FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Jennrz]

S
Very nice you are looking at a reduction! All we need is the length of time to go through x number of pounds of feed. Or how long (specific how many days/weeks or months) to go through a bag of 50 pounds of dry feed that is fermented!

For dry feed only, your chickens ate (and or wasted lol) .41 # per day per chicken. That is about $0.15 perday per chicken.

We can get the fermented rates to compare if yu can provide the length of time for the dry weight of FF!

I bought the current bag of feed on 4/10 - and I'm only ~maybe~ a third of the way through it. Will have to get back to you with a date when it's empty.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

Never on purpose.

 

[mobius]

oh my now wait if we do a guesstimate lets say you have used 15 pounds. If not too heavy you can put the bag on a bath scale to get more exact. Then, from 4/10 to now is say 50 days. Soooo, 15 pounds/50 days equals 0.3 pounds per day, then .3 # per day/4 chickens equals .075 # of feed per chicken per day....does that seem right? It is not a lot...but told you i would help

Could you have purchased the feed on 5/10? then it would be 0.17 # per bird per day...more in the range of things...but they ARE out foraging so then the result especially for you would be how much foraging PLUS FF cuts down on feed cost/usage...

 

[Jennrz]

oh my now wait if we do a guesstimate lets say you have used 15 pounds. If not too heavy you can put the bag on a bath scale to get more exact. Then, from 4/10 to now is say 50 days. Soooo, 15 pounds/50 days equals 0.3 pounds per day, then .3 # per day/4 chickens equals .075 # of feed per chicken per day....does that seem right? It is not a lot...but told you i would help

Could you have purchased the feed on 5/10? then it would be 0.17 # per bird per day...more in the range of things...but they ARE out foraging so then the result especially for you would be how much foraging PLUS FF cuts down on feed cost/usage...

Yup...4/10 it was. I looked back through my checkbook (yes I have and use one) to verify the date I bought the bag. I can't weigh the dry feed because I store it in a metal container with a locking lid. It fills to the top, almost can't put the lid on, when I first buy it. Now it's about 1/3 of the way down the container. That's the best I can do for now.

Agree that FF and foraging has cut my costs considerably. I would anticipate it may change a bit in the winter months when the yard may not be as bountiful. LOL.

I'm also using FF with chicks for the first time and find it brilliant. This spring I've hatched 3 Speckled Sussex (they are @ 6 weeks old) and 11 White Rocks (@ 1 week old) and haven't had a single issue. Not to mention they don't waste it by scratching it all over the place. Last time I had chicks I was filling their dry feed almost daily. I bought a 50lb bag of starter that I'm a little less than 1/2 way through. Don't plan on keeping all the chicks...probably only about 4 of the pullets. Keeping them healthy as I can for now. Hopefully their new owners will feed them well.

 

[mobius]

@Jennrz, awesome awesome. So now we have a sense of how much foraging is helping! Amazing!

And I would love to have a speckled sussex, so pretty and each one different!

 

[SewCluck]

I saw a video on fermenting my chicks' feed and would like to give it a try. At the moment we have 13, 8-10 week old chicks and they are going through that stuff fast! I buy DUMOR starter/grower from TSC. In the video the girl used a gallon sized glass jar, added the feed, then water and put a lid on it....not tight of course. Would add water over the course of 3 days, then feed it to her hens. Is it really that simple?? I have a ton of quart sized mason jars I could do this with, but would like your input first since ya'll are far more experts on this than me. Thanks!

 

[mobius]

It is really that simple and you don't have to keep adding water, just try a 50/50 mix of water to feed to start, and mix daily...put gauze or netting over the top with a rubber band instead of a lid to start with so it is a bit more exposed to air to get your ferment going.

 

[Dayrel]

I saw a video on fermenting my chicks' feed and would like to give it a try. At the moment we have 13, 8-10 week old chicks and they are going through that stuff fast! I buy DUMOR starter/grower from TSC. In the video the girl used a gallon sized glass jar, added the feed, then water and put a lid on it....not tight of course. Would add water over the course of 3 days, then feed it to her hens. Is it really that simple?? I have a ton of quart sized mason jars I could do this with, but would like your input first since ya'll are far more experts on this than me. Thanks!

There is slightly more to it (stirring and air exposure), but it is really easy. You should read the following: https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[Jennrz]

I saw a video on fermenting my chicks' feed and would like to give it a try. At the moment we have 13, 8-10 week old chicks and they are going through that stuff fast! I buy DUMOR starter/grower from TSC. In the video the girl used a gallon sized glass jar, added the feed, then water and put a lid on it....not tight of course. Would add water over the course of 3 days, then feed it to her hens. Is it really that simple?? I have a ton of quart sized mason jars I could do this with, but would like your input first since ya'll are far more experts on this than me. Thanks!

So not an expert. LOL.. I know a few people who use glass/ceramic crocks for FF. If that works for you and your set up, it's the best.

I'm using a 2 gallon feed bucket I got from TSC with an inverted paper plate for a lid. So classy I know. I guess I come from the school of use what you have. LOL. I know some people do more(quantity) at a time than I am, but I have so few hens and I only need to replenish it about once a week. I also keep it in our garage. It's what works for me.

Honestly I don't measure at all. First go around I used my 'scoop' to fill the bucket about half way with dry food. Tossed in a 'glug' or two of ACV, then added water to cover. Stirred it up a bit and added more water to cover. When replenishing I add water first. Stir it up with what's in there. Then add a 2-3 of scoops of dry feed to get a soupy consistency. By the next day it's absorbed most of the liquid and is a consistency that reminds me of natural peanut butter before you stir it....but not quite as hard...and not oily....

Here's a link to the buckets I'm using. (one for my layers and one for my chicks)

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...ltipurpose-bucket-2-gal-capacity?cm_vc=-10005

 

[Elyrian1]

I have enough birds a gallon jar wouldn't tide them over for more than a day... Since I'm using a five gallon bucket I left the lid off and put it where bugs wouldn't get to it for the first couple of days. Once it was good and started, I could tell by the smell, lol, I set the lid on top but don't keep it fastened at all. Now it's just maintenance. Add enough water as needed to keep a consistency something like peanut butter at room temperature.

I'm still trying to convert the chicks... they are not convinced and leave the food sitting until it dries out. Anybody got any advice? They range from one to two weeks old and I don't want to cut them off the dry food cold turkey until I can get them to at least try the FF. Right now they get within three inches, start shaking their heads and run for the opposite side of the brooder. Sheesh