FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Audio51]

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It does not need to be covered. I prefer mine on the dry side

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Some people say yes (keep it covered with water at all times), some say no (mix it only as moist as you want to feed it).

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I take it both work just fine then. I won't worry about it. I did have some water on mine and I got a white yeasty stuff growing. It looked gross to me. I prefer it dryer.

 

[Audio51]

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The yeasty stuff is good and you want to see that. It is the "scooby" and is desirable. I thought it was bad when I first started with FF too, but BeeKissed set me straight on it. You will/should get that on it even when it is dryer. I perefer it dryer just because it is easier to work with and not so drippy.

 

[niqueie]

When chicks get it on them it hardens and then their fluff falls out leaving bald patches. Not many but on their necks was where it happened on my chicks. It's better IMO dryer for chicks. It doesn't splatter as much when the flick it off their face and it doesn't get everywhere as easily.

 

[kpgoldstar]

I take it both work just fine then. I won't worry about it. I did have some water on mine and I got a white yeasty stuff growing. It looked gross to me. I prefer it dryer.

I used to keep mine fairly wet, not covered with water but still wet enough that I had to use a fine strainer each time I fed. That of course resulted in the bucket becoming wetter each day, and the twice a day straining was a pain and time-consuming.

I don't add feed and water to my bucket daily, only about ever 4-5 days or so. Over the course of time I have been keeping mine progressively drier. It is so much easier come feeding time to just scoop and go. My girls love it all the same and they tend to stay a little cleaner than with the wetter formula. They still fling it in all directions but it doesn't become a matted mess on their necks and chests anymore.

Mine is certainly not as thick as commercial peanut butter, I would liken it more to grout or cement. If I did have
drain holes in the bottom of my feeding trough like Bee does, mine is not wet enough to drip through if that makes any sense. It still is fully fermented, smells quite sour even without all the extra moisture.

 

[subhanalah]

So, without specific identifiers (different brands of foods ferment differently in different types of water) each individual has to try it and see what happens to make appropriate portions of food to water.
I don't think I would be able to do a straining system. Without a much finer mesh strainer of some sort, it would just be too wet to do anything with it.

 

[Audio51]

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That sounds exactly like the way I do mine.

 

[Beekissed]

When chicks get it on them it hardens and then their fluff falls out leaving bald patches. Not many but on their necks was where it happened on my chicks. It's better IMO dryer for chicks. It doesn't splatter as much when the flick it off their face and it doesn't get everywhere as easily.

Yep...if I get a chance tomorrow I'll video the consistency of my current chick feed. It's definitely dry...crumbly dry when put out into the feeder. I've found the chick starter ferments very well in this thick, heavy sugar cookie dough consistency...all the moisture is trapped within the mix and is fermenting away just like normal.

 

[birdlady79]

Yep...if I get a chance tomorrow I'll video the consistency of my current chick feed.  It's definitely dry...crumbly dry when put out into the feeder.  I've found the chick starter ferments very well in this thick, heavy sugar cookie dough consistency...all the moisture is trapped within the mix and is fermenting away just like normal. 

I've been doing mine a little drier... Like cookie dough.... I just do a small batch... It still bubbles underneath... I've been leaving a little of the access in too... But the last couple of days It hasn't bubbled .... I don't leave water on top so I can't ever see white stuff on top.... It smells like yeast... . Am I doing something wrong? Or not leaving enough of the old in with it, to make it not bubble? I stir it a few times a day and leave lid off...

 

[Beekissed]

I've been doing mine a little drier... Like cookie dough.... I just do a small batch... It still bubbles underneath... I've been leaving a little of the access in too... But the last couple of days It hasn't bubbled .... I don't leave water on top so I can't ever see white stuff on top.... It smells like yeast... . Am I doing something wrong? Or not leaving enough of the old in with it, to make it not bubble? I stir it a few times a day and leave lid off...

When it's really thick it can't bubble much but stirring it will release those gases. Should smell sour if you are getting ferment so just give it time...it will get there. That's why I always recommend larger batches because by the time you get even a little ways into feeding that bucket out, it is well fermented and very ripe by the time you get towards the bottom, so the backslop materials you use are very, very well inoculated with good scoby.