FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[smccully]

Our ducks continue to do well on the FF.  And there is NO smell.  A friend with much poultry experience is going to start fermenting his feed now after he took a whiff of our brooder.

my "Animal House" (multiple animals live there) does not smell however the ff sure does.

 

[aart]

my "Animal House" (multiple animals live there) does not smell however the ff sure does.

hahaha..... stink now...... or stink later!

 

[AthenaT]

I dont find the smell of my fermented feed foul....it is a bit strong when I first remove the lid and stir but no worse than my sourdough starter or crocked pickles or sauerkraut

 

[Beekissed]

For the first time in three years, I made a totally new batch of FF today....feed soaking as we speak. I've been using the same cultures for all that time. Will be interesting to see how quickly it ferments in this horrible heat we've been having and what it will be like.

Also made a new, larger trough for my FF in preparation for going out of town for 5 days...want it to be big enough to hold feed for all those days. I'll post pics of the new trough when I get it done...just scrapped together with boards and scrap lumber pieces, nothing fancy or precision made. Just functional.

 

[deedles]

Wow, Bee! Five years on the same batch. Nice! Reminds me of the "Oregon Trail" sourdough starter that has been kept going since 1847.

So, day 3 and our little ducklings have gained 1 oz. on the FF. They started at avg 1.3 oz each when we got them Tuesday nite at 9:30 pm and tonight at 6pm they weighed 2.3 oz!

They are so much fun.


Thought I'd throw in a pic of the nifty waterers that my DH built. I had hopes they would help keep the brooder dryer. The ducks did not concur.


What did help was an old 2-part broiler pan set underneath the feeder/waterers and covered with a kitchen towel. The bedding in the rest of the brooder is nice and dry. And since their poop is dry due to the FF, well, how much better could it be in a duck brooder anyway?

 

[Beekissed]

New, bigger feeder for the FF....just scrapped together out of some lightweight boards, some wood scraps and part of the woods. Easy to make, lasts a long while and functional. It's 5 ft. long and approx. a foot wide at the feet, less in the trough.

 

[katbriar]

Beekissed- do you cut an angle on the edge of the boards where they meet to make the V?

Clever use of the sapling/branch.

 

[Beekissed]

No, I just butt the end of one board up against the side edge of another board and screw them together. This is about the fastest and easiest way to get a trough configuration and I've seen many an old hog trough made in just this style. That sapling sure has kept my feeder cleaner...I have some birds that love to walk the feeder as they eat, just to dominate the food. Now that's just not an issue, though smaller birds will still be able to do so...and that's just fine with me.

 

[LindaB220]

New, bigger feeder for the FF....just scrapped together out of some lightweight boards, some wood scraps and part of the woods. Easy to make, lasts a long while and functional. It's 5 ft. long and approx. a foot wide at the feet, less in the trough.

Mine is a tad smaller. Maybe 7" wide at top but 6' long. I haven't been using it for a while but with the 21 new babies, I'll be pugting it out. I'm going to put a limb like you did.

 

[Clucksandgiggle]

Hello!

I have been feeding my chicks FF since I got the 5 weeks ago. They are doing fantastic!

I was wondering...how do you know if your fermented feed is rotten? Not worried that mine is, I'm just curious how one would know it's rotten.


Thanks!
Heather