Fermented Feeds

[LindaB220]

Also, my friend Meg has been using EM for longer than I have. She's written an excellent articles on her experience with EM. Iirc, she claims to make a quart of EM mother culture to last years, she keeps propagating it like kombucha, occasionaly adding more stock EM culture or some soil from the base of a rotting stump. I'm still not convinced that such propagation results in the same EM that you can buy or with the same benefits. But for Meg, it seems not to matter as she enjoys the benefits it creates. I might try this sometime for our chickens and see how it turns out.

http://home-n-stead.com/homestead/tipsandrecipes/ems.html

I make a a lot of kombucha. I add 1/2 c kombucha liquid from previous batch and 1 c sugar to a gallon of water. Do I just need to add AEM liquid batch to batch like FF or add extra molasses to make AEM again. She said it was free so I assume just liquid. She really didn't say or I couldn't find it.

 

[Rhinoman]

Does anyone know what the PH of fermented feed should be? I'm thinking the best way to ensure that you are properly fermenting your feed is to check the PH!

 

[Brada Puhi]

Aloha,

I think molasses is food for the bacterias.

kden, Puhi

 

[pdirt]

I make a a lot of kombucha.  I add 1/2 c kombucha liquid from previous batch and 1 c sugar to a gallon of water.  Do I just need to add AEM liquid batch to batch like FF or add extra molasses to make AEM again.  She said it was free so I assume just liquid.  She really didn't say or I couldn't find it. 

Ah, I re-read your question. I think your asking about making AEM. To make more AEM, yes you add more molasses. It's just like making AEM in the first place except you'll be using AEM from a previous batch as your inoculant, rather than stock EM.

To make EM fermented feed aka "bokashi" you can follow any of the various bokashi recipes out there. You can use EM or AEM as your inoculant. And yes, you want to add additional molasses to the ff, even though you already used molasses in making the AEM. I just made a batch, I think this is what I used:

3 gallons feed
1/3 c blackstrap molasses
1/2 c AEM
1-1.5 gal water

Note that I am rather liberal in my use of both AEM and molasses. You could use less.

I started with a gallon of water and kept adding a bit more till I had it the consistency I wanted. Stirred completely to wet everything, placed a plastic bag on top of the feed then a tight fitting lid on the bucket. I placed the whole bucket in a picnic cooler to hold as much heat in as possible, but this isn't all that necessary if temps are above 68F or so. Even down to 60F should be fine but you might want to ferment at least two weeks. I am only fermenting mine now about a week before using.

 

[pdirt]

Does anyone know what the PH of fermented feed should be? I'm thinking the best way to ensure that you are properly fermenting your feed is to check the PH!

From what I've read in some of the studies using lactic acid bacteria starters for fermented feed, they were using pH of about 4.5. If you make bokashi feed and follow the standard instructions for making it, which is to ferment for 2 weeks, you will get a pH of 3.7 or lower. In my 7-10 day fermentations I am getting pH of about 4.4. If you ferment longer for the lower pH, the feed will essentially be quite pickled and shelf stable for some time. I don't think it's a good idea to feed such acidic food as the main food source as a regular basis. In fact, the large chicken farms in Asia typically only use 5% bokashi feed (bokashi=EM fermented feed) as a SUPPLEMENT, but I think their main motivation is economic. 4.5pH is mildly acidic, enough for some benefit but not overly acidic. Again I am by no means an expert on chicken nutrition and some of my reasons of doing things a certain way are a combination of my opinion and research data.

That said, before I was fermenting 75% of their diet, I fed them rather acidic bokashi feed as a treat, about 3.2 pH. They loved it and ate every last bit, but now I am not supplementing but am feeding almost exclusively fermented feed.

I think the continuous method of fermenting feed can and does work to keep the pH at a good level, good enough to limit putrefying bacteria and to give a decent amount of acidity in the birds diet and not too much to over do it. Everything in balance! And perhaps EM could be used in this manner, I dunno, i haven't yet experimented with it like that.

Aloha,

I think molasses is food for the bacterias.

kden, Puhi

Any carb source can be used as a food for the bacteria. The grains in the feed can be, but need to be broken down into sugars first. So a quick sugar source can work to give them the energy they need to work on more complex carbs. The EM folks have found through experience that the best sugar source for the health of the family of microorganisms in EM is molasses, specifically blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is very mineral rich, which gives the microorganisms strong nutrition to grow and flourish with vigor. Same as our chickens and ourselves. Starve yourself of minerals and you won't be around very long.

 

[LindaB220]

Ok, got my EM 1 today. And I haven't even bought my chickens yet.

I'm going to try to jumpstart some good compost for spring with it.

 

[pdirt]

Ok, got my EM 1 today.  And I haven't even bought my chickens yet.      I'm going to try to jumpstart some good compost for spring with it.

Lol, good to start experimenting with the EM first before using it with animals. Though I skipped that one and just started drinking the stuff first! I haven't composted much with it, so let us know how it goes.

One of the best parts of EM are the lactic acid bacteria. This guy has a video on how to grow your on LABs for pennies. I tried it once but never ended up using the stuff. I might try again in the spring to use for my coop spray down treatment:

 

[LindaB220]

Lol, good to start experimenting with the EM first before using it with animals. Though I skipped that one and just started drinking the stuff first! I haven't composted much with it, so let us know how it goes.

One of the best parts of EM are the lactic acid bacteria. This guy has a video on how to grow your on LABs for pennies. I tried it once but never ended up using the stuff. I might try again in the spring to use for my coop spray down treatment:

Yeah, I saw it and said I'll spend the $35.

 

[pdirt]

Yeah, I saw it and said I'll spend the $35.  

$35? For a quart of EM-1? That's pretty pricey...where did you buy it from? I've never paid more than about $25 for a quart.

 

[LindaB220]

$35? For a quart of EM-1? That's pretty pricey...where did you buy it from? I've never paid more than about $25 for a quart.

Amazon w/ free shipping. One clik shopping.. Quick and easy. I'll get me moneys worth.