FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[LeslieDJoyce]

Ok....got a question....

First, yesterday was the first day of the feeding of the fermented layer feed to the layers. For the FIRST time in 3 years, my hen with the crop issues had completely solid healthy poop under the roost bar! I was completely shocked!!! She has had loose stool every day of her life. So this fermented feed is already doing wonders for this bird!!

BUT....I have a problem. My mash starts out as mash in the morning. It is wet and sloppy. We are in a very severe drought this past decade and our humidity averages daily around 6%. So I just can not keep the mash wet. It gets stickier as the day goes on, no matter how much water I add to the feed. By the end of yesterday it was such a thick paste and I am not sure they ate too much before roosting time because it was just too stiff. 

Is there something I can add beside water to help it stay wetter and moister? Possibly AVC or something else? Apple sauce? Should I be brewing it with ACV originally?? Would this help? I can't be running up there every 20 mins to add water to the feed. And even still, it wants to paste up by the end of the day anyway.

Help!!

That's interesting! It must have something to do with the grind of the feed -- my new feed seems to be denser. When my old feed got drier, it got crumbly, not pasty. Maybe a different feed would not get pasty? Also, here I mix in a little alfalfa pellet before I ferment the feed ... for layers I've read that can only be like 2%. Something like that might help keep things more fluffy for you?

 

[chickensfinally]

Holy Crow!....My chicks are going crazy on the stuff! Like they haven't eaten weeks! At first they were a bit shy to try it, so I sprinkled a bit of starter on top. Pretty soon they were all diving in and now, they will not even TOUCH the dry starter!! 

I am happy!

Oh my gosh! I saw Holy Crow all the time and have never heard anyone else use it. I was so shocked! But given your username it makes sense --Carrie (Holy Crow, what do you know...)

 

[n3kms]

I

Ok....got a question....

First, yesterday was the first day of the feeding of the fermented layer feed to the layers. For the FIRST time in 3 years, my hen with the crop issues had completely solid healthy poop under the roost bar! I was completely shocked!!! She has had loose stool every day of her life. So this fermented feed is already doing wonders for this bird!!

BUT....I have a problem. My mash starts out as mash in the morning. It is wet and sloppy. We are in a very severe drought this past decade and our humidity averages daily around 6%. So I just can not keep the mash wet. It gets stickier as the day goes on, no matter how much water I add to the feed. By the end of yesterday it was such a thick paste and I am not sure they ate too much before roosting time because it was just too stiff. 

Is there something I can add beside water to help it stay wetter and moister? Possibly AVC or something else? Apple sauce? Should I be brewing it with ACV originally?? Would this help? I can't be running up there every 20 mins to add water to the feed. And even still, it wants to paste up by the end of the day anyway.

Help!!

It might not work for you but I just put out a feeding for them to eat within the hour then in the evening I repeat before they go to roost. They are in a large run and forage in between and I sometimes take them a snack during the day(wAtermelon rind, cantaloupe, tops of strawberries, BOSS) It doesn't get much chance to dry out but it is humid here.

 

[TwoCrows]

ChickenCanoe, is exactly what I was thinking. So I have started another batch that is much drier. I mixed in some probiotics too to possibly help get the process going. I am keeping it moist, but not sloppy. I may have to let it brew a bit longer, but I don't see why it won't grow the same way as a sloppy mix would.

Leslie DJoyce, I am considering just this. Maybe adding grains to the mix to keep it lighter. I am still in the experimental stage and want to make this work so anything is worth trying.

n3kms, I have also thought of this, feeding it in small amounts all day. I can do this much of the time, but there are days that I am gone or not available to feed what they will eat in one hour. I am actually doing this today, but it is not a long term answer to my troubles. LOL

Thank you everyone very much for your replies!! I need all the help I can get. I really want this to work, after seeing the poop under my hen with the endless crop and digestive issues. This may be her answer to better digestion and health over all.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: LOL....I use this on all my great exclamations here. LOL HOLY CROW!! LOL And yes, fits right in with my screen name.

Thanks and have a fabulous day!

 

[LindaB220]

Ok. Lol.... What I've been doing is after night feeding, I stick whatever is left over in freezer.... Then add fresh in morning..... It's usually not that much leftover.....but I will stop doing that....

If any is leftover in the trough in the morning, I just dump it out and that's the first thing the girls go for.

They eat it first.

 

[LindaB220]

Ok....got a question....

First, yesterday was the first day of the feeding of the fermented layer feed to the layers. For the FIRST time in 3 years, my hen with the crop issues had completely solid healthy poop under the roost bar! I was completely shocked!!! She has had loose stool every day of her life. So this fermented feed is already doing wonders for this bird!!

BUT....I have a problem. My mash starts out as mash in the morning. It is wet and sloppy. We are in a very severe drought this past decade and our humidity averages daily around 6%. So I just can not keep the mash wet. It gets stickier as the day goes on, no matter how much water I add to the feed. By the end of yesterday it was such a thick paste and I am not sure they ate too much before roosting time because it was just too stiff.

Is there something I can add beside water to help it stay wetter and moister? Possibly AVC or something else? Apple sauce? Should I be brewing it with ACV originally?? Would this help? I can't be running up there every 20 mins to add water to the feed. And even still, it wants to paste up by the end of the day anyway.

Help!!

I keep mine like extra thick oatmeal. Grout. etc.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

If any is leftover in the trough in the morning, I just dump it out and that's the first thing the girls go for.

They eat it first.

Yes, they do love the FF that gets dumped on the floor the next day! My troughs are usually picked clean, but I give the broody boxes a dollop of FF, and they don't always eat it, so I dump those on the floor for the other birds. Chickens!

ChickenCanoe, is exactly what I was thinking. So I have started another batch that is much drier. I mixed in some probiotics too to possibly help get the process going. I am keeping it moist, but not sloppy. I may have to let it brew a bit longer, but I don't see why it won't grow the same way as a sloppy mix would.

Leslie DJoyce, I am considering just this. Maybe adding grains to the mix to keep it lighter. I am still in the experimental stage and want to make this work so anything is worth trying.

n3kms, I have also thought of this, feeding it in small amounts all day. I can do this much of the time, but there are days that I am gone or not available to feed what they will eat in one hour. I am actually doing this today, but it is not a long term answer to my troubles. LOL

Thank you everyone very much for your replies!! I need all the help I can get. I really want this to work, after seeing the poop under my hen with the endless crop and digestive issues. This may be her answer to better digestion and health over all.

Just be conscious how much "scratch" or other stuff you're mixing in ...

 

[niqueie]

From what I've read and understand and experienced, you shouldn't have FF available all day to your birds, as they will over eat and will create health problems for your birds. It's a waste of feed too. It's around 1/2 cup a day per bird suggestion. Some birds may require more, but not loads more. One or 2 feelings per day is good. The feed should be cleaned up by the birds after 1-3 hours. FF is not like the dry food fed free-choice all day, it's a lot different mind-set almost. I know my birds have over-eaten when I go up to the coop and they don't act super hungry and excited for food. A hungry chicken that gets it's fill once or twice a day and is then satisfied is a heathy chicken. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Beekissed]

Ok....got a question....

First, yesterday was the first day of the feeding of the fermented layer feed to the layers. For the FIRST time in 3 years, my hen with the crop issues had completely solid healthy poop under the roost bar! I was completely shocked!!! She has had loose stool every day of her life. So this fermented feed is already doing wonders for this bird!!

BUT....I have a problem. My mash starts out as mash in the morning. It is wet and sloppy. We are in a very severe drought this past decade and our humidity averages daily around 6%. So I just can not keep the mash wet. It gets stickier as the day goes on, no matter how much water I add to the feed. By the end of yesterday it was such a thick paste and I am not sure they ate too much before roosting time because it was just too stiff.

Is there something I can add beside water to help it stay wetter and moister? Possibly AVC or something else? Apple sauce? Should I be brewing it with ACV originally?? Would this help? I can't be running up there every 20 mins to add water to the feed. And even still, it wants to paste up by the end of the day anyway.

Help!!

You really don't need it more moist....so no worries. They probably didn't eat much before going to bed because they are just satisfied enough. You could try adding a little whole grain to the mix that will keep it from turning into glue, providing it texture and sort of a crumbly appearance as it dries out. Mash shouldn't be stiff, as it has a course grind on the grains and as it dries out it should look rather like cornmeal or granola that someone has crumbled into the trough.

Pasting isn't a problem....chicken's beaks are very sharp and they can penetrate the paste. If they are not cleaning up the trough by the end of the day, you are feeding too much. Cut it back and you will find the food doesn't stick around long enough to make a paste. Hungry birds will eat more just because of food competition, so the feeder gets cleaned up more
thoroughly.

I feed once a day in the evening and you can bet there is very little left over to get dry...just pickins'....