FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[kile529]

It actually smells like sourdough. I wasn't sure at first if I'd recognize the smell, but yep! Sure did! Lol

 

[IAFarmGirl]

Right now we are under 3 ft of snow so the only forage is the deep litter and kitchen scraps. They get a.lot every day and they are digging many holes in the litter and eating a lot of it! Most of it is hay pellets that the goats dropped that are starting to break down under the bedding. I also give them sprouts. Idk what else I can do for them when I can barely wade through the snow to feed them!
This may not be the place to ask, but would a ruminant benefit from fermenting feed or would it be redundant because fermentation happens in the rumen anyway?

Ruminants have been getting fermented feed for hundreds of years. Silage is a fermented feed and almost all the beef you find in the stores has been fed silage. Most use corn silage or hay silage and I am sure there are others but I can't think of them.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Ohkay that makes sense, I read about feeding silage.I wasnt sure I wpuld do it correctly tho

 

[scopechick]

So, I am starting my chicks off right on fermented feed....they are loving it! However, this morning Inwent to fill up the feeder and there was mold on the top of the feed. I scooped out a good portion til I had nothing but mold-free feed and then fed them......will that be ok? Hsve now moved feed bucket to cooler part of the house.

 

[kpgoldstar]

So, I am starting my chicks off right on fermented feed....they are loving it! However, this morning Inwent to fill up the feeder and there was mold on the top of the feed. I scooped out a good portion til I had nothing but mold-free feed and then fed them......will that be ok? Hsve now moved feed bucket to cooler part of the house.

Are you sure it was mold and not scoby? The white filmy substance at the top of the feed is the good stuff that you should stir into the FF.

 

[Tikkijane]

So, I am starting my chicks off right on fermented feed....they are loving it! However, this morning Inwent to fill up the feeder and there was mold on the top of the feed. I scooped out a good portion til I had nothing but mold-free feed and then fed them......will that be ok? Hsve now moved feed bucket to cooler part of the house.

If you have a lid on yours, that would be the SCOBY. Mold will have hair......

 

[Beekissed]

So, I am starting my chicks off right on fermented feed....they are loving it! However, this morning Inwent to fill up the feeder and there was mold on the top of the feed. I scooped out a good portion til I had nothing but mold-free feed and then fed them......will that be ok? Hsve now moved feed bucket to cooler part of the house.

Just stir that in before you feed next time...most likely not mold.

 

[scopechick]

Well, pretty sure it was mold and not scoby. They are absolutley gulping down the ff so I don't think there is any issue....ofther than the clumps of ff on their toes making them look like they have frog feet! One even seems to have layed in it and her breast down is all matted. Tried to wash it out this afternoon and had a little bit of success but at least they seem to love it!

 

[Beekissed]

Well, pretty sure it was mold and not scoby. They are absolutley gulping down the ff so I don't think there is any issue....ofther than the clumps of ff on their toes making them look like they have frog feet! One even seems to have layed in it and her breast down is all matted. Tried to wash it out this afternoon and had a little bit of success but at least they seem to love it!

Pssttt!

Whenever I see mold on the sides of my bucket or on my scoop, I make sure it gets included into the feed and stirred in real good. Then I feed it to my chickens. Been doing it that way for 2 years now and not one chicken has keeled over and died.

 

[beverly evans]

Quote:
Me to. Evey morning I have a white coating on the top of the ff mash. I just stir it all in and never realized it was mold. And to no ill effects. Is it really mold? Why doesn't the acidity prevent its formation I wonder. So what is all the bruhaha about mold hurting the chickens then? It sure doesn't hurt my hens or the chicks for that matter. BTW, I took Gimpy to the vet yesterday and he says not to come in next week and we'll remove the splint the following week. Her feeling came back in the toes of that foot so she's going to walk again. My $3 chick is sure worth a lot now! All my chick selling profits went to the vet! And so it goes... : )