Fermented Feeds

[Chris09]

My problem is that I misunderstood what you said. I made a batch like fermented feed and still have a ton of it left. I think I started with 25 lbs of oats and it pretty much filled the 18 gallon container up. Still feeding out. The water is going down and the smell is a little better. But what a lesson. Listen the next time.

Did it have a Yeasty smell to it?

 

[LindaB220]

Did it have a Yeasty smell to it?

Not at all. Just sour

 

[ShinShien]

Started a culture in a small rubber trash can with chicken feed and raw ACV. Kept dipping and adding water and feed as needed until neighbors told me my place stinks. It lasted over 2 months.

 

[LCfarms]

Fed the ferment this morning and it was a big hit. The ducks liked is probably the most. Even my week old chicks that the hens have with them gobbled it up before any of the hens could show them that it was food.

 

[DBLakeChickens]

I started feeding my chickens fermented feed about two weeks ago... Started with mason jars, but for 13 chickens, I was refilling constantly. A few days ago, I switched to a bucket, and everything is going much better! They mob me as I come out the door We liken it to chicken crack... except it's good for them The one thing that is seriously disconcerting is the volume of their poop. They have just started laying, and I swear their poops are bigger than their eggs sometimes!

 

[Don P]

yes this is interesting. You would think more water in the food they would have more urine maybe, and more assimilation of the food would mean less waste less coming out in fecal matter.

It may be that some hens overeat the fermented food at least initially so they have larger eliminations.

I see a large one once in a while now but not often. Be sure they have plenty of grit gravel so they can grind it up and digest more of it if you are using grains not mash or pellets made from pressed grain dust that is vacuumed up by product from flour milling.

Might try adding a little fresh dry feed in with the fermented for a while. I still do that when it is a bit thin. Some hens don't like it if it is too thin and I don't strain it well.

I am using 1 gallon jars for the ferment, about 4# of cracked grain and whole peas go in with water and that swells up to fill the whole gallon by the 2nd day. That feeds about 20 hens one day. I have 3 jars going all the time.

 

[Brada Puhi]

Aloha,

I smell alcohol big time. My gurls must be getting drunks. By now, theyʻre a buch of alcoholics.

Haha

 

[Brada Puhi]

Gotta check my spelling before I press submit!

 

[Don P]

Did you start with vinegar in your water?

If so then that may be why you are making alcohol, or too much yeast in your ferment or feed.

This is not good and can damage the hens.

So start over, do not add vinegar to the water, just add some lactobacillus probiotics. You should have these on hand in the house because you should be eating them weekly for your own gut health, digestion and immune function. So buy some if you don't have them. Or a culture made for fermenting vegetables

Yeasts ferment carbs to alcohol then to vinegar; lactobacillus ferment carbs to lactic acid.

as for spelling, just go back and edit after. Bottom left your post will have an edit icon pencil

 

[LindaB220]

Did you start with vinegar in your water?

If so then that may be why you are making alcohol, or too much yeast in your ferment or feed.

This is not good and can damage the hens.

So start over, do not add vinegar to the water, just add some lactobacillus probiotics. You should have these on hand in the house because you should be eating them weekly for your own gut health, digestion and immune function. So buy some if you don't have them. Or a culture made for fermenting vegetables

Yeasts ferment carbs to alcohol then to vinegar; lactobacillus ferment carbs to lactic acid.

as for spelling, just go back and edit after. Bottom left your post will have an edit icon pencil

Don, you don't really need probiotics for this. Feed, water and cover lightly with a towel. Stir daily for 4 days. Done. Already fermented. I'm not crazy about the method that the other site uses. I like Tikktoc's best. It's easy to understand and you don't have to buy anything extra.

http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/