FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

I've got my flock water in a large, black rubber pan this year, under shade and sitting down in an old tire....that old tire is the different thing I did since last year and it seems to keep the water several degrees cooler than it normally is. I also add a little ACV in the summer months for keeping the water fresher and also for electrolyte replacement.

Cool, shady earth and dusting spots seem to be what all the animals look for in the heat...dog, cat and chickens alike.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

That's true. Shading is imperative. I do freeze the pint water bottles and stick one in each waterer in the morning. It helps cool the water just a bit. At the end of the day I put them back in the freezer so keep reusing them.

All my automatic water systems are under shade trees but the ambient temperature can still make the water pretty warm even shaded. That's why I put out founts and foot baths too.

We also flush our lines very regularly. I have hose bibs at the ends of the lines through the coops ... might as well put that flush water to some good use.

 

[beverly evans]

I wish misting worked here. Humidity averages around 70%. On hot days when it is a little lower, I'll hose down the roofs and shade cloth for some evaporative cooling. It's just not that often it works.
The frozen milk jugs hanging from the ceiling at various places along the roosts and they can nuzzle against them at night.

I was told by a poultry nutritionist NOT to put ice in their drinking water. It can constrict blood vessels and make matters worse.

Shad cloth over buildings helps. You can get remnants here.

https://www.farmtek.com/farm/suppli...s&breadcrumb_categoryIds=|46353&maxRecords=20

I paid $45 for shade cloth and it didn't do near the job I had hoped for; had to double it for it to do any good. I'm putting canvas on top this summer. Only the babies or "grow outs" are relegated to the run in the heat....everyone else gets to run free and find their shade.

 

[LindaB220]

I paid $45 for shade cloth and it didn't do near the job I had hoped for; had to double it for it to do any good. I'm putting canvas on top this summer. Only the babies or "grow outs" are relegated to the run in the heat....everyone else gets to run free and find their shade.

I'm buying canvas cloth this year. Or painter's drop cloth. Not the plastic. Anything that will keep the rays off the chicks. I'm really lucky that there shade in there most of the day due to the trees.

 

[Tikkijane]

I read birds stop drinking the water if it gets over a certain temperature, so there has to be some way to keep it cool enough. Perhaps just shading the waterers (and the lines to them if they are automatic) it is good enough? 

I think about temps. By the time I add ice to their water, it's over 95 degrees anyhow. Ice melts rapidly in those temps- like minutes. It's not like they are drinking "ice water." It's like non-hot water, cooled a touch.

I like my ice jugs on the ground so they can get around them or stand on them if they want to. Hanging a block of ice doesn't feel comfortable to me (always a chance of dropping) plus heat rises so it seems like if I want the ice to last longer, on the ground in the shade is the wsu to go. I always laugh because it's like they're playing 'king of the mountain', lol.

 

[KittieChick]

I started today with fermented feed. I just used the baby food the chicken guy sold me for my meat birds. It smells delicious! My Papillons would like to eat it. The chickens took about 30 seconds to get over their distrust and they love it!

Here's my question. About how long can I expect the fermented feed that I mixed up to stay good? I'll do the sniff test, of course and if it smells sour out it goes. Also, as I get down in quantity, can I just throw in more dry feed to what's already in the bucket or do I need to start a fresh bucket?

 

[subhanalah]

I started today with fermented feed.  I just used the baby food the chicken guy sold me for my meat birds.  It smells delicious!  My Papillons would like to eat it.  The chickens took about 30 seconds to get over their distrust and they love it!  

Here's my question.  About how long can I expect the fermented feed that I mixed up to stay good?  I'll do the sniff test, of course and if it smells sour out it goes.  Also, as I get down in quantity, can I just throw in more dry feed to what's already in the bucket or do I need to start a fresh bucket?

you WANT the sour smell they don't call it "sour mash" for nothing!

You just add more food and water to what you already have. I have two buckets that I rotate between, but that's only because one bucket isn't big enough to hold enough food to keep a good ferment going.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I started today with fermented feed.  I just used the baby food the chicken guy sold me for my meat birds.  It smells delicious!  My Papillons would like to eat it.  The chickens took about 30 seconds to get over their distrust and they love it!  

Here's my question.  About how long can I expect the fermented feed that I mixed up to stay good?  I'll do the sniff test, of course and if it smells sour out it goes.  Also, as I get down in quantity, can I just throw in more dry feed to what's already in the bucket or do I need to start a fresh bucket?

It's supposed to smell sour.

If you read through maybe the past 20 or 30 pages of this thread you'll get great discussion about your question of how to tell if it has gone off, as well as a link to a great resource page that compiles the instructions from this thread and answers most questions people could possibly ask.

If you have time, read this thread from page 1 ... it's fascinating.

 

[Beekissed]

http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

This is the link to the site that describes how it can smell and will answer a lot of other questions you may have. By all means, don't throw it out until you read up on it....yeast vs. mold, smells, consistencies, results, etc.....all of these things are the usual questions but if you don't see your questions answered there already, feel free to ask here.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I paid $45 for shade cloth and it didn't do near the job I had hoped for; had to double it for it to do any good. I'm putting canvas on top this summer. Only the babies or "grow outs" are relegated to the run in the heat....everyone else gets to run free and find their shade.

I recommend the 90% shade cloth. It's dark green and you can't see anything through it. It just lets rain through.
I only have one run that's in the sun midday. That one is covered the length with 90% shade cloth. The rest don't get much sun and at least one flock free ranges.

The only problem with the shade cloth is the snow. It will take an 8' wide hoop pen and make two 4' wide tunnels.


One of the free range flocks.


raised bed with chicken pasture almost ready for the hoop pen.








This guy and his brothers are sometimes a problem when they break their chain and come bounding across the field. They're getting shot next time.


Only the birds that tend to jump fences (non penedesencas) have to be in the hoop pen to keep them out of the garden and berry patches in season. They get the run of the berry patches before growth and after harvest. The persimmons are there too and late fall/early winter the chickens hunt for them first thing each morning.

I think about temps. By the time I add ice to their water, it's over 95 degrees anyhow. Ice melts rapidly in those temps- like minutes. It's not like they are drinking "ice water." It's like non-hot water, cooled a touch.

I like my ice jugs on the ground so they can get around them or stand on them if they want to. Hanging a block of ice doesn't feel comfortable to me (always a chance of dropping) plus heat rises so it seems like if I want the ice to last longer, on the ground in the shade is the wsu to go. I always laugh because it's like they're playing 'king of the mountain', lol.

The jugs are only hanging in the coop at night when nighttime temps haven't dropped out of the 90s, Then they're at chicken roosting height.

you WANT the sour smell

they don't call it "sour mash" for nothing!

You just add more food and water to what you already have. I have two buckets that I rotate between, but that's only because one bucket isn't big enough to hold enough food to keep a good ferment going.

X2
I try not to serve it till I get a whiff of that sweet sour smell when I stir it.