FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

I started my new chick ff starter--I made it myself. I crushed up larger kernels. I have 2 questions as to ingredients I added:

1. Finely diced Kale
2. Sprouted wheat with their tails--chopped up

Are these ok to add?
Can I add chopped carrots, cooked fresh peas etc to the mix?
Can you add say, organic chopped chicken or beef liver? Any meats?

Your input would be greatly appreciated!

I have no experience with fermenting meats but I'm thinking you'd have to be pretty careful that you did indeed have a good ferment before attempting it~and I'd marinate the meat in vinegar over night just to be safe before placing it in the bucket. The rest of it should be fine.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Thanks Bee. I will not put meat in. I can just feed that seperately now and again. Really appreciate your input.

 

[roostereggs]

I only use one bucket and I never have to clean it. I've had the same bucket for 5 months. Since you are in AZ with me, I just scrape down the dry particles that cling to the side of the bucket every time I feed. Mine doesn't grow any mold, pretty sure because it is so dry here. I keep it in the house which ranges anywhere from 55 to 80 in the winter and will be 75 to 90 in the summer. I think you have significantly more birds than I do, so like Bee said maybe make smaller batches to last a day or two for each flock then refresh more often as in the warmer temps the ferment will be ready by next feeding. Even the way I feed now I make enough for about 4-5 days, then when I am down to not enough for the following days meal, I refresh either in AM or Eve and it is fully fermented again in 12 hours for the next feeding.

Cool...thanks. I'd like to make my batches twice weekly around my work schedule. This seems to be a wonderful system and much easier than I expected!

And thanks for telling me about the mold...that would have freaked me out going out to that one morning.

 

[MandalaMaMa]

I have two container going now. When one is about done the other one is fermented and ready to go. This seem to be working really good for my 5 girls. One jar last about 3 to 4 days.

 

[Beekissed]

I have two container going now. When one is about done the other one is fermented and ready to go. This seem to be working really good for my 5 girls. One jar last about 3 to 4 days.

You could get by with just the one container if you wanted. You can let it get down to about the level of the one on the left..or even lower...and just refresh it and the old FF will inoculate the new feed overnight and you can start feeding it right out the next day and each day it will just deepen in ferment. That's called backslopping and it works pretty well, so it's like having two containers but you only have to have one.

 

[Tikkijane]

You could get by with just the one container if you wanted.  You can let it get down to about the level of the one on the left..or even lower...and just refresh it and the old FF will inoculate the new feed overnight and you can start feeding it right out the next day and each day it will just deepen in ferment.  That's called backslopping and it works pretty well, so it's like having two containers but you only have to have one. 

<------------ is a huge fan of backslopping. Mine starts fermenting as I'm mixing it in. I've even seen really good scoby within a few hours. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

 

[roostereggs]

How do you know how much to feed by age? I am about to have 3 flocks ranging from day olds to two months to an 'elderly' flock...? Is it based on weight or age?

That is what I am most uncertain about because it's not the same as free feeding. I would prefer to put the dry food away and stop feeding every bird and small critter in the state!

Also, since they actually eat less, will they grow more slowly?
Thanks for all your help!

 

[kpgoldstar]

You could get by with just the one container if you wanted. You can let it get down to about the level of the one on the left..or even lower...and just refresh it and the old FF will inoculate the new feed overnight and you can start feeding it right out the next day and each day it will just deepen in ferment. That's called backslopping and it works pretty well, so it's like having two containers but you only have to have one.

Agreed, I feed, refresh and ferment in the same way. I didn't know it had a name! Hey, I'm a backslopper!

 

[Beekissed]

How do you know how much to feed by age? I am about to have 3 flocks ranging from day olds to two months to an 'elderly' flock...? Is it based on weight or age?

That is what I am most uncertain about because it's not the same as free feeding. I would prefer to put the dry food away and stop feeding every bird and small critter in the state!

Also, since they actually eat less, will they grow more slowly?
Thanks for all your help!

Since you have varying ages, you'll have to play with the amounts until you get it right. The goal is to have nothing in the feed trough by the end of the day if you are feeding in the mornings, and none in the trough by the time you get to the coop in the morning, if you are feeding in the evenings. If you are feeding on top of the previous day's left overs, you need to feed a little less until you are placing new feed into a picked clean, or just a bit of residue on the bottom, trough.

I'd say feed enough so that you are getting that little bit of overage at the end...then back it down a little bit at a time until you are getting the clean trough.

If they are eating less it will be because they are consuming more nutrients than before, so they will grow the same or more quickly.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Agreed, I feed, refresh and ferment in the same way. I didn't know it had a name! Hey, I'm a backslopper!

Me, too. My mix doesn't have a completely liquid part, so instead of backslopping the leftover liquid, I "back slop" the last bit of ff as starter for the next batch. I have more than one batch going so I can let the refreshed batch ferment while I feed the previous batch down to just enough to use as a starter for the next batch. Each batch is bottomless.