FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[mobius]

Does anyone ferment their grass or other greens? I know some farmers will ferment grass for their cows. I have a lot of wild sage & other herbs growing on my property. I wonder if it would be good to ferment it for the chickies? Maybe chop it up & add it to their jar of fermenting feed?

I ferment alfalfa (see signature for thread). This gives them greens in the winter but I feed it year round.

 

[strangeanimal]

My birds get ONLY FF as their main feed and it's available free choice from sun up to sun down. My birds do NOT over eat it and they don't eat less and less every time. I save about 10% over my dry feed bill. And the birds don't even go straight to the feed when I let them out in the morning, not even the chicks and mamas. They go to the grass and hunt worms and eat greens and make their way back to the FF when they are ready. It's true we don't always eat yogurt.. but we also wouldn't always eat cereal either. I don't know if you will actually save $ feeding it out like a treat. I can pick it up out of the trough and drop it like a treat and my birds all go crazy even though it's the same exact feed that's right next to them. It's about perspective... they think it's a treat if I'm serving it up. Also chickens don't have nearly the same amount of taste buds as humans do.

The amount they eat on any given day is relative to a lot of things, not the least of which is weather. On rainy days my birds will lick clean the same amount that might have more than half left on a sunny day.

So, I feed ONLY FF and on occasion I toss out dry feed as treat! They still get whole nutrition instead of candy bar corn kernels. They have access to free range lushness all day. And I'm so pleased to see the ravenous chicks pass the feeder and head for the field first!

Anyways, I do understand what you are saying and we all have different experiences. My chickens find their food just as well as any chicken eating a dry ration and find it the same as they would any other dish of feed.

Do you mind describing these "stomach issues" please? So I can see if I notice what you are talking about. The only thing I have noticed is that they burp more. I would think filling up on dry feed and then drinking water that expends it would cause more problems than filling up on a wet mash.. if I were reasoning it, and I am. But I am here to learn as well!

LOL , first of all , I did read your post here and like it much ,
well the ' stomach-issues ' are indeed they are quite hilarious because they burp but as in loooooooong BHUUUUURRRpsSS , so I also see few of them having issues the first 25 minutes after eating , after that they start to burp more and more and ok the issue is gone yet I think they over eat themselves because they love the taste of it and I assumed that that is why they all started to burp like cows are saying hello , but now that I read yours are burpy too ... lol , so what would you suggest perhaps about the amount of feeding FF ? To me it is actually quite new and I do not save ONE dollar .... so would be happy to hear from you again actually as I did notice its benefits too + they LOVE that FF !!! before they even always left the corn be , now with the FF they finally eat it ! but only if it is Fermented ! Thx for the comment !!

 

[mobius]

Burping omg

 

[igorsMistress]

The first two pics are 24 hours after fermenting. The last is after 36 hours. I was surprised to see all the air pockets.

The flock seems to prefer the longer fermentation time and the consistency as well.

6 oz dry food and 12 oz water, both by weight.

 

[lazy gardener]

Love the pic of that lovely ferment! As for fermenting greens, I know that farmers make silage and use it for winter feeding. I honestly can't see the advantage of fermenting greens when they are readily available during the growing season.

 

[Elyrian1]

For that matter if you make a fodder stand you can grow outside season too, even in the dead of winter, I believe there's a separate thread for that somewhere on here... just search fodder.

I have found a local source (a nearby homestead that sells the excess from their shipments) for organic, non soy grain feed. And the price is absolutely amazing as well! The grains ferment up differently though, smells the same blech, but doesn't absorb as much water. I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better served by running two buckets, using from each every other day in an effort to allow the grains a day at rest to absorb more water and ferment? Thoughts? Words of wisdom?

This is the first time I have used mill sourced grains for chicken feed, and the look and smell of it is so vastly different from what I'm accustomed to that it makes me wonder just what exactly those pellets at the feed store go through to get to that form...

 

[mobius]

And my organic feed mash looks like whole grains in many respects too...and good for you having a good source! I think (and I may be wrong) that if you have a good ferment going, you should be just fine. My ferment goes across three days before i backslop. It all comes out in the wash. Yesterday it fermented so much that it overflowed...

 

[Elyrian1]

Mine only makes it for two to three days as well. I replenish in the evening and by feeding time the next day the smell has permeated the mix. If I have a spare minute in the morning before heading out for work I'll give it a stir and check the water content one last time, but I get up before the sun so that doesn't always happen. I've had the bucket so full that stirring was difficult, lol.

 

[centralcaligirl]

I have found a local source (a nearby homestead that sells the excess from their shipments) for organic, non soy grain feed. And the price is absolutely amazing as well! The grains ferment up differently though, smells the same blech, but doesn't absorb as much water. I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better served by running two buckets, using from each every other day in an effort to allow the grains a day at rest to absorb more water and ferment? Thoughts? Words of wisdom?

I ferment a whole grain feed also, sometimes for one day, occasionally two. I'm not sure I notice much difference in water absorption either way, but I would also be interested in hearing other people's experiences.

Summers here are hot, long, and dry and a more fully hydrated feed appeals to me very much. A great benefit of fermented feed that isn't talked about as often is that the birds are getting more water through their feed, which I'm hoping will help them get through the summer heat better and help protect against dehydration.

 

[lazy gardener]

It has taken me a very long time to find that fine point between a bucket full of FF and a bucket with FF oozing across the floor!