FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[azygous]

Got it, Bee! I'm on my way to dose her with castor oil! She's been eating grit, so maybe she's thinking about eating some FF! She's back in with the flock on her own volition, so maybe she's going to pull out of this.

 

[Beekissed]

I certainly hope so!! Keep us posted? It could be educational for others having the same problem.

 

[jbher]

Hi All!! I've been lurking in this thread for a little while. I have a lot of reading and catching up to do though. I will be incubating my first eggs tomorrow!!! They will also be my first chicks!! So excited! I ordered a bag of Scratch and Peck Naturally free starter from Azure Standard yesterday so it will come next week. I would like to try Fermenting it for the chicks! I believe I have read it can be started right away. I'm hoping to do this easy and just some sort of system I can keep in the kitchen or on the counter??

I'm sure I'll be back and with lots of questions as hatch time nears!!

 

[Ariel188]

Hi All!! I've been lurking in this thread for a little while. I have a lot of reading and catching up to do though. I will be incubating my first eggs tomorrow!!! They will also be my first chicks!! So excited! I ordered a bag of Scratch and Peck Naturally free starter from Azure Standard yesterday so it will come next week. I would like to try Fermenting it for the chicks! I believe I have read it can be started right away. I'm hoping to do this easy and just some sort of system I can keep in the kitchen or on the counter??

I'm sure I'll be back and with lots of questions as hatch time nears!!

This is EXCALTY what I am doing. My chicks are due to hatch tomorrow. Remember do not make too big of a batch because the chick starter feed is "cracked" grains so they spoil faster than the layer whole grains. Good luck and grats on doing it RIGHT!

 

[Beekissed]

This is EXCALTY what I am doing. My chicks are due to hatch tomorrow. Remember do not make too big of a batch because the chick starter feed is "cracked" grains so they spoil faster than the layer whole grains. Good luck and grats on doing it RIGHT!

Actually, you can make as big a batch as you would want as FF doesn't "spoil" at all. And definitely not the layer mash....I make 5 gal. bucket at a time for the chicks and small flock I have and I can use out of that bucket for a couple of weeks before I get near the bottom.

I mix my chick starter with layer mash from day one, so no worries on spoilage or mixing too big of a batch....I recommend you mix it in larger batches so you have a really good ferment to pass along onto the next batch.

 

[Ariel188]

Actually, you can make as big a batch as you would want as FF doesn't "spoil" at all. And definitely not the layer mash....I make 5 gal. bucket at a time for the chicks and small flock I have and I can use out of that bucket for a couple of weeks before I get near the bottom.

I mix my chick starter with layer mash from day one, so no worries on spoilage or mixing too big of a batch....I recommend you mix it in larger batches so you have a really good ferment to pass along onto the next batch.

Hmm that is interesting. I make about 1/2 my 5 gallon bucket of my layer feed and after 5 days my hens won't eat it, figured it was bad.........

I make my oatmeal like consistency...

 

[Beekissed]

Hmm that is interesting. I make about 1/2 my 5 gallon bucket of my layer feed and after 5 days my hens won't eat it, figured it was bad.........

I make my oatmeal like consistency...

My chickens attack the scoop before I can even get it to the trough and I've been having to beat them off the area so I can even feed.

I only feed once a day, so I'm thinking if the chooks get hungry enough they'll eat anything. They seem to love it more when it's deeply fermented than when it's just lightly fermented, so maybe it's an acquired taste?

 

[Ariel188]

My chickens attack the scoop before I can even get it to the trough and I've been having to beat them off the area so I can even feed.

I only feed once a day, so I'm thinking if the chooks get hungry enough they'll eat anything. They seem to love it more when it's deeply fermented than when it's just lightly fermented, so maybe it's an acquired taste?

Ah that could be thanks! I have a hatch due tomorrow and I planned on starting then on FF right away.

I had been washing my 5 gallon bucket out every 5 days and completely restarting and I know people said to leave some of the old ff in but I keep thinking it will spoil, rot and go bad. I am so worried I will not know when or if it is rotten and since my girls won't take it after 5 days that is what I have been assuming.

 

[Audio51]

Quote:
Mine too, Bee! They will try to jump up on me if I am not getting it in the feeder fast enough. They must REALLY love it!

 

[OHhappychicks]

My chickens attack the scoop before I can even get it to the trough and I've been having to beat them off the area so I can even feed.

I only feed once a day, so I'm thinking if the chooks get hungry enough they'll eat anything. They seem to love it more when it's deeply fermented than when it's just lightly fermented, so maybe it's an acquired taste?

How long does it take yours to ferment and how much acv do you put in to ferment a 5 gal bucket? Ours eat it, but it might set there a day or so before its gone. My dh feeds them in the morning. I think he has been putting to much in the trough, so I told him to cut it down since it has warmed up. My ff doesn't seem to ferment a lot. If it smells like beer, does that mean it is fermented enough? Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Mine also doesn't bubble. It will have a little white "scum" over it. I've been feeding fermented feed to them since last fall, and the flock doesn't seem to 'love it" They don't attack or anything. We feed once a day and they free range the rest. Up until recently, we would give them some scratch in the evening, but a lot of the time they have ff left from the day before. I use layer mash, boss, oats and scratch. half layer mash, half the rest. I also had some kefir that I have been adding the last couple of weeks, but I put the last of it in today. Just reading the posts above and you stated it never spoils. I have thrown some out after about 5-6 days as it smelled really bad. Was it spoiled or is that what it smells like when it is really fermented?