FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[suncatcher]

Quote: Makes total sense! Ah, I often wondered why my hatchery hens in my laying flock always look "scruffy" they are eating the same FF that everyone else is, but they never look any better, feather wise!

I let mine lay on their own, no lights, the way I see it, they have a down time for a reason.

ETA, I am thinking on using LAB's in my garden! So found that VERY interesting.

 

[Beekissed]

That's the thing, Bee. I have 3 sex links that are 28 weeks old. 28 weeks. One of them laid for a little while back in late July-early August, then she stopped. The other two have NEVER laid an egg. Heck, they have barely reddened up in the face or started growing combs. Now, they hit POL right about the time our temps really spiked here in TX. I've been patient with them because I wasn't really in a rush for them to start laying, and I get it that they probably didn't feel like it with two consecutive months of 100 degree days. But 28 weeks and no eggs from a production bird?

It can't be that my food is lacking in nutrients. I feed them either grower or layer (I've switched back and forth a couple times), with scratch also mixed in sometimes. I have gone slme days without feeding them FF, but that is because they free range all day every day and, frankly, I was a little curious if that would work. They get table scraps. They do not look ragged or skinny. In fact, the sex link that did lay for awhile is one of my prettier birds. Very glossy beetle-green sheen to her black feathers. But NO EGGS! I was fine with letting them be slow starters, but this slow? I'm a little flabbergasted.

And now everyone's molting...

It sounds as if you are doing everything right and still no eggs. If they are glossy and bright, they are obviously getting enough nutrition...it's just the season for hormones to drop in levels and there just isn't much one can do about that. But wait.

Let them get their fill on free range~LOTS of bugs and seeds out there right now and I'm practically feeding nothing~and your feed consumption will match your egg production. That's the whole goal of feeding in a flock...that the nutrition levels will match the production levels and your cost to maintain the birds will fluctuate accordingly and you will at least break even on slow months and take a profit on the peak laying months. But increasing feed costs when production levels are low is probably not the way to go...that's why I save the cost of straight layer mash for around Feb/Mar when they will get the most good out of it.

Trust me...I've tried the whole boost the feed to see if it will stimulate laying during slow times. It never worked and I was out the money..but I learned and that is of value.

 

[JerryR]

I tried fermented feed for several weeks buy gave up on it becuase it kept getting moldy.

 

[Beekissed]

I tried fermented feed for several weeks buy gave up on it becuase it kept getting moldy.

Yep..that's pretty much the point of it. It is a mold..the whole fermentation is a form of molding caused by certain bacteria that are~ technically~ molds..the good guys. If you keep it stirred up each time you feed, the other~baddies~ molds can't get a foothold except on your bucket or scoop now and again but they will not be growing in your feeds, simply because they are outnumbered by a superior force of LABs and ABs.

Mix a smaller batch in your bucket and feed it out quicker in the hotter parts of summer because all the molds are accelerated in their growth at these times and that will keep all the colonies down to a dull roar as you are adding fresh water and feed more frequently to the mix.

If I had stopped feeding it due to molds I'd have stopped after the first week or so...but I haven't and that's been about 2 yrs now. No chickens dead yet from moldy feed so I think we are safe here.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Hi everyone!

I am considering using fermented feed.
I have done some googling, now I will go through and read through this (very long!) thread.

I found this article on it, I was wondering your thoughts???
http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/05/why-and-how-to-ferment-your-chicken-feed/

 

[wlhtx]

Trust me...I've tried the whole boost the feed to see if it will stimulate laying during slow times.  It never worked and I was out the money..but I learned and that is of value.   

***sigh***

Okay. I needed that pep talk/reminder. I will go back to (im)patiently waiting and trying to convince my DH that we don't have defective birds. I keep promising him that ONE DAY we will be drowning in eggs. I don't think he believes me anymore... :/

 

[Beekissed]

Hi everyone!

I am considering using fermented feed.
I have done some googling, now I will go through and read through this (very long!) thread.

I found this article on it, I was wondering your thoughts???
http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/05/why-and-how-to-ferment-your-chicken-feed/

I think she is a nice and very beautiful lady! I've already spoken with her via email over some of the inconsistencies in her article.

I think she has made the process more complicated than it actually is by fermenting in small batches in jars, straining it, and insisting that the feed must remain under the water at all times~it doesn't. She has some very pretty pictures to go along with her great site and, if that is how she likes it done and it gets the info out there, it's all good. She still has the basic information correct and she is well written with lovely pics to go along with the article.

I'd like it if she would detail more completely the physical changes that take place in the chickens, the results of those changes and also the actual process as to how the proteins are converted to amino acids in the grains...I think that would be neat and more convincing about why it's a good thing for the chooks.

***sigh***

Okay. I needed that pep talk/reminder. I will go back to (im)patiently waiting and trying to convince my DH that we don't have defective birds. I keep promising him that ONE DAY we will be drowning in eggs. I don't think he believes me anymore...

You will be soon enough and he'll be squawkin' about all the eggs piling up everywhere!

Hey, the later they lay, the longer they will last before they burn out completely, so it's six of one and half dozen of the other how many eggs you will eventually have from them. I hope it's a huge plenty!

 

[dutchbunny83]

Okay, thank you so much for your feedback on it!
Do you guys make fermented feed with grains/homemade feed, or do you buy store bought crumble and do it?

Do you just lay it out to be eaten all day or feed meals at certain times?
I keep reading up on it, but haven't found all the info yet.
Thanks so much for the help!

 

[wlhtx]

I'm a buy the store bought crumbles kind of girl. I just don't have the time or inclination to mix my own, though I am fascinated by those that do.

My normal routine is to feed them all once a day, typically before they roost for the night. (Though if I know we're going to be getting home after dark, I may feed them in the morning or not at all.) But my birds free range all day, every day. They have their run of several acres, so I don't feel too terribly guilty if I skip a meal for them. This, of course, is for the bigger birds. Babies are fed a little bit differently.

 

[Beekissed]

Okay, thank you so much for your feedback on it!
Do you guys make fermented feed with grains/homemade feed, or do you buy store bought crumble and do it?

Do you just lay it out to be eaten all day or feed meals at certain times?
I keep reading up on it, but haven't found all the info yet.
Thanks so much for the help!

Folks have been doing both...basically, any grain based feed they are giving, they are fermenting it. The birds are fed in meals and that is entirely up to you how many meals you want to feed or how much you want to give. You can feed a morning meal that is big enough for them to eat all day or separate it into two smaller meals. It's purely preference.

You'll want a trough to feed in, though some use pans, I've found that troughs placed a little higher than a pan will help them keep the FF off their wattles and facial feathers for some breeds. It also allows you to drill holes in the bottom of your trough to drain off extra moisture and that comes in hand in the winter time.

Don't use metal buckets or feeders as the acidity of the FF will eventually corrode the metals and cause leaching into the feed of metals...not good.