FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[marktoo]

I dechlorinate the water that I water the chickens with as well as what I use for FF & no I don't know if its necessary or not. I change the water in the chicken water cooler every 10 to 14 days, its a simple matter to fill a stock pot 48 hours prior. I top off the FF as required with water from the teapot, I also fill my water bottles each morning with water from the teapot prior to refilling it & putting it on the stove to boil. I have read somewhere that vitamin C can be used as well.

 

[suncatcher]

Quote: Yes, using the same water over and over, but it was not working as well, so would splash some more mother ACV in to jump start it. No, first batch I did was also during the summer, but could have been cooler, as we had a cool June here. I added this"splash" in the beginning at least twice a week. Maybe I needed to wait, and let it sit longer??

This new batch has been fermenting strong from the first time I used it, and that was many, many, many weeks ago. Hmmmmm, Good to know! Here I thought you had to add just a little of the ACV with the mother weekly! LOL

 

[Beekissed]

Nope!

I haven't added ACV since last fall around this time. Just letting it sit and the colonies of LABs grow can make that fluid very strongly fermented and using it over and over only makes it more so. I've been using the LABs from the first batch all year long, just feeding them fresh feed and diluting them with fresh water each time I need to refill the bucket. They don't stay diluted for longer than a day...the feed is fully fermented by the next day and just grows stronger with each consecutive day.

If you are having trouble getting a good strong ferment, just make bigger batches of feed and by the time you will feed it all out, it will have grown a raging good set of LABs and aceti that should continue to live strong and long in each bucket you make.

 

[suncatcher]

Nope!

I haven't added ACV since last fall around this time. Just letting it sit and the colonies of LABs grow can make that fluid very strongly fermented and using it over and over only makes it more so. I've been using the LABs from the first batch all year long, just feeding them fresh feed and diluting them with fresh water each time I need to refill the bucket. They don't stay diluted for longer than a day...the feed is fully fermented by the next day and just grows stronger with each consecutive day.

If you are having trouble getting a good strong ferment, just make bigger batches of feed and by the time you will feed it all out, it will have grown a raging good set of LABs and aceti that should continue to live strong and long in each bucket you make.

Yep, I too use mine every 24 hours, sometimes it is ready in less than a day. I was using a sweet feed when I first started, as that is all I had. Wonder if that somehow caused the culture to be weaker?? There was lots of molasses in it this seed mix too.

 

[Beekissed]

Should have made it stronger with all that sugar! That always accelerates my bread sponge if I put sugar in with the yeast.

 

[suncatcher]

Should have made it stronger with all that sugar! That always accelerates my bread sponge if I put sugar in with the yeast.

You would think, but it didn't....... I also used city water on one batch, and that one progressed really, really slow. Threw it out, and started over with distilled water, fermented much faster.

 

[JJL74]

yes it is isn't it Bee on people trying to prove the method wrong when not even trying it. OR trying it and doing it their way instead of the proven way that has worked for many many folks on here. Yep no skin off our backs if they decide this is not for them and they don't like saving on their food bill.   But man I REALLY like saving on mine! PLUS when you get chicks at 2 months old that looks like a grown chicken, that should say something on it's own right there. Plus the shine and sheen of those gorgeous feathers and them staying well and well you get the point. 

I tried feeding straight fermented feed but I run into issues with flies. How do you combat them?

 

[Beekissed]

I tried feeding straight fermented feed but I run into issues with flies. How do you combat them?

Why would you want to? I mean, if they are getting in your feed bucket they could be laying eggs and adding protein~that's a win/win! If they are just in your coop and on the feed, that's odd...I've not seen a fly one on my FF, nor on the poops from feeding FF. Using deep litter may help you combat the fly problem and using the FF consistently may also...I haven't seen a fly in the past 2 yrs I've been using it. The first time was with CX, and if you are ever going to have flies it will be when raising those little poopers.

But..all in all..if your feed is fully fermented it's not likely you'll see flies but if merely wet feeds, you'll see flies aplenty. If you are still seeing flies with a full FF, I doubt they hurt anything...chickens regularly dig through cow patties and eat fly maggots laid there.

 

[KrazyChromatics]

hmm i never really took too much notice that the flys disappeared... but when i did have them, i would find the dead in my scoop rinse bucket.... that water got added back to the feed anyway.... my chickens never gagged

 

[amyandkids]

sorry to be a few days late on posting, I have been caring for a sick piglet! but here are my chickies!!!!



the fist two hatched aug.24,so 3 weeks old!



these two hatched aug 30, 2 weeks old! milky is still sooooooo tiny, he must take after his daddy!