FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[igorsMistress]

The feed I normally use gets a nice scoby over night. The new stuff I tried, also organic, never did much and I checked the date, less than 30 days old. The protein was 2% less than the Bar Ale I prefer.

Eggs from the Welsummer weren't the pretty terra cotta color any more, the blue eggs weren't green any more and there was leftover food every day.

Back to the usual feed and all is well.

As I understand it the feed shouldn't affect egg color, so maybe nutrition? Lack of scoby?

 

[lazy gardener]

Shell color will decrease as laying cycle progresses. Yolk color is more dependent on diet and will vary with diet from day to day, or week to week.

 

[Molpet]

The feed I normally use gets a nice scoby over night. The new stuff I tried, also organic, never did much and I checked the date, less than 30 days old. The protein was 2% less than the Bar Ale I prefer.

Eggs from the Welsummer weren't the pretty terra cotta color any more, the blue eggs weren't green any more and there was leftover food every day.

Back to the usual feed and all is well.
As I understand it the feed shouldn't affect egg color, so maybe nutrition? Lack of scoby?

were you in a hot spell?
http://www.chickens.allotment-garden.org/eggs/pale-eggs-egg-shell-colour/

 

[igorsMistress]

@Molpet not any hotter than usual. Actually a bit cooler than it was a few weeks ago.

Yolks are big and orange still, guess it was just a fluke.

 

[barred2rock]

Well, the wet feed is just as new as the fermented. lol Anyway, the reason I ask is because the flax seems to make it discolored and smell funky. If I put a lil excess water, the water layer at the top turns a dark brown. Guess I just need to get used to it too.

I think I figured it out. The birds don't seem to like the three day starter fermented feed, but they do like the 24 hour fermented (yes, I'm sure it's fermented) after it's already started (back slopped).

 

[tigger19687]

Mine go on and off the FF no matter which way I try. They have dry now with just crumbles in one side and I got 'wet' New Country organics in the other side of the bowl. Will find out the result come tomorrow

 

[Rubestmar]

I think I figured it out. The birds don't seem to like the three day starter fermented feed, but they do like the 24 hour fermented (yes, I'm sure it's fermented) after it's already started (back slopped).

I've started adding warm water, grit & oyster shell to their layers mash and feeding our ducks & hens with it. They prefer it that way instead of dry.
On Tuesday into a washing up bowl, I've put in 4 scoops of wholewheat and 2 scoops of wild bird seed (for 12 medium sized birds for 2 days feeding perhaps?) topped with aerated tap water. Fermenting just starting

 

[lazy gardener]

I'd not put the grit and the OS into the layer feed. The layer already has a lot of calcium. IMO, best to offer grit and OS separately so they are not forced to eat extra calcium.

 

[Kusanar]

Well, I was trying to read this all the way through, but when they changed hosts it messed up my place and I don't know where I was, so I just went to "last unread" which put me in August...

I did fermented feed for my horse for a while. I think it worked pretty well, but, with the feed I was fermenting (beet pulp) you have to have a lot of extra water, but it drains well, so that's not an issue, I think the issue was with the extra water holding more of the microbes, when it started getting hot over the summer the smell changed dramatically and the horses would no longer eat it even though they had been eating it all winter and spring. Not really sure what happened with that, but, it got really gross and smelled like death so I dumped it.

I will try again with small batches when I get my quail and see if doing a true grain rather than beet pulp (with some grain tossed in to keep the microbes happy) will work better for me.

 

[Rubestmar]

We're in Autumn here in the NW of the UK where daytime weather is unsettled and nighttime ranges from 6'C to 11'C.
I'm trying again for our hens to ferment with whole wheat, wild bird seed and barley with added layers mash to soak up moisture. Going down well!
Ducks aren't keen, they prefer dry layers mash.