Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Sutremaine]

Ours is thick enough to trap the CO2 bubbles, I think. It smells about the same as it did when it was wetter. Refilling it is pretty simple. Add the water to the bucket when there's a bit left, stirring it up to get a soup, then pour the dry feed. The water on top of the feed will soak down in short order. No stirring or mixing required.

Note: the lid stays on except when it's being dished up. It's a snap-top lid, but the snap collar is folded up all the way around. It's still a snug fit.

 

[Latestarter]

I mix several types of grain with the feed so I must mix it or I end up with different layers. Would kinda defeat the purpose of the mixture if it wasn't mixed.

 

[Beer can]

When I first started researching fermented feed what I read was pretty much using grains, 'you need a layer of water to keep bad bacteria and mold out' and keep it stirred up...drain it...made sense to me being a home brewer....I wasn't using grains, trying to keep layer pellets or crumbles submerged under a layer of water, soupy mush... You can add more feed to stiffen it up, no draining, but kinda partially defeating the purpose, like everyone here said, no need to keep it submerged, I learned, been feeding it for awhile now, oatmeal consistency, worked out great, no mold, no bad feed.
Just changed feeds though, local feed mill layer mash, lotsa dust but actual visible grains, looks like I can use more water in it and still dish out a nice pan, no mush soup, water drains off when I scoop it out, nice stuff.

 

[Beer can]

I mix several types of grain with the feed so I must mix it or I end up with different layers. Would kinda defeat the purpose of the mixture if it wasn't mixed.

Now that I have changed feed, this local feed mill doesn't do pellets or crumbles, just mash. It's very powdery, ground grain and minerals I believe, and full of cracked and whole grain. I didn't bother mixing before with crumbles and pellets, this stuff does separate. I do stir it up now, nice stuff, and the birds are loving the change. Even with the extra water, scoops out nice, water runs off it.
Best yet, I'm saving $4 a bag, will add up to $$$ over time

 

[spurrer]

I have fermented chicken feed and now it has developed a gray thin skim on top. I stirred it and it mixed with the feed but now a skim is on the bowl of food I put out for the chickens and they don't seem to want to eat it. Anyone know what it is and should I throw it away.? I did not use vinegar just water and crumbles.

 

[Latestarter]

The gray is the ferment. Just keep mixing it back in. You can sprinkle a little dry feed on top of the chicken bowl of FF... not much, just a light sprinkle. That should get them started and once they figure out it's good it should no longer be an issue. Do NOT offer any other foods for them. when they get hungry they will eat.

 

[spurrer]

Thank you very much for answering my concerns. Maybe they just weren't hungry at the time. I see you live in Colorado. I love your state. My husband and I lived in Denver while he renovated a building for the federal gov. It is a huge building that has lions in front on one side. I hope to return to Denver on vacation sometimes.

 

[Molpet]

I have fermented chicken feed and now it has developed a gray thin skim on top. I stirred it and it mixed with the feed but now a skim is on the bowl of food I put out for the chickens and they don't seem to want to eat it. Anyone know what it is and should I throw it away.? I did not use vinegar just water and crumbles.

yes just stir it in.....sometimes it takes a while for them to get used to it....I started my adults by feeding it from the first day I mixed it and by the time it was fermented they were happy with it..now if I put out dry feed they look around like what is this!
Make sure it is the only chicken feed available....they will eat it when they are hungry

 

[Latestarter]

The whole of Colorado is awesome, and it's larger than it at first appears when it comes time to wander around the state... There's a LOT of it to see. I've been coming here since the 1980s and moved here in 2001. But now it's time to move on. It's become way too crowded and way too expensive, way to political, way to tax and spend happy, and too much govt rules/regs and oversight. That doesn't change the scenery, but makes it more difficult to thrive here, let alone on a fixed retired income. I'm in process of trying to sell & move to either east TX or central KY. Love non-flat land and seasons.

 

[spurrer]

We were there in 1992-94. Guess things are a lot different now. All the people I met were very nice. I loved going up into the mountains and hiking. We went to see the Dunes and that is amazing to me. It would be very easy to get lost there because the wind erases your footprints right away. Hope whereever you go you will like it and feel at home.