FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[niqueie]

I put our family's food scraps into the FF bucket. With 4 kids 2 adults it's quite a bit of food. They really do love the tidbits they find in it. Just 1 week ago a large bottle of salsa was not tasting so fresh anymore and had some zing to it. I put it into the feed bin over the next 2-3 days. It was funny how they would find a tidbit and be so excited.

 

[Beekissed]

Okay because I think ill keep it in the laundry room until I make room in the garage. For my layers should I just be fermenting their regular feed? Im feeding them grower right now but it's almost gone so then I'm going to get them a layer pellet since they are actively laying and eating a ton of oyster shell

I'd ferment all their feed...whatever you choose to feed.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Okay. I gave my layers ff this morning and they wanted nothing to do with it. I even sprinkled dry scratch on top and they were extremely un interested :/ and now its going to freeze out there. Will they get used to it? My chicks cant get enough!

 

[niqueie]

Any changes in foods takes some time for many flocks to get used to. I'd keep trying. I introduced a little sprouts/fodder to my girls this week. They didn't understand it was even food until I mixed it into their food. Then, they still left it. They eventually ate it. I'm sure in a couple weeks if I keep adding it into their Ff they will like it plain even. Maybe you could add half dry food to the FF for the next couple days and then put 1/4 dry food mixed in for a few days after that. That way they get used to it. Also make sure they don't get access to other food so they will be hungry when you offer the Ff mix.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Okay. Thanks! They really dont eat a lot of their dry food to begin with. For 4 hens they eat maybe 2 cups or less a day, they have access to a compost pile that they eat a lot of and I limit the treats. Maybe ill limit their dry feed at night

 

[Audio51]

Okay. I gave my layers ff this morning and they wanted nothing to do with it. I even sprinkled dry scratch on top and they were extremely un interested

and now its going to freeze out there. Will they get used to it? My chicks cant get enough!

Mine took a couple of weeks to really warm up to it. When they get hungry, they will eat it.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Okay good

 

[MandalaMaMa]

Well the girls have eaten their first really batch of FF. I left some in the bottom of the jar and add more to it this morning. Keeping an eye on it all day so I don't have the same problem as the first time. Growing out of the container. My 6 girls seem to love this stuff. Happy chicken momma.

 

[azygous]

Talking about a bucket of FF exploding out of the confines of the bucket, it happened to me this week when I mixed up my first batch of fermented beet pulp. I used pellets and covered them with warm water with a shot of ACV. Next morning the stuff had expanded WAY more than I thought it would! Yikes! Popped the lid right off! I had to transfer some of it into a smaller scrub bucket.

But it's doing great! It smells like sauerkraut. The little darlings eat it, but they aren't wild about it like their regular FF, which they'd eat all day long if I kept serving it, I've discovered. At least now I know when they are well and truly hungry the fermented beet pulp will be all gone, too.

 

[perchie.girl]

Talking about a bucket of FF exploding out of the confines of the bucket, it happened to me this week when I mixed up my first batch of fermented beet pulp. I used pellets and covered them with warm water with a shot of ACV. Next morning the stuff had expanded WAY more than I thought it would! Yikes! Popped the lid right off! I had to transfer some of it into a smaller scrub bucket.

But it's doing great! It smells like sauerkraut. The little darlings eat it, but they aren't wild about it like their regular FF, which they'd eat all day long if I kept serving it, I've discovered. At least now I know when they are well and truly hungry the fermented beet pulp will be all gone, too.

Have I got a story for you The infamous Beet Pulp Squirrel Story.... I laugh out loud every time.

http://www.allcreaturesanimalhealth.com/site/view/212994_EquineNutritionArticles.pml

Go down the page and you will see on line eight "Beet Pulp Safety Warning" The Famous Beet Pulp Squirrel Story! Its a PDF and well worth the read.

deb