FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[kpgoldstar]

Here is the ff in the morning after adding dry feed and water last night. This is before I stirred it and you can clearly see the bubbles in it.

 

[beverly evans]

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?

For a small flock that should work fine like Bee says. I use a wire mesh strainer as my scoop for the ff and because it has a hock on the outer edge I sit it on the bucket rim to drain while I do other things, then when I feed it is well drained. : )

 

[Audio51]

Ok...so I decided to give the Fermented Feed thing a try. It sounds pretty easy. I am trying a small batch for the first one. I am using Chick Starter and some scratch grains. I filled a small pail (about 1 gallon) about 1/2 to 2/3rds full with the starter/grain. I added water to just about the top level of the mix. It is soaking the water up pretty fast and after about an hour this is what it looks like:

Do I need to add more water? I was initially seeing info about adding UP ACV, which I have on hand, but then started seeing mostly just feed and water. Should I add the ACV? How long should I let this "brew"? It's about 12:40 PM here so do I just let it sit overnight?

 

[Beekissed]

You can add the ACV...it doesn't hurt and most report it seems to speed the process a little. Just add a bit more water...say an inch more over that feed and give it a good stir and then leave it alone. Tomorrow you may find it has swelled up and might make it over your bucket(you might want to scoop a little of that feed out to avoid the overflow...you can put in another container and treat the same as the original bucket)...the chick starter and crumble type feeds seems to raise more than mash and whole grain mixes.

If you were doing it in a glass container you would be able to see a layer of feed at the bottom, a layer of water, and a top layer of feed on top by morning, so don't think your mix is too dry and start adding water tomorrow before you stir it up because it could have water in the middle you may not see. Stir it good tomorrow...if it's juicy and not dry and crumbly, you are fine and it will be okay. If dry and difficult to stir, add a little more water until you can stir it well but don't render it soupy. With that type of feed, it can be a learning curve about the amount of water to add to get a good consistency at the finish. Just takes time is all, so no worries if you can't get it to a good place right off the bat.

Then just wait, stir it once a day and watch for gas bubbles, sniff for a sour smell...you may find it with a skim of whitish-grey or even darker brown substance on top, but that's a good sign, so just stir it in and let it happen. That's the scoby and the good stuff. When you see the gas bubbles, smell the sour smell you have fermentation starting and when you see that film of scoby you have a good thing going.

Let 'em get good and hungry and don't offer a choice in feeds...then dish them up some of this stuff. Sit back and watch the fun.....

 

[Audio51]

You can add the ACV...it doesn't hurt and most report it seems to speed the process a little. Just add a bit more water...say an inch more over that feed and give it a good stir and then leave it alone. Tomorrow you may find it has swelled up and might make it over your bucket(you might want to scoop a little of that feed out to avoid the overflow...you can put in another container and treat the same as the original bucket)...the chick starter and crumble type feeds seems to raise more than mash and whole grain mixes.

If you were doing it in a glass container you would be able to see a layer of feed at the bottom, a layer of water, and a top layer of feed on top by morning, so don't think your mix is too dry and start adding water tomorrow before you stir it up because it could have water in the middle you may not see. Stir it good tomorrow...if it's juicy and not dry and crumbly, you are fine and it will be okay. If dry and difficult to stir, add a little more water until you can stir it well but don't render it soupy. With that type of feed, it can be a learning curve about the amount of water to add to get a good consistency at the finish. Just takes time is all, so no worries if you can't get it to a good place right off the bat.

Then just wait, stir it once a day and watch for gas bubbles, sniff for a sour smell...you may find it with a skim of whitish-grey or even darker brown substance on top, but that's a good sign, so just stir it in and let it happen. That's the scoby and the good stuff. When you see the gas bubbles, smell the sour smell you have fermentation starting and when you see that film of scoby you have a good thing going.

Let 'em get good and hungry and don't offer a choice in feeds...then dish them up some of this stuff. Sit back and watch the fun.....

Thanks, Beekissed! I added a bit more water and it's pretty close to the top now. Thinks I am going to find a bigger bucket. I also added about 2 tablespoon of the Bragg's and stirred. How do I know when it's ready to feed?

 

[Beekissed]

You can feed it when it starts to bubble and smell a little sourish...that's when it's lightly fermented...or you can wait for that smell to deepen, your choice. Either way is fine!

 

[pegm]

I put what wet ff I had left after feeding this am into a single bucket, (the liquid was still in the second bucket) added crumbles and scratch and stirred it up, adding liquid as I went. It got nice and moist, but not wet. I added small amounts of the liquid as the day went on and the feed swelled. It is well moistened, but there is no liquid in the bottom. I feel I should have a little liquid in the bottom of the bucket, is that right?

 

[pegm]

I need to find a strainer like Beverly uses, that may be part of the answer.

 

[Beekissed]

I put what wet ff I had left after feeding this am into a single bucket, (the liquid was still in the second bucket) added crumbles and scratch and stirred it up, adding liquid as I went. It got nice and moist, but not wet. I added small amounts of the liquid as the day went on and the feed swelled. It is well moistened, but there is no liquid in the bottom. I feel I should have a little liquid in the bottom of the bucket, is that right?

Not really...well moistened is just fine. That way, you won't need to strain anything...just scoop and feed. If you want to drill some holes in the bottom of the feeder to strain out any excess after that, it might help but normally the thicker feed mix is just right.

 

[pegm]

Thanks Bee, I had already drilled holes in the bottom of the feeder because the feed was pretty wet. Thank you all for your advice.