FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[azygous]

No fermentation is happening in this chick feed. I've been fermenting for going on two years and this batch is definitely a dud. No bubbling at all. Just wet feed.

Is it wiser to chuck this mess than risk feeding three day old wet slop? These chicks are going to be stressed and I don't want them put at risk with possibly spoiled food.

I will be getting them, baring a major postal screw up, in two and a half hours.

 

[Herdsman01]

My FF using chick feed doesn't seem to be fermenting. I started it two days ago so it should have the FF tang by now. I read the ingredients and it includes animal proteins in the form of fish and salmon meal. Is that why it's not fermenting?

My chicks will be here in the morning and I am thinking I should toss this out and just feed it dry.

The product is Farmer's Helper Ultra Kibble for Chicks. It was the only thing that came unmedicated.

Thoughts?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that UltraKibble is formulated to be fed as a treat for chicks. I am pretty sure it is not a complete feed ration. That is what I got from reading on bags and online about the stuff. That may be why your not getting correct fermentation. I would go get some chick starter and try that.

 

[aart]

Quote: I couldn't figure that out either...thought it might be an vitamin/mineral concentrate/additive for adding to grain/mash.

 

[azygous]

Good point, if this Ultra kibble isn't a regular feed it wouldn't ferment like regular feed. But surely something in it has grain origins, and that ought to ferment.

I just returned home with the babies. I forgot how tiny they are at two days old. They're mostly hovering under the heating pad, but coming out for drinks and to peck at the dry kibble scattered on the puppy pad.

I'm still not sure I want to feed them any of the wet stuff, although I do see a couple bubbles. But that may be from the FF spoonful of "soup" I stirred in last night and again this morning trying to goose this stuff.

Okay, I read the ingredients. Dried fish and veggies. No grains. No wonder the stuff never fermented. I am not in the habit of reading ingredients and maybe should from now on.

I'll pick up some chick starter and start over.

 

[aart]

Good point, if this Ultra kibble isn't a regular feed it wouldn't ferment like regular feed. But surely something in it has grain origins, and that ought to ferment.

I just returned home with the babies. I forgot how tiny they are at two days old. They're mostly hovering under the heating pad, but coming out for drinks and to peck at the dry kibble scattered on the puppy pad.

I'm still not sure I want to feed them any of the wet stuff, although I do see a couple bubbles. But that may be from the FF spoonful of "soup" I stirred in last night and again this morning trying to goose this stuff.

Could be that 'soup' you added will take a day or two to start to 'cook'.

 

[NickyPick]

Quote:
1. Yes
2. About 1 1/2 years
3. I use a large rubber feed can. Filled about halfway with the feeds, covered in water. Feed in the morning - stir, scoop, feed. Every couple of days, we add more feed and more water. Haven't changed anything since we started other than getting off the pelleted feed and on to grains. Tried adding alfalfa pellets once, but the hens would pick through and eat everything but the resulting alfalfa powder. Hens do spend the day in the horse pens for the remainder of their food.
4. Oats, Barley, Scratch, BOSS & Catfish food
5. We love it, as do the hens. Their poop hardly smells and decomposes fast. Have had no problems with egg production at all - eggs are big, yolks are big, shells are strong.

 

[triplepurpose]

Good point, if this Ultra kibble isn't a regular feed it wouldn't ferment like regular feed. But surely something in it has grain origins, and that ought to ferment.

I just returned home with the babies. I forgot how tiny they are at two days old. They're mostly hovering under the heating pad, but coming out for drinks and to peck at the dry kibble scattered on the puppy pad.

I'm still not sure I want to feed them any of the wet stuff, although I do see a couple bubbles. But that may be from the FF spoonful of "soup" I stirred in last night and again this morning trying to goose this stuff.

Okay, I read the ingredients. Dried fish and veggies. No grains. No wonder the stuff never fermented. I am not in the habit of reading ingredients and maybe should from now on.

I'll pick up some chick starter and start over.

Anything organic including vegetables and meats, will ferment (eg kimchee and salami). It just may not be in the way you wanted or expected, or you may have to introduce a starter culture of lactobacteria to get if going the way you want. But anything with sugars in it can host lactobacteria (and even things without can host others) and many other things--that's where sauerkraut and yoghurt come from, neither of which contains any grain either. Basically you can ferment anything!

Also, for the record, 3 days IME is not always enough time to expect noticeable amounts of spontaneous fermentation (ie, fermentation without a starter). It can take longer, depending on temperature, microbial population, type of substrate, etc. that is why traditionally people use starter cultures (including backslopping) with most fermented products when after a specific result in a certain timeframe. For example, making bread could be a long process with very inconsistent results without sourdough starter or yeast.

Plenty folks seem to get good redults with spontaneous fermentation of feed. Though I prefer inoculating with a homemade starter of some sort, or backslopping.

Anyway, good luck with your new chicks!

 

[dawnpel]

How long did it take befor your chickens ate that much less? I just started my very first batch 2 days ago.

 

[Torch404]

Good point, if this Ultra kibble isn't a regular feed it wouldn't ferment like regular feed. But surely something in it has grain origins, and that ought to ferment.

I looked at the ingredients and I wonder if maybe some of those vegetable pulps and meals might be treated with a high enough level of preservatives to prevent fermentation but not be listed as ingredients.

 

[monkcat]

Azygous, so glad your chicks are doing well after their delay! Sorry you had to waste all that food, and that it wouldn't ferment. But I learned from your flop, at least. Note to self, check the ingredients before trying to ferment. It never would have occurred to me to check it without reading this!