FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[FlyWheel]

I think that's the active ingredient in some of the soaps. I'll have to look at the bar I have.

 

[Finnie]

Feeder for fermented feed? I'm looking for ideas on how to serve the fermented feed. Up until now, mine were small enough to just eat our of an old cake pan, but now I need something bigger as I've added six new girls to my flock. I'd love to see pics of what y'all are using.

While not a solution for a large flock, I have been very happy with cutting large holes out of the sides of milk jugs and hanging them by their handles from the wire of the baby pens using S hooks. I learned to make the holes large enough to fit a big heaping ladle full of FF. But at the same time positioning the holes high enough so that the dish area in the bottom of the jug holds as much FF as possible.

 

[andreanar]

Hello, I'm going to start ff. I looked thru the first few pages and the last 10 or so pages and didn't find what I was looking for, so sorry to ask what has prob been asked over and over! Can I use a 1 gallon glass jar to ff? Should I keep the lid screwed on or will that cause the glass to explode due to gas build up?

 

[Molpet]

Hello, I'm going to start ff. I looked thru the first few pages and the last 10 or so pages and didn't find what I was looking for, so sorry to ask what has prob been asked over and over! Can I use a 1 gallon glass jar to ff? Should I keep the lid screwed on or will that cause the glass to explode due to gas build up?

no lid or very loose 1 gal glass is good... no metal
https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[EggSighted4Life]

OK, so I've decided to report on the life span of my FF container.. which is an 18 gallon Rubbermaid tote.

After about 1 year, where the handles connect to the lid for snapping on and off are cracking. It does stay outside exposed to the element and I live in the PNW where we get torrential rain for a good portion of the year. For another good portion we get fog most of the day. And lastly, when the sun does shine our UV rating is only about a 1 on the scale. We rarely ever freeze, but there were a couple of days that the lid did get frost on it.

The lids on these are not air tight and it has worked out great. However, without the lid to keep rodents/pests out it will be useless!

Long story short, I cannot recommend this container, as replacing it too often would be cost prohibitive and defeat part of the reason most of us ferment.

 

[FlyWheel]

UV and ozone are the main enemies of things created out of synthetic/organic molecules. Plastics, rubbers, all will eventually degrade. If you want a container that will really last find something made out of glass or glazed ceramic. Barring breakage these are virtually eternal.

Just ask an archaeologist.

 

[lazy gardener]

You can get 5 gal food grade buckets from the bakery dept. at your local grocer. Most have lids.

 

[tigger19687]

I got 5 gal buckets with lids at Grocery Market Basket for like 2-3 bucks

 

[Leigti]

I have a bachelor pen with 12 boys waiting for freezer camp. They get their FF in a super large dog bowl. The main flock now consists of 38 birds. They have 2 gutter feeders, and a dog bowl. I also sometimes use a plastic chip and dip bowl It consists of a dip bowl area in the middle, surrounded by a moat for the chips. It resembles a sombrero that has had the top punched in. That works very well for FF. Based on weather, and free range time, I sometimes toss some FF onto the grass, they do a good job cleaning it up.

The gutter feeders are super easy to make: I used chop saw to trim 2 x 4 to match the angles at the ends of the gutter. used aluminum siding screws with the rubber gaskets to attach the gutter to the 2 x 4 end caps. Put a couple of 2 x 4 feet on the bottom to keep it stable, and attached a dowel across the top, raised up about 4" from the top of the gutter edges, (mounted so it would spin) to keep the birds from standing in the gutters. Note to self. When cutting gutter with power saws, reverse the saw blade, or the gutter will shatter.

I have used the chip and dip platter's also. They do work well. And I used vinyl gutters between cinderblocks. Extremely easy. No tools required I would post a picture but I can't figure out how to do it now that they've change things. Basically just set the cinderblocks up on their end and put the gutter in the hole then put the other end in another cinder block. My 12 chickens easily eat out of a 5 foot long trough made this way.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have used the chip and dip platter's also. They do work well. And I used vinyl gutters between cinderblocks. Extremely easy. No tools required I would post a picture but I can't figure out how to do it now that they've change things. Basically just set the cinderblocks up on their end and put the gutter in the hole then put the other end in another cinder block. My 12 chickens easily eat out of a 5 foot long trough made this way.

My issue with the cinder block/gutter is that the feed under where the cider block covers is rarely touched. So it either sit too long or I have to stir/scrape it out of there. Or I have to constantly adjust where the cider blocks sit/cover. The cider blocks I got happen do have like dips on one side. So laid on their side with the dips facing up, they are just the right size to receive the gutter and everything gets used without extra effort on my part.

My smaller gutter is hanging by string.. you know, the kind you can use to tie your stuff into your truck, provided at Home Depot. Or actually, it may be from the strings around the hay.. I like to re-purpose free stuff! I'm planning to switch to chain and put S hooks up higher, so I can just lift the feeder and hook on the S in order to combat rodents. Right now I cover my 8 ft feeder with a 2 x 4.

My ONLY local grocers are Walmart and Safeway (tried Subway to). We also stopped at a Fred Myers in Oregon. All either said no we can't do that or they sell them for $3 each. So I bought my watering bucket at Wally, white/food safe.. for around $3. No left over staining or pickle smell. Time is $ and all the thought and time put into asking for free buckets was a waste in my area... But hey, I LOVE the redwoods and wouldn't change my location for all the free buckets in the world!!!!