Fermenting Chicken Feed

[ShellyinFTC]

My first batch of fermented grain is bubbly and wonderful and my girls love it! So now i put more grain in and have to wait 3 days? Do i start another batch so i can alternate?

You either start a batch daily and wait 3 days rotating through the three batches, or some do the backslopping method where you save a little of what is fermented and just add equal parts of water and dry feed waiting a minimum of 12 hours for it to ferment, so you can feed it the next morning. It is up to you which method you choose. I find it easier doing the 3 batches, so I know how much I'm feeding. I was also concerned about the flavor getting stronger and my picky girl not eating it. She seems to eat it fine with the 3 batch method, but maybe she would have gotten used to the other method if I stuck it out longer.

 

[PeaceMary]

I keep three one gallon pickle jars going all the time. I feed them three days after starting, rotating them according to start date. As long as I remember to start a new batch every day I never run out.

So i have a thin bit of mold on top of one of my batches. Should i be worried? I just stirred it up but should i throw it away. Smells fine

 

[UpstateChickenDaddy]

From what I understand if you have actual mold it can produce mycotoxins which are bad. Again I am not an expert but keeping it well covered with water (2:1 I believe) and doing so for a limited time is key to preventing it. I haven’t done it a lot because they haven’t been remarkably interested in it that way but come spring I will again.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So i have a thin bit of mold on top of one of my batches. Should i be worried? I just stirred it up but should i throw it away. Smells fine

Mold or yeast? Two different things. Yeast, just stir in and feed. Moldy feed should be thrown away.

Example, this is my FF with yeast. It's a thin, even layer of growth that's not fuzzy.

 

[ShellyinFTC]

So i have a thin bit of mold on top of one of my batches. Should i be worried? I just stirred it up but should i throw it away. Smells fine

If it is just the scum on top before you stir, it is fine. Does it actually look like mold? Mine was in a cooler cabinet and was always fine being stirred once per day. Now it is in a little warmer cabinet and gets a little more scum on top but smells fine. I still stir once per day. I do the 3 jars rotating through each day. I have an easy schedule. I have 3 jars fermenting and get up early to feed. I get my 4th jar that is washed and ready. I put 16 oz. filtered water in it and put 2 cups of my dry feed in and stir with my silicone spatula. I line my other 3 jars up to the left of my clean jar putting least fermented then more fermented to the left of each, so they are in order with the one to feed that day furthest left. I take my spatula out of the newest jar and stir the one next to it on the left, then the next, then put the spatula in the one ready to feed. I feed my girls about 2/3 of the feed directly on the ground in a few small piles of the run then bring the jar in leaving the spatula in it. I put all the jars back in my cabinet. In the afternoon, I feed the remainder of the fermented feed for the day with the spatula still in it. I wash my jar and spatula, so they are ready for the next day.

My flock is doing well. 4 of my 5 girls are around 31 and 32 weeks old. My Sicilian Buttercup is a few weeks older. My Barred Rock is around 32 weeks old and just molted for 6 weeks and looked beautiful the whole time. She just started laying again yesterday. All are laying except my Easter Egger which should start laying anytime. She is finally old enough to start. I feed my girls fermented feed twice per day and give dry food freely late morning to early afternoon in case they are hungry. They get a few sprouted lentils daily, and I just started sprouting alfalfa seeds a few days ago to try. They will be ready to eat tomorrow. They get to free range in my small yard and garden 1-2 times per day. Yes, they are a little spoiled but are sweet, happy girls! I thought I would share in case anyone wants to know what is at least working with a simple way to do fermentation for someone who wants to give it a try. I love it! Enjoy!

 

[PeaceMary]

If it is just the scum on top before you stir, it is fine. Does it actually look like mold? Mine was in a cooler cabinet and was always fine being stirred once per day. Now it is in a little warmer cabinet and gets a little more scum on top but smells fine. I still stir once per day. I do the 3 jars rotating through each day. I have an easy schedule. I have 3 jars fermenting and get up early to feed. I get my 4th jar that is washed and ready. I put 16 oz. filtered water in it and put 2 cups of my dry feed in and stir with my silicone spatula. I line my other 3 jars up to the left of my clean jar putting least fermented then more fermented to the left of each, so they are in order with the one to feed that day furthest left. I take my spatula out of the newest jar and stir the one next to it on the left, then the next, then put the spatula in the one ready to feed. I feed my girls about 2/3 of the feed directly on the ground in a few small piles of the run then bring the jar in leaving the spatula in it. I put all the jars back in my cabinet. In the afternoon, I feed the remainder of the fermented feed for the day with the spatula still in it. I wash my jar and spatula, so they are ready for the next day.

My flock is doing well. 4 of my 5 girls are around 31 and 32 weeks old. My Sicilian Buttercup is a few weeks older. My Barred Rock is around 32 weeks old and just molted for 6 weeks and looked beautiful the whole time. She just started laying again yesterday. All are laying except my Easter Egger which should start laying anytime. She is finally old enough to start. I feed my girls fermented feed twice per day and give dry food freely late morning to early afternoon in case they are hungry. They get a few sprouted lentils daily, and I just started sprouting alfalfa seeds a few days ago to try. They will be ready to eat tomorrow. They get to free range in my small yard and garden 1-2 times per day. Yes, they are a little spoiled but are sweet, happy girls! I thought I would share in case anyone wants to know what is at least working with a simple way to do fermentation for someone who wants to give it a try. I love it! Enjoy!

Oh, that is so helpful. Thanks. I have a small kitchen and am using two pickle jars and i think you are right - the scum is easily stirred down and is not anything like mold. Getting used to the sweet smell. My girls love it and am rotating 3 days with one jar and making sure i keep some water at the top. I empty one jar and dump the remainder on the ground and they love to scratch through it. I keep some of the ferment in the clean jar. It's freezing at night so not sure what they will do when it's solid. I'll bring out in the morning and they pretty much devour it quickly when they first get out. Just been through a molt. They are only 9 months old and were laying 4 eggs a day till a few months ago. Now it's dark and snowing but one is still laying about 6 eggs per week! They are running around my yard and happy a great time. I still have kale growing in the yard and they love the greens. Thanks for your clear descriptions. Fun - the ferment is really saving me a ton of money on feed!!!

 

[bearcreekbees]

Sorry I missed this PeaceMary but it looks like you got answers to your question.

About freezing temps- I live in the cold, frozen North where we will have daytime temps of 20 below zero F and nighttime temps of 40 below. I feed the fermented feed 2-3x a day, which is easy for me because I am home most of the time to do it. If I am not going to be around I either feed it all at one time in the morning, or I give them a small portion of the fermented feed and then put some pellets out for them.

But, here is a thing- I do not, nor would I ever, place food directly on the ground. The thought kind of grosses me out, lol. I put the food in stainless steel dog bowls- I have three bowls for a flock of 8 birds. So on the rare day when the chickens do not finish all of the fermented feed I dump whatever is left in the evening and bring it into the house. It goes down in the basement in a covered bucket so that it does not freeze. In the morning I just add the day's ration, or part of it, and take it back out to the barn. I imagine that sometimes even during the day the food might freeze if it gets cold enough, but unless it is frozen rock solid the birds can still eat it. But I would not leave it out to freeze all night- plus, I don't like to leave feed at night because it draws rats.

 

[ShellyinFTC]

My first batch of fermented grain is bubbly and wonderful and my girls love it! So now i put more grain in and have to wait 3 days? Do i start another batch so i can alternate?

If you save a little bit of your batch each day and add more water and feed, it only needs to ferment a minimum of 12 hours. This enables you to feed it the next day. You don't need to wait the 3 days if you choose this method.

 

[lindy]

im not sure if i fermet. I end up putting water in my feed the night before. but after reading this, going to start a few days worth. I started because my feed is -grains and mineral/vit mix so they dont eat the powder, this way they eat it all and they dont eat as much either. If i feed dry, they go thru a bag in 7 days, if i feed wet its 10 days.
good idea with the pickle containers, i use quart containers and fill half way then the rest with water, pickle containers would be much easier to clean out and wont crack like the qt containers plus the mice probably cant get to them as easily.