Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Miss Lydia]

I have good news mine is finally going. I started another bucket tonight too.

and you know what I am amazed at how clean the chicken coop smells and looks in the morning now, what a big difference. I have been putting ff out every other day but I am going to start putting it out everyday as soon as my other bucket gets going good. My chickens eat the ff real good but my ducks and geese aren't as enthused about it. I hope they will though. Thanks so much for all the great info.

 

[colburg]

Just a quick FYI. I just went to WalMart and looked at the ACV. They have Heinz ACV with the "Mother" for $3.98 for 32oz.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Just a quick FYI. I just went to WalMart and looked at the ACV. They have Heinz ACV with the "Mother" for $3.98 for 32oz.

Is it raw?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Just a quick FYI. I just went to WalMart and looked at the ACV. They have Heinz ACV with the "Mother" for $3.98 for 32oz.

Does the bottle clearly state that the vinegar is RAW? If not, it is likely pasteurized and they just left the mother in it. In that case, not any better than any other pasteurized vinegar.


eta: Sorry...got a double post somehow!

 

[colburg]

Does the bottle clearly state that the vinegar is RAW? If not, it is likely pasteurized and they just left the mother in it. In that case, not any better than any other pasteurized vinegar.


eta: Sorry...got a double post somehow!

Yup, found it. Unfiltered, All Natural, With the "Mother", Raw-Unpasturized.

 

[B J Hopkins]

I was just recently directed to this thread. I've read close to the first 200 posts so I hope I'm not asking a question that's already been covered. Because I had a problem w/soft shelled eggs for awhile even though I had a pan of Crushed Oyster shell available, I've been stirring the oyster shell into the feed. Is it OK to ferment the feed w/oyster shell in it?

 

[Island Roo]

Oyster shell is fine in FF - that's what i do.

I've worked out my winter FF system. One bucket will cook for 3 days in the boot room of the house where it's warm. It will be traded out with the second bucket in the coop.

On those days where it freezes I suppose the coop bucket will need a warmer spot. We'll see about that. That might be when a offer a warm meal to the girls. Boot room temperature.

 

[Costa Rica Art]

For those who worry about their FF freezing it is easy to get a wooden pallet for a base to keep an enclosure off the ground or cement and then some either thin plywood or chipped board make an enclosure lined with at least 1” thick Styrofoam. The bottom Styrofoam would need to be sandwiched between 2 pieces of board to stand up to usage. A light bulb placed inside will give you enough heat to keep the FF fermenting in any weather. Depending on your area and what thickness of Styrofoam you use how much wattage you will need to keep your mash warm. If you need a larger enclosure then use 2 pallets and adjust your enclosure to the size you need. If it were me making a larger enclosure then I would use thicker Styrofoam, the thicker the Styrofoam the less wattage you need to keep your mash warm and from freezing. The warmer the mash is the faster it will ferment. HTH Here is a link to a feed bin for horses, you can adjust the size to fit your need and make it without the divider and 1 door instead of 2 doors.


http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/horses/feeding/general/feed-bin

 

[Lacy Blues]

For those who worry about their FF freezing it is easy to get a wooden pallet for a base to keep an enclosure off the ground or cement and then some either thin plywood or chipped board make an enclosure lined with at least 1” thick Styrofoam. The bottom Styrofoam would need to be sandwiched between 2 pieces of board to stand up to usage. A light bulb placed inside will give you enough heat to keep the FF fermenting in any weather. Depending on your area and what thickness of Styrofoam you use how much wattage you will need to keep your mash warm. If you need a larger enclosure then use 2 pallets and adjust your enclosure to the size you need. If it were me making a larger enclosure then I would use thicker Styrofoam, the thicker the Styrofoam the less wattage you need to keep your mash warm and from freezing. The warmer the mash is the faster it will ferment. HTH Here is a link to a feed bin for horses, you can adjust the size to fit your need and make it without the divider and 1 door instead of 2 doors.


http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/horses/feeding/general/feed-bin

Thank you for that information. Helpful link too!

I was thinking of one thing I might do, don't know yet whether it would use more electricity than a light bulb or not... how about a heating pad set on low underneath the bucket/buckets? That's what I used to do under the bucket of water I had to dish out of for my birds when I lived in CA. I may do the same here as the winters are definitely colder! It was probably a 15 gal oblong trough sort of bucket and it did still freeze around the edges on the top but it was totally exposed to the elements, no enclosure or protection at all.

 

[Costa Rica Art]

Thank you for that information. Helpful link too!

I was thinking of one thing I might do, don't know yet whether it would use more electricity than a light bulb or not... how about a heating pad set on low underneath the bucket/buckets? That's what I used to do under the bucket of water I had to dish out of for my birds when I lived in CA. I may do the same here as the winters are definitely colder! It was probably a 15 gal oblong trough sort of bucket and it did still freeze around the edges on the top but it was totally exposed to the elements, no enclosure or protection at all.

The heating pad would work too, perhaps something on it to protect it from the edges of plastic buckets and from spills. Too bad there is a super large picnic cooler made, with the heating pad it would be great at keeping the mash warm and fermenting.