Fermented Feeds

[swirler]

There are metals and there are metals. I happily stir and serve with a stainless steel strainer spoon, rinsing it afterwards.

 

[moomoodiddy]

so like a fake metal?

 

[ChickNanny13]

That thread will take a life time to get thru just to get some info.
I use a 5 gallon bucket, fill it half full of their feed and I add BOSS, 1/4 cup ACV with mother and water to cover. As this expands I stir and add water as needed. I keep a kitchen towel over the bucket. Depending on were you keep it, the feed could start fermenting in just a few days. When you stir it and bubbles start appearingit is ready. I really like it for all of my birds, it has so much good bacteria and nutrients.

THANK YOU! Very simple & easy to "understand" for us that are new to chickens. I've been reading about fermented food but couldn't figure out how to do it, your instructions cleared the cloud.

 

[EllyHood]

I wanted to use butter milk for a starter but here in NM nobody can sell non pasteurized dairy...

I use yogurt or buttermilk as a starter and then leave the lid off the bucket for a few hours (to catch natural ferments from the air) then cover it.

You might be interested in why using whey from dairy products isn't so great for fermenting vegetative products such as chicken feed.

http://www.deliciousobsessions.com/...-stopped-using-whey-in-my-vegetable-ferments/

I'm planning on doing a fermented feed experiment soon for my 6 chicks. I have kombucha and water kefir going so I'm going to try a batch (I'm just going to do a quart jar at a time for experiment sake) started with just water, one with a very thin kombucha scoby and a little booch with water, one with some water kefir grains an water, and one with some apple cider vinegar with the mother and some water. I'm curious to see what the different cultures does to the feed and how it affects the mother (and the smell). I have a fish protein based feed and I heard from another BYC member that the culture he uses to ferment his feed (some soil based EM something...) isn't LAB based but instead includes some yeasts (which feed the Lactos) and a Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria (PNSBs) that produce some really amazing things including antioxidants such as CoQ10 and it really keeps the feed from smelling bad. I'm hoping a ferment using water kefir or a kombucha scoby might keep the smell down like the EM culture.

I was cautioned against using metal for my ferments as certain metals can kill bacteria (silver, for one, is antibacterial). Garlic is also antibacterial (t can kill MRSA!) so I'm hesitant to add it to any feed I want to ferment since the goal is to encourage bacterial growth. My chicks already get dehydrated garlic in their dry feed so I'll just skip it for the FF.

We have a bunch of these laying around from my husband's homebrewing adventures so I'm going to use them on the jars once they really get going.
http://www.amazon.com/3-Piece-Airlock-Qty/dp/B008S0KN42/ref=zg_bs_979848011_3

 

[RoseMarie1]

whey and all that other stuff just makes your expense more in your feeding bill. All I did was add non chlorinated water to my feed and let it sit to ferment. I did this in the morning time and by that evening it was already bubbling. It was hot here when I started the ff. I use the ACV in their drinking water so I didn't add it to their feed.

 

[write2caroline]

My feed is fermenting with just water and ACV. I have 11 chicks in the brooder 6 bantams and 5 standards and they like it and eat it up. They have been doing really well so far.

Caroline

 

[RoseMarie1]

My feed is fermenting with just water and ACV. I have 11 chicks in the brooder 6 bantams and 5 standards and they like it and eat it up. They have been doing really well so far.

Caroline

Yep really no need to be adding all that other stuff to it. Some folks use the ACV in their feed and some in their water but that's ok.

What ever is easiest for ya.

 

[LCfarms]

I read on a link to a website that was posted somewhere in this forum, that it wasn't advisable to use ACV with mother to start your lacto fermentation mix because of the high acidity environment in the vinegar, but most all people on here agree that ACV with mother is the way to go?

 

[LuxuryAutoSpa]

after reading too many posts .......i have finally agreed to jump on the fermentating bandwagon

 

[RoseMarie1]

after reading too many posts .......i have finally agreed to jump on the fermentating bandwagon

Alright, welcome to fermenting!