FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[enola]

I am not sure where i am going to keep my FF this winter. This morning is pretty cool (SC) so i may be improvising pretty soon. I hope i can keep my FF in my bathroom. I am wondering if laying a towel over the bucket will keep smells contained, but still allow the FF to breathe?

 

[hennible]

Do you store yours in a warm place? I'd considered keeping our FF bucket inside the house in the mud room but my wife was having none of it due to the slight yeast smell. Personally I like the smell, reminds me of bread.

RichnSteph

Yeah I'm rotating my FF feeders right now... Two come in to the mud room in the morning and two go out... The 5 gallon bucket's that the feeders are made of don't freeze solid even in -20 if they're just out for the day... But my husband's not too happy about having them inside, oh well come spring everything will go back out to the coop again, that's where I make it and ferment it right in the feeder... I'm not willing to stop I have nice culture going... A heated base would be an improvement though.

 

[islandgirl82]

Do you store yours in a warm place? I'd considered keeping our FF bucket inside the house in the mud room but my wife was having none of it due to the slight yeast smell. Personally I like the smell, reminds me of bread.

RichnSteph

Agreed...reminds me of sour dough bread. I store mine in a 5 gal bucket with a loose-fitting lid in a corner right by my kitchen door which leads out to my hen house anyway. I've had plenty of company since starting the FF and either they're all very polite and don't say anything or no one has actually noticed the smell.

 

[hennible]

I'm sure everyone could agree that it smells better than my cat litter...

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Same here. Wife's patience was worn thin last winter with all the buckets on the back porch/sun room. I may keep all but one in the cellar this year.

I tend to wear her patience pretty thin for lots of things.

Our local meteorologist does a long range prediction 4 times a year for the next season. Last night was his prediction for December, January and February. He said there's a warm up coming the first 3rd of December but the rest of the winter will be nearly as bitter as last. January will be much drier than last but there will be more snow across the south that should miss us.

 

[RichnSteph]

Hmmm ya'll have got me to thinking I could ferment a small amount that wouldn't produce too much smell and keep it inside. Once I get a good culture going I could feed in the morning then add crumbles to it and let it sit until the next morning and just feed pellets and scratch to them before they go to roost. I'll see what the wife person things. I'd think the chickens would appreciate a warm meal in the morning.

RichnSteph

 

[RichnSteph]

I tend to wear her patience pretty thin for lots of things.

I have that same tendency unfortunately.

 

[vpatt]

I'm sure everyone could agree that it smells better than my cat litter...

 

[Tikkijane]

I admit I went back to regular layer pellets, adding in oats and cracked corn. They get fresh veggies too. They went off the FF, quit eating it so I just quit feeding it. Not saying it's bad or doesn't work.

Mine are kind of meh about it so i mix dry pellets in with it, trusting they'll eat enough of it if they're hungry. i also give shelled BOSS and a bit of cracked corn in the cold weather

Bear in mind- the stronger the ferment, the less they will eat to a point. When you first start feeding it, they will pack it in. As their gut flora adjusts, they do cut back.

Mine only eat a few mouthfuls at a time. That does not mean they are not interested. If mine stopped eating, I would assume I was way overfeeding and would cut back. They should eat what they need in about 10-30 minutes. Mixing in anything unfermented defeats the purpose, imo. I don't ferment treats, though.

 

[Tikkijane]

Mine quit eating it about 3 weeks ago. It was about that time it started getting chilly in the daytime.  I think they just don't like FF when the weather is cold.  They won't even eat it when i mixed in yogurt anymore.  I tried warming it and they ate a little of it warmed up but not enough to bother warming it every day.

So they are on pellets for the winter and i will start a new batch of FF in the spring. 

Mine LOVE it when it's cold. They get a steaming bowl of yummies for breakfast, kinda like hot cereal. And, it helps with hydration, too. They need water just as much in the cold as they do in the heat, if not more.