FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[ten chicks]

I use a glass container filled with crumbles/scratch,add enough water to cover(1/2-1")put lid on and let it sit. I use a strainer to strain out liquid,never had any problems and my girls/boys love it. I do top up container everyday.

I did try using the 2 plastic bucket method but didn't care for it,so i switched to a glass container with a lid. Everyone has their own preference on which system works for them,this is mine.

 

[pegm]

Currently I am mixing my scratch/crumbles at a 50/50 ratio, and some of the crumbles disintegrate and filter down to the bottom bucket. I was thinking if I added the crumbles the night before, they would still be moist, but not soggy and not disintegrate so much as to filter down and fill the bottom buckets bottom. When I did it the once, the ff was lovely, crumbly and moist. The feeder was quite clean and did not have to be washed out. This is what I am striving for.

 

[Beekissed]

Well for me, I'm glad you're a gal! And it is great to know that in a man's world you could hold your own! I'm not tooo much of a "ball basher" after having two bad husbands and two bad lovers! (I decided that I needed my head "shrunk" for always selecting so badly but could not afford that so just avoid them in general.)

Me too...couldn't choose them correctly, so just stopped choosing. Life is good now.

So far the ff has not gone over very well here, does it matter if they get their ACV via the water vs the feed?

You won't need ACV in the water if you are feeding FF...the FF has way more probiotics, vitamins and minerals in it than the simple mother vinegar. It also has the same affect on the egg flavor...very mild, no eggy or sulfur smell or taste when using the FF or the ACV in the water.

I just started a new feed called feather fixer yesterday. It smells so bad this morning. I also added for the first time garlic (minced). I'm wondering if it's the new feed or the garlic or possible both together that is making my ff smell so bad. Smells a little like sulfur/gas (human) stink. It definitely isn't bad like mold or anything. Have any of you added the garlic into the feed. I put 2 tablespoons into 6 liters of feed. It does not have a fishy smell. It has stunk up my whole down stairs. I really smelled it walking into the front door. My DD said it made her want to throw up as she carried it up the hill to feed the chickens.

It may have fish meal in it...others have reported a horrible odor when they ferment the feeds with fish meal in them. The garlic will also smell to high heaven...like the sulfur smell you described, so it could just be the addition of the garlic. Might want to just move your FF to the coop and leave it there.

I had an issue with how wet it was also, it doesn't drain very well as the crumbles plug the holes. I just threw out a bunch of fine wet "mash" from the bottom of the second bucket (the one without holes), not all of it BTW, as it was keeping the holy bucket from settling down in the liquid. I am going to change to just fermenting the grain, and adding the crumbles before I feed, and stirring it in to moisten it. Maybe moisten it the evening before and then adding to grain, I am going to experiment. I did that a few days ago, added the crumbles the evening before, and the consistency was perfect. But of course, that only lasted one feeding because then you stir it up and it all gets mushed up together. I am not giving up yet. But I wanted to know if I give up on ff, if giving it in the water was sufficient.

Here's an idea...it sounds like your holes in the top bucket might be a bit too big, allowing all the fine particles to filter down to the bottom bucket too soon or the crumbles is just too fine of a grind altogether and it's going to fill up that space anyway. Why not just take it down to one bucket and just mix thicker, no straining required. The mushy crumbles and the grains can be all mixed together at that point and make for a mortar consistency that is easy to feed out.

I'm currently not using the 2 buckets as I am keeping my FF in an ice chest for the winter to see if that will keep it from freezing...so far, so good with temps in the 20s each night and only getting into the 30s-40s in the day. With just keeping it in the one container, it's just as easy to keep the FF going and at the right consistency if you ferment larger quantities each time...it will give all the grains plenty of time to get fermented that way.

I use a glass container filled with crumbles/scratch,add enough water to cover(1/2-1")put lid on and let it sit. I use a strainer to strain out liquid,never had any problems and my girls/boys love it. I do top up container everyday.

I did try using the 2 plastic bucket method but didn't care for it,so i switched to a glass container with a lid. Everyone has their own preference on which system works for them,this is mine.

You might want to rethink that whole lid thing...one of the ladies that learned how to do that at the same place you might have learned it, had her jar explode the other day and send FF all over her entryway, with glass shards as well. Not safe and certainly not needed.

 

[pegm]

Thank you Bee, I will try that. When this batch is nearly gone, will switch to one bucket, pour liquid from current batch in and mix to desired consistency. The water does NOT need to be over the mix? It only needs to be moist? I assume liquid stays in the bottom and you just keep adding dry to it and mixing very well?

 

[Beekissed]

It only needs to be moist...keep a good bit of well fermented feed in the bottom so that when you refresh, the fermented water and all those lovely microorganisms in the bottom can rise into the new feed and mix with the fresh water to give you a faster ferment on the freshened feed. It will do fine!

 

[kpgoldstar]

I use a glass container filled with crumbles/scratch,add enough water to cover(1/2-1")put lid on and let it sit. I use a strainer to strain out liquid,never had any problems and my girls/boys love it. I do top up container everyday.

I did try using the 2 plastic bucket method but didn't care for it,so i switched to a glass container with a lid. Everyone has their own preference on which system works for them,this is mine.

It was me who had the glass explosion. I was using a gallon glass jar that had a screw top lid and I tightened it with every feeding of the ferment. Glass is OK if you have a lid that will allow for gas release. I now use a plastic food safe bucket and I don't snap the lid down all the way. It has no smell unless it gets opened at feeding time, then it is just a mild sour, like yogurt.

 

[kpgoldstar]

Thank you Bee, I will try that. When this batch is nearly gone, will switch to one bucket, pour liquid from current batch in and mix to desired consistency. The water does NOT need to be over the mix? It only needs to be moist? I assume liquid stays in the bottom and you just keep adding dry to it and mixing very well?

Just like Bee answered, I no longer keep a level of water over my mix. It is quite moist in the ferment container, but I squeegie dry before feeding, allowing the extra water back into the mix of feed. When I add grains or mash to the container, I let it get even wetter knowing that the dry will absorb most of that moisture. I usually need to add just a bit of water as what is still in the bucket is not enough to moisten the new dry food. The feed will still sink to the bottom over the course of the day and there will be some water over top. I just stir it all together before I dish out feed.
As I mentioned, I need to add about 1 cup of dry and 1/2 c. of water every 3 days feeding 4 7-week olds. They get a full cup in AM and about 1/2 c. as snack in the evenings. When I do have to add to my ferment, it is directly after feeding and by the time the next feeding comes around (10-14 hours), the added feed is fully fermented.

 

[pegm]

Thank you all, will do as you suggest. It will all come together soon I know.

 

[kpgoldstar]

I made a little pictorial of my container and process...

Food Safe plastic container you can get at a restaurant supply or smart n final, or free/cheap from the bakery dept of a grocery store.

The end of a batch, about 3 days in. This is simply chick starter feed and water. See how it is wet, but not with a layer of water.

My fine mesh strainer that I shake to get almost all the water out of the feed.

My girl's snack portion of feed they get in the evenings during lawn playtime. Note how dry and grainy the texture is.

Here I have added to the existing ferment, about 1 cup dry feed and 1/2 cup of water.

This is how wet it is after stirring. Most of the water will be absorbed by morning.

I store it just slightly cracked to avoid the glass explosion I experienced a few weeks ago.
I will try to take a pic in the morning of what the feed looks like after it has had overnight to mix with the rest of the ferment and absorb most of the water. Peg, I hope this helps!

 

[pegm]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. Will switch to one bucket when my ff gets nearly fed out.