FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[triplepurpose]

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.

I had similar thoughts. Or it could be that the ingredients were cooked or otherwise heat treated and therefore sterilized--unlike with typical grain-based feeds which still contain the indigenous bacteria and yeasts. If so and it was hermetically packaged it could take a very long time for any fermenting microbes to recolonize the substrate, without the introduction of starter culture.

 

[stevethack]

I bought a different brand of a 25 lb sack of Chick Starter/ Grower from a different feed store and mixed some into the remaining little bit (couple cups) I had left over from a previous ferment bucket of TSC Chick Starter/Grower (lots of plant/grain stuff in it).. The fermented TSC stuff always smelled good..clean and took off fermenting like crazy...pretty much done at 2-3 days (or longer even if needed..) and it was what the chicks liked. The newer stuff already has a lot of fermented byproducts in it from reading the label and ferments "just barely" in 3 days, even with back-slopping from the TSC ferments water. The chicks will eat it, but not gobble it like the other TSC stuff. Neither crumbles are medicated.. And the newer stuff I quit using to ferment. It had a sharper, less tasty smelling odor to it when fermented... I need to make a trip back to TSC I guess, cuz the chicks really dig into that fermented stuff.

 

[dawnpel]

I just started fermenting food 2 weeks ago, It bubbles nicely then once I start feeding it out,Iit doesn't bubble anymore. Anyone know why this happens? The chickens love it so I don't believe its bad

 

[deedles]

Mine has been going for 2 weeks now and it was bubbling a lot in the beginning but now also, not much. It still has the nice yeasty smell and the ducklings still wolf it down. Sorry, can't speak to the bubbling question but wanted to say that mine is the same as yours.

 

[Torch404]

I just started fermenting food 2 weeks ago, It bubbles nicely then once I start feeding it out,Iit doesn't bubble anymore. Anyone know why this happens? The chickens love it so I don't believe its bad

The ferments slow down as the food the microbes eat gets used up and as the microbes waste products build up. Don't worry there are still plenty of critters working in there and it's good as long as it doesn't smell funny. If you want it to bubble add some more food and water to your bucket.

 

[Beekissed]

I just started fermenting food 2 weeks ago, It bubbles nicely then once I start feeding it out,Iit doesn't bubble anymore. Anyone know why this happens? The chickens love it so I don't believe its bad

The bubbles are just gas escaping the mix...when you stir the mix or dip into the mix, it creates spaces for the gas to release without having to form a bubble in the mix. As the ferment grows deeper and older, less and less gases are emitted. It's not going bad. When you add fresh water and feed to the mix you will see the bubbles all over again as fresh sugars are being consumed by the microbes there.

 

[NickyPick]

Just wanted to show my set up. I've got 50+ hens, so we need feed in bulk. I started this can about 2 years ago - just add more grains and water when it gets low and stir. The hens just get fed in the morning before they get turned out in the horse pens.

 

[dawnpel]

Just wondering, how much FF do 50 chickens eat a day?

 

[knjinnm]

What is in the bottom bin, FF? What in the five gallon kinda white bucket?

 

[NickyPick]

The white bucket is for draining. When I add catfish food sometimes, it makes the feed to slushy, so we put feed in the white bucket (has rows of holes on the bottom) and let it drain while we go feed the horses. I usually fill up one 8 quart Fortiflex bucket (the purple one on the neighboring can) and spread that one amongst the troughs. If there's feed left at night, then they get less the next day. Goal is to have empty feeders at bedtime. The hens usually eat some before they go out, then when they come back in at dusk, they finish it off before heading off to the roost.