FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[kpgoldstar]

No flies?! I haven't seen that at all.

I'm finding on the longer ferment time, the smell is pungent enough to make my eyes water- more alcoholy vs yeasty. Yeeks. With the higher temps, they are not eating as much, either, so I can definitely cut back.

I agree on both accounts. Our flies were crazy heavy this spring but we had a very mild winter.

Mine is fermenting too much! I have had to start making smaller batches. Temps here are well over 100, and my house where I keep the FF is 80+. And they aren't eating as much as well. I am trying to make it as dry as possible and even putting ice cubes in for part of the water! I'm not using water first to backslop, I add feed then the water and only enough to moisten the feed.

 

[birdlady79]

I agree on both accounts. Our flies were crazy heavy this spring but we had a very mild winter.

Mine is fermenting too much! I have had to start making smaller batches. Temps here are well over 100, and my house where I keep the FF is 80+. And they aren't eating as much as well. I am trying to make it as dry as possible and even putting ice cubes in for part of the water! I'm not using water first to backslop, I add feed then the water and only enough to moisten the feed.

I've been doing same thing you are with ff and ice in water..... It turned Hot here, now rainy, rainy, rainy, humid, & muggy... Now Hot again.... Its so hard to keep the flies away and gnats .... I hate leaving a cover over their food bc it's so hot but I have to bc of critters....

 

[Beekissed]

Hi all. Interesting topic. I'm new to chickens, and our birds are about 3 months old now. 6 LF breeds.

Right now they are free ranging 10-14 hours a day on a fairly untamed acre. Lots of grass and weeds and bugs etc to nibble on.
I have a feeder in the coop with grower crumbles. They eat it, but since they're outside most of the day, it lasts a very long time.

Anyway. My question is, if I started feeding fermented, would they eat less "free range" stuff since they would fill on the fermented feed?
Is the free range stuff healthier, as healthy, or less-so than fermented?

I'm happy to save the money by letting them eat weeds and bugs. But I would be OK with fermenting their feed too if it meant healthier chickens.


Their lot in life:

As someone mentioned, I feed once in the evenings after they have foraged most of their daily feed...but they will eat a few mouthfuls of that and go right back to foraging until dark. They seem like they can't wait to get the FF but they really don't consume all that much due to having full crops already.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree on both accounts. Our flies were crazy heavy this spring but we had a very mild winter.

Mine is fermenting too much! I have had to start making smaller batches. Temps here are well over 100, and my house where I keep the FF is 80+. And they aren't eating as much as well. I am trying to make it as dry as possible and even putting ice cubes in for part of the water! I'm not using water first to backslop, I add feed then the water and only enough to moisten the feed.

No such animal!

Can't ferment too much! But, I know what you mean.....mine is really tangy right now, as is usual for summer and I do often mix smaller batches for summer use.

I haven't seen a fly in the coop in three years now, nor in the yard. They also do not seem attracted to the feed....maybe a deeper ferment is the answer?

 

[CrispyTeacher]

Ok so this is possibly a dumb question, but I'm new to this and a little confused with all the information out there. I have 4 silkies that are about 7-8 weeks old. I just started fermenting, and for this process to work for my family it must be easy.... Here's what I did (please let me know if I'm wrong);

I placed what I think should be a days worth of feed in a mason jar. Topped with a tablespoon of organic acv. And then covered in water. I'm confused at this point if I should cover it with a mason jar lid or let it breath. For now I've placed screen over the jar and used the metal ring to secure. It should be ready in two days? I'm keeping a rotation... Tomorrow I'll make another batch. I will reuse the juice and start a fresh batch each day. Does this sound right? Also, I'm leaving the dry food for now just to make sure they are getting enough.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sounds ok but do not close it tightly. It grows and gasses off so glass will explode if it doesn't breathe.

 

[Beekissed]

Ok so this is possibly a dumb question, but I'm new to this and a little confused with all the information out there. I have 4 silkies that are about 7-8 weeks old. I just started fermenting, and for this process to work for my family it must be easy.... Here's what I did (please let me know if I'm wrong);

I placed what I think should be a days worth of feed in a mason jar. Topped with a tablespoon of organic acv. And then covered in water. I'm confused at this point if I should cover it with a mason jar lid or let it breath. For now I've placed screen over the jar and used the metal ring to secure. It should be ready in two days? I'm keeping a rotation... Tomorrow I'll make another batch. I will reuse the juice and start a fresh batch each day. Does this sound right? Also, I'm leaving the dry food for now just to make sure they are getting enough.

You'll want to leave it open to air, as Chicken Canoe has said. You will also want to mix up more than a day's ration, as mixing it new each day is not "easy"....just make a big ol' batch in a bucket and feed it out until you reach near the bottom and use the old batch to inoculate the new batch so that it will ferment well and quickly. One day's ferment is good, but the longer it ferments before you feed it, the more the nutrients are converted to something they can utilize.

I wouldn't put out the dry food also as they will need to be hungry enough to switch to the wet feed texture and taste and they can't do that when they have a choice. Others have tried it and they eventually learn to take away the dry if they want them to eat the better for them FF.

 

[subhanalah]

Ok so this is possibly a dumb question, but I'm new to this and a little confused with all the information out there. I have 4 silkies that are about 7-8 weeks old. I just started fermenting, and for this process to work for my family it must be easy.... Here's what I did (please let me know if I'm wrong);

I placed what I think should be a days worth of feed in a mason jar. Topped with a tablespoon of organic acv. And then covered in water. I'm confused at this point if I should cover it with a mason jar lid or let it breath. For now I've placed screen over the jar and used the metal ring to secure. It should be ready in two days? I'm keeping a rotation... Tomorrow I'll make another batch. I will reuse the juice and start a fresh batch each day. Does this sound right? Also, I'm leaving the dry food for now just to make sure they are getting enough.

I would mix up enough for 5 days if you have the room, so you can keep a continual ferment going. It is not very practical to just do one day's feeding at a time, it takes three days to ferment really well.

 

[beverly evans]

Quote: Hi Bee, how ya doin' ? I sure wish that were my case. I have flies in abundance I'm sorry to say. All over the lawn and in the coop. The chickens just get ff and it is getting nasty. I rehomed a huge eatting nonlayer and sold a rooster and it meant I suddenly had too much food. Talk about stinky! First alcoholly then stinky. They eat it fine but I woulldn't eat anything that smelled that bad! I have it in the kitchen in my hot house, no AC and by the frig that has hot areas around it, so it gets perhaps too warm. I'm going to make less. I got fed up with making 2 batches so the chicks are getting big girl ff now. Maybe it is my mix. I use 2 parts organic layer feed, 1 part steamed oats, 1 part horse sweet feed with molasses, and a cup of alfalfa for good measure. I quit putting scratch in it because they would stand there and pick every bit out and leave the rest. I keep it dryish and crumbly like most do. I probably have a much more crowded situation in my back yard than you do in your various acres so there is a more concentrated amt. of poo around about. XO : )

 

[Beekissed]

The molasses might be a little too rich in that mix, with the addition of the sweet feed. That could be making it produce a little more alcohol smell.

I also use deep litter in the coop and that might be a factor, as well as my birds free range for most of their food and I've never seen a fly on bird poop, so my chicken's poop might be a lot like a wild bird's. You can actually pick up one of their dried turds and it will crumble in the hand, revealing bug shells and such. It smells like soil and is richly black in color, other than the urates.

Could be all these factors that keep my chicken's poop from attracting flies, but I know that their poop did attract flies when I used to just feed dry layer mash, so I think the fermentation is the kicker.