistress]

Well, my dog likes FF. One of the kids let her out as I was closing up the coop last night and I found the dog licking the bowl clean. Smh

Edit: apparently she's not the only one! Crazy dogs.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Does this look ok? I started it 2 days ago and it is made from chick crumbles and a bit of scratch. It looks like it has "bubbles" in it do I need to add more water or is this normal? It does not smell bad.

 

[Molpet]

Does this look ok? I started it 2 days ago and it is made from chick crumbles and a bit of scratch. It looks like it has "bubbles" in it do I need to add more water or is this normal? It does not smell bad.

looks fine https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[FlyWheel]

Nope, you want the bubbles. that's CO2 and it means your feed is fermenting. What you want to look out for is black or green mold and/or a bad smell. A smell and or vinegary taste means everything's OK.

 

[redsix]

looks fine https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

I use equal amounts of water and feed crumbles in mine. It's about like thick oatmeal.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Ok thanks! That was very informative! I looked at the link and if I ever saw the yeast in there I probably would have thrown the whole thing out. I am very glad I know that now! This is my first batch of ff I have made and I was very afraid I would mess something up. Thanks for the help! I'm glad everything is ok!

 

[igorsMistress]

I have a question for those of you who ferment where it's hot during the summer.

It gets to 115 here and overnight lows only drop to 90-95 degrees. When I ferment it's in the house which stays close to 78.

It only takes a couple days to ferment a small amount of food, enough for a treat now and then.

Is it true that a larger amount of feed will take longer to ferment? And for those who continuously ferment, the constant introduction of fresh grain provides the sugar to keep the fermentation going, correct?

I'm trying to figure out if the short fermentation times I have experienced are from the warmth of the house or the exhaustion of sugar because the amount of grain is so small.

 

[mobius]

While I do not live in a warm climate, I do my fermenting in the house on the kitchen counter, and it is probably 62-68 degrees F in the house. When I backslop my feed into my existing ferment and add water and stir, it is ready overnight. Every time.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have a question for those of you who ferment where it's hot during the summer.

It gets to 115 here and overnight lows only drop to 90-95 degrees. When I ferment it's in the house which stays close to 78.

It only takes a couple days to ferment a small amount of food, enough for a treat now and then.

And for those who continuously ferment, Is it true that a larger amount of feed will take longer to ferment? The constant introduction of fresh grain provides the sugar to keep the fermentation going, correct?

I'm trying to figure out if the short fermentation times I have experienced are from the warmth of the house or the exhaustion of sugar because the amount of grain is so small.

Your household temp is fine for fermenting. Can I ask you why you only do enough for a treat "now and then"? If you ferment at all, why not simply ferment all of their feed so they get the best advantage from it.

No, a larger amount of feed will not take that much longer to ferment. Consider this: If you were making yeast bread, your dough would have the same rising time (give or take a few minutes... maybe) whether you were making 1 loaf or two. As you get familiar with the process, you will have a better handle on how quickly that fermentation occurs based on how much feed you have left in the bucket when you renew it, the temperature of the water you use, and the temperature of the room in which you ferment.

To make my life easier, I ferment in 3 gallon buckets. I rotate 2 buckets, and have a new bucket ready to go in 12 hours, though a bucket will hold nicely for 3 days or more. I use the smaller buckets b/c they are not as heavy. I can simply grab a bucket and head out the door with it at feeding time. I know that many people scoop feed out of a bucket, and then carry that feed to their feeding stations. With the smaller buckets, I bypass that step. Time to add an other bucket or two, as I have 46 chicks growing out right now. They are little pigs. You can get free food grade buckets from your grocer deli counter.