FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[FlyWheel]

Ketchup and eggs? Eww!

(J/K )

 

[scawthon74]

Ketchup and eggs? Eww!

(J/K )

No ketchup, no eggs unless it's an eggs sandwich, in which case, it is then mayo.

 

[FlyWheel]

UNLESS it's deviled eggs, then you'll need mustard too.

 

[aart]

unless it's an eggs sandwich, in which case, it is then mayo.

Salsa!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Aart, you can come to my house for bkfst. I have home made salsa. On the mild side, but hubby kicks it up a few notches with addition of some hot sauce.

 

[Devona]

Hi everyone! I've been using fermented feed for a couple of years now and it works great! No wasting feed for me. I feed them twice a day, and they forage in between feedings. I only have six chickens so i don't need a big bucket. I use a gallon size ice cream container, and I don't like soupy, messy feed, so i keep it on the drier side, but put enough water that the grains swell fully, and are still damp and clumpy. I used to hate when they scratch the dry feed and scatter it all over and end up not eating it all. I'm so happy I found out about this method. Thanks to all who had some input on this thread!

 

[Little Meadow Big Sky]

I like the concept of FF very much (especially because the girls won't eat the fines) but I have a logistics question. I've got 14 9-week old chicks living in a fabulous coop and covered run. My routine has been to go out around 10am to give fresh water (and these days haul out ice for it), add a scoop of feed to the feeder, do a general fluff and puff and open the pop door so they can access the temporary "playpen" we established with one of the Omlet fence thingys. I read that foxes are done with their foxy business by 10am so that works out well, I then leave the pop door all day (and we have supervised free-range in the late afternoon).

If people don't leave FF in the coop overnight, my 10am routine would not work because that is way to late from them to have access to food. And I like my 10am routine! I am not a morning person!

I am not concerned about mice because unless one sneaks in through the pop-door during the day, we're thoroughly mouse proof, I mean, we rented an excavator and buried hardware cloth 2 feet into the ground!

So can I leave FF overnight or would I simply need to haul myself out at 8am to feed the wee darlings?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[Aerliss]

I read that foxes are done with their foxy business by 10am so that works out well

Do not rely on that, especially during kit raising season, or if there's particularly harsh weather for a protracted period, or you have short days in winter.

So can I leave FF overnight or would I simply need to haul myself out at 8am to feed the wee darlings?

I ferment about half their daily intake, and give them free access to dry. You can leave them with the dry overnight, and give them the FF when you go out. I've been leaving a bowl of FF in the coop overnight, for them to nibble in the morning before I let them out.

 

[Little Meadow Big Sky]

Thanks!

 

[Molpet]

I like the concept of FF very much (especially because the girls won't eat the fines) but I have a logistics question. I've got 14 9-week old chicks living in a fabulous coop and covered run. My routine has been to go out around 10am to give fresh water (and these days haul out ice for it), add a scoop of feed to the feeder, do a general fluff and puff and open the pop door so they can access the temporary "playpen" we established with one of the Omlet fence thingys. I read that foxes are done with their foxy business by 10am so that works out well, I then leave the pop door all day (and we have supervised free-range in the late afternoon).

If people don't leave FF in the coop overnight, my 10am routine would not work because that is way to late from them to have access to food. And I like my 10am routine! I am not a morning person!

I am not concerned about mice because unless one sneaks in through the pop-door during the day, we're thoroughly mouse proof, I mean, we rented an excavator and buried hardware cloth 2 feet into the ground!

So can I leave FF overnight or would I simply need to haul myself out at 8am to feed the wee darlings?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I let mine out at dawn... but if rain is forecasted for the morning I may leave some ff in overnight... In the heat (95+F) it will get over fermented if the same is out for 48hrs

The fox by me come by at any time... and coyotes, hawks, weasels, even raccoons when the mulberries are ripe

My hens fight over who gets mice