FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[lazy gardener]

Quote: If you are storing your feed in a hot shed, that is not doing it any good. It is hastening the break down of the nutrients in the feed, and causing the oils to go rancid and the vitamins to lose their potency much quicker than if it is stored at a cooler temp. Even in a tiny house, you should be able to find somewhere to store that feed so it will not go stale before you have a chance to use it up.

 

[crazyhatlady]

So I've been feeding my flock of layers and the batch of baby chicks in the brooder FF, about 4 days now. I did start feeding it to them after 24 hours, I'm not patient sometimes. I started out with about 5 small pails of it so by the 2 nd day the fermentation was really going good. Now I just use one big bucket and back slop. Been keeping the bucket in my home because of the weather and outdoor critters. My 40 layers and one lonely rooster attacked it the first day and I had to refill them at noon. But now they take their time.

The hens and the rooster's feathers seem glossier already and less raggedy from the winter. I'll leave the door open for them to free-range from noon on. They get confined to the coop and run for a day or two when the red-tailed hawk kills one of them. Then I'll let them free range again. I notice when the snow has melted and they have more places to hide there are no kills until it snows again. Anyways.

Their eggs are getting bigger. And I've been feeding my flock of 7 ducks it also and they love it! So much that if they run out of it, I don't even have to guess because they yell at me until I bring them some more. Still figuring out with them how much they need. Yesterday I did 2 big scoops per duck and they still needed more. Today I gave them 3 scoops per duck.

I like it so far. It is a little bit of more work but since I am blessed by being a sahm it helps with the occasional boredom now that my daughters are 13 and 11 and its just me and the pug home while everyone is at work and school. Plus really it only takes me like 5-10 minutes more in my routine so not really an issue.

The chicks in the brooder love it. They are very messy with it. But as of yesterday I've been giving them dry as I remembered I'm giving a friend six of the hens (hopefully there's six in there, (25 all straight run)) to put in her new coop when they are ready. She works and her husband keeps battling cancer so I don't think she would be into FF. So do you think I should do both the FF and dry for them or just stick to the dry? Thank you for any advice.

 

[lazy gardener]

Personally, I'd stick with the FF. You could give her a small bucket of FF when they leave your home. What's the difference between them transitioning to dry at your place, and doing so at her place? I'd give them the benefit of FF just as long as you possibly can.

 

[crazyhatlady]

Thank you LG.

 

[lazy gardener]

YVW.

 

[crazyhatlady]

Something I also noticed about FF. In my brooder of 25 chicks, 8 of them are 3 weeks old that I hatched out from my flock. They are a barnyard mix and they grew really well and feathering fast. The other 17 consists of 5 BR and 12 BJG that are 2 weeks old that were ordered from Cackle Hatchery. Everyone of them arrived healthy, packed well with a heat pad. No losses. But definitely taking longer to grow and feather. I was just chalking it up to stress of being shipped though they shipped them on Wednesday and I got them the next day.
Of the few days being on FF they are getting bigger and starting to feather.

 

[Kiki]

FERMENTED FEED is the best. Period.

 

[FlyWheel]

<snip!>4 chickens will likely consume 2-2 1/2 c. total for the day...not each, for all the birds. However you feed it, once or twice, that's about how much each adult bird will eat...1/2 c. of feed, be it dry or FF.

The highest temp isn't a factor...it merely ferments more quickly in higher temps, necessitating one to refresh the feed more often due to the scoby running out of available sugars for fermenting if left too long. Most people will batch smaller but more frequent batches in the summer months so as to not reach that point. Can you keep your FF bucket in your coop or run in the summer months, in the shade, where it's not likely to get that hot? I keep mine in my coop in the warm months and it does fine...it gets double shade there and plenty of ventilation, while I also batch it smaller and more frequently so as to keep up with the rapid rate of fermentation in the warmer temps.

Some people in warmer climates wind up keeping it in the cool of basements or garages for the summer.

How long is too long? What are the signs that the SCOBY are starving? (I don't have a sense of smell, so you can leave those out)

I did grow up to be a kid. Still can't score any fairy dust though...

 

[Beekissed]

How long is too long? What are the signs that the SCOBY are starving? (I don't have a sense of smell, so you can leave those out)

I did grow up to be a kid. Still can't score any fairy dust though...

That's too bad, because smell is your biggest indicator...as the fermentation deepens, the smell is VERY rank and sour, then people report that it goes from that to a rotten smell and they see black mold forming on the top of the feed. With that kind of hindrance, I'd just err on the side of caution and refresh your bucket weekly or even twice weekly in really hot temps.

 

[FlyWheel]

Quote: Weekly or semi-weekly in hot climates? Great. I ferment single day rations in two rotating casks. So neither is brewing for more than 48 hours, and even my backslop is only about a quarter cup and it gets stirred into the rest. So I probably don't have to worry about spoilage, right? (obviously I watch for mold)