FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[bruceh]

me too. bee i posted.

 

[pdirt]

I've never pH tested mine, nor would I ever bother.  We just ferment and feed all the fermented feed as is, no added this or that or much over thinking the process of fermenting mash for livestock.  It doesn't have to be that complicated at all and I'm not sure why anyone would go to those lengths to complicate this simple, effective feeding method but I guess some folks can't stand it when something is simple...so simple that any backwoods hick can do it without access to pH strips, EMs or lacto thingamabobbies.  

You might direct those questions to those folks who are messing up the simplicity of it all by putting such a weird spin on it...they seem to have all the answers. 

I guess it's probably because I'm not sure it's fermenting right and testing the pH can help verify things. I once had a jar of fermented pickles go bad. At first whiff they smelled okay, but when I tested it, it was off the chart...it should have been very acidic (and it once was) but it was not. I smelled it again and it had an odd smell. It might have been okay to eat, but I decided not to risk it...and I tend to eat some pretty weird stuff.

My point is my plain fermented feed is not fermenting like anything else I've ever fermented before. It doesn't seem to be getting acidic nor producing alcohol so I'm rather stumped. There is some sort of activity because it is bubbling. Normally with bubbling I'd be getting sour or alcohol smells, but not so far. I'm not trying to complicate it but do enjoy learning more about the process. Of course no one needs to test pH...I just thoroughly enjoy doing it.

I'll keep trying small batches and see if I get different results with different methods. Next time I'll add more water.

 

[fosterson]

I have to say, that after roughly 3 weeks on FF, I am impressed. Not much change in my big red birds, but my poor naked barred girls are suddenly growing feathers! They've been NAKED except for their necks and wing feathers (and like 2 tail feathers each) for AGES, even after upping their protein, putting them on Feather Fixer (man, that stuff is pricey), etc. One of them has so many pin feathers at once she looks like a zombie! Poor girl! LOL!

If I could catch them and take a photo, she'd totally go into the 'worst molt' photo contest, but it's not worth it to catch the crazy things.

 

[Beekissed]

Others have reported the same thing. All I can figure is when the feed is fermented and it increases the amino acids that are so vital to good feather health and growth, not to mention it increases calcium absorption, and also vitamin absorption, that the chicken finally gets what they have always been needing and not getting from their feeds....a nutrition they can actually absorb and utilize to the fullest.

I'm happy when I try something and it improves the health and appearance of the flock...I rarely need to know the WHY of it all when the results are so dramatic. I'm usually a "why" person but when it's as complex as nutrition, metabolism and things taking place on a cellular level my mind bows out and lets the eyes read the results. And in the end, it's the results that are the goal...at least, in my flock management. I've delved into the ins and outs of it all once or twice myself so that others can understand it more, but I finally grow tired of trying to convince other people something is good for their chickens and just resign myself to keeping all the good stuff where it belongs~with those who do not look a gift horse in the mouth.

In the end I just say, "Here it is, take it or leave it."

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...

In the end I just say, "Here it is, take it or leave it."

I'm with you on that.

I've had to start the second 5 gallon bucket. I was only going to put one flock on FF to test results but after more research I decided to put most on it. I still provide dry food in bulk feeders in the coop so if they get hungry they always have feed available. With one bucket, I was going through it too fast. I'm hoping I can let the new bucket 'cook'
thoroughly before I tap into it. I have 40 birds right now in groups from 2 - 10 individuals so it doesn't go that far.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

OK Bee, I know you don't like to overcomplicate things and I don't want to divert the discussion completely from FF. But here goes. Are any of you concerned about GMOs in the feed you're fermenting?
I quit feeding corn a couple years ago to avoid GMO. The seeds/grains I'm putting in my FF bucket and sprouting are wheat, flax, oats and sunflower since they aren't currently GMO. About two thirds of the feed I have on hand is conventional. As soon as this g**bage is out of here, I'm pretty sure I'll be fermenting organic only.
I work with a wholesaler that I get bagged organic for around $24 a 50# bag. Pricey but not the $34 it is at the feed store. Since my feed appears to be going farther, I may be able to feed organic for about the cost I had been paying for conventional.

 

[Beekissed]

Sure I'm concerned and I simply don't like it!

But...not so much that I'm going to go bankrupt trying to avoid GMO sourced grains when nearly everything we buy in the store has HCFS from the very same source.

It's a losing battle and I don't intend to waste time fighting that one..nor money. I just do the best I can with what I can afford and not worry about GMO. It's a fact of life now and going to be even more so as time goes along. The best I can do is use free range as the base source of their nutrition for as many months out of the year that it is available and then suck it up during the winter months.

Unless a person is making all their own foods from non-GMO sources(breads, cookies, sugars, etc.), eating only home grown meats fed on organic grains, never eating out in a restaurant, etc , then making sure the chickens don't eat any is a moot point. It's like gagging on a gnat and swallowing a mule.

I just do the best I can and roll on....keep it simple and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

YES! I am concerned about GMOs in all the feed/groceries we buy. Hence, the chickens are on a feed with non-GMO grain, and no soy but fish meal for a protein source. I just can't bring myself to pay for the organic feed when it is a vegetarian product. The dogs and cats also get a grain-free diet, and my gut cannot tolerate any wheat or corn derivatives, so my hubby is the only one who eats GMO grain at our house.

 

[niqueie]

I guess it's probably because I'm not sure it's fermenting right and testing the pH can help verify things. I once had a jar of fermented pickles go bad. At first whiff they smelled okay, but when I tested it, it was off the chart...it should have been very acidic (and it once was) but it was not. I smelled it again and it had an odd smell. It might have been okay to eat, but I decided not to risk it...and I tend to eat some pretty weird stuff.

My point is my plain fermented feed is not fermenting like anything else I've ever fermented before. It doesn't seem to be getting acidic nor producing alcohol so I'm rather stumped. There is some sort of activity because it is bubbling. Normally with bubbling I'd be getting sour or alcohol smells, but not so far. I'm not trying to complicate it but do enjoy learning more about the process. Of course no one needs to test pH...I just thoroughly enjoy doing it.

I'll keep trying small batches and see if I get different results with different methods. Next time I'll add more water.

I think that the air fermented feed has fermented after 6 day especially. It probably has a different smell than the others because it has different fermenting cultures. The cultures in the air is probably different from in the products you used previously. Most of us on this forum don't do anything special to ferment the feed. The most we do is ACV, but only some of us use that. You can obviously ferment with lots of things, but most of use just use the simplest formulas. I'd try it with your flock and see if you notice any difference from the other ferment.

 

[fenwickchic]

YES! I am concerned about GMOs in all the feed/groceries we buy. Hence, the chickens are on a feed with non-GMO grain, and no soy but fish meal for a protein source. I just can't bring myself to pay for the organic feed when it is a vegetarian product. The dogs and cats also get a grain-free diet, and my gut cannot tolerate any wheat or corn derivatives, so my hubby is the only one who eats GMO grain at our house.

The whole reason I decided to allow my daughter to get chicks was because I am trying to limit as much GMO food coming into my house/body as humanly possible. I firmly believe my generation has more health issues at younger ages than our parents. I am 52 and just in the past year, I can no longer drink orange juice. I causes severe stomach pain (even the supposedly freshly squeezed); however, I can eat oranges and drink juice I squeeze myself without problems. I firmly believe additives, and GMO's have caused my serious health issues. Thus, my chickens get non-GMO/Organic feed no matter the cost. I want HEALTHY eggs!!! And, yes, I ferment their organic mash.
I buy Organic milk, we bake as much bread as possible and cook from scratch more often than not. We grow our own vegetable garden (and share some of my neighbor's). I agree that I am still consuming some GMO food because I can't control it if/when we eat out and I can't find/afford to have all my food non-GMO/Organic. However, I am doing as much as possible. I have even begun asking friends to help in the cause by just choosing one grocery item to buy organic. My son has promised to switch to Organic milk. The food industry would get the message on how we feel about organic/natural foods very quickly if every single person just make a slight change.
I have also switched my pets to grain-free food. It seemed more and more of my 5 cats were throwing up their food and having problems. Hummm... should tell us something, right? We have not had that problem anymore. I am also adding a seaweed supplement to their food. The cats seem much better. I am going to start growing greens for them to chew on inside because I do not let my cats outside.