Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[nab58]

I'm trying to sprout some flax and lentils and thought if I added some ACV to the water I'd have fermented sprouts....does that make sense or will the ACV prevent the seeds from sprouting?

 

[OHhappychicks]

Hi,

I have been fermenting mixed whole grains with ACV as a starter...this worked great over the cool months but we had a week of 80-degree+ weather in May and noticed that my fermented grains smelled very spoiled after two days or so. It was a very different and foul smell, clearly different than a safe fermented batch of grain.

Do other people have trouble with spoilage in warm weather? Any tips? I have given up the fermenting for now but want to start up again.

I would be interested in this also, as it is 90 here today and expected to be upper 80's - low 90's this week. I have mine out on the back porch.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I'm trying to sprout some flax and lentils and thought if I added some ACV to the water I'd have fermented sprouts....does that make sense or will the ACV prevent the seeds from sprouting?

The ACV will cause them to ferment and not sprout. Just use clean water rinses. Lentils sprout quickly. If you want fermented sprouts, just wait until your sprouts are as big as they want to be and then toss them into your ferment bucket.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Hi,

I have been fermenting mixed whole grains with ACV as a starter...this worked great over the cool months but we had a week of 80-degree+ weather in May and noticed that my fermented grains smelled very spoiled after two days or so. It was a very different and foul smell, clearly different than a safe fermented batch of grain.

Do other people have trouble with spoilage in warm weather? Any tips? I have given up the fermenting for now but want to start up again.

I ferment whole grains with ACV as well. I have been keeping mine in the house and have not noticed any bad smells. Are you keeping your bucket sealed? It needs air to "breathe."

I also ferment my chick starter which I keep outside and it gets some direct sun in the morning hours. I keep the lid on the bucket, slightly propped open so it can breathe and I haven't noticed any bad smells at all.

 

[nab58]

Thank you! That's what I was afraid of. I also realized I put them in an aluminum pan....a no-no for fermenting.

 

[hillfloweranch]

I've been fermenting whole rolled oats, BOSS, small amount of scratch and a scoop of goat ration. The oats boss and scratch are dry mix in a large trash can then I keep adding feed and water to the FF bucket to replenish. Every other week I add some kefir or yogurt to keep up good fermentation. I haven't used ACV at all but that's just me

 

[RedRidge]

I've been fermenting whole rolled oats, BOSS, small amount of scratch and a scoop of goat ration. The oats boss and scratch are dry mix in a large trash can then I keep adding feed and water to the FF bucket to replenish. Every other week I add some kefir or yogurt to keep up good fermentation. I haven't used ACV at all but that's just me

What do you use for animal protein in your ration?
Do you worry about all the excess copper in goat feed?

 

[hillfloweranch]

What do you use for animal protein in your ration?
Do you worry about all the excess copper in goat feed?

No I don't use but a small scoop of it in there. I keep their dry layer pellets in their feeders and feed the FF once a day. It helps during the hottest months of summer. I notice they don't go through as much water when just feeding dry food. So that's what I've been doing. I use it more as a supplement and they love it! seems to be working they're all fat and sassy!!

 

[BlueMouse]

A few more questions, please. How often do you feed this to the chicks? We leave the dry feed out all the time. If the chicks eat this all at one sitting, do I feed them a 2nd time? Or do I fill up and let them eat as they will. How long can it set out before it starts to go bad? They are 3 wks old and are out in the chicken tractor where they can eat whatever. Also what I started this afternoon hasn't done anything, (fermenting I mean). Should I be concerned, or does it usually take a while? I used up/acv. Not sure how much I used. Maybe 3-4 tblsp to about 1 to 1-1/2 gal of water. Is that enough? Like I stated before, I'm using purina medicated (

) grower/starter feed. This should work, with the meds? I just bought a new bag, or I would have changed feed.
THanks Everyone! Have a great night!

I'm a bit behind, and red ridge already gave you good advice. my .02? I find that I can keep the feeder full for one to two week old chicks without a problem. I like them to have food whenever they want. I just scrape any leftovers out for older chicks or the outside flock. Never goes to waste! once they start clearing up the little bit that I have put in there in 15 minutes or so, I start feeding them three times a day, what they can clean up in 15 minutes with maybe a little left over. Onc they're maybe 4 weeks they go to twice a day. My laying flock gets fed once a day as a sweetener for coming back into the pen. the meat birds in their tractors twice a day, what they can clean up in 15 minutes with a little left over.

I'm trying to sprout some flax and lentils and thought if I added some ACV to the water I'd have fermented sprouts....does that make sense or will the ACV prevent the seeds from sprouting?

Flax is hard to sprout, because it gets super slimy. I'd just throw it into the ferment whole. Fermentation does a lot of the same good things as sprouting, as in making the nutrients more available to the birds.

The ACV will cause them to ferment and not sprout. Just use clean water rinses. Lentils sprout quickly. If you want fermented sprouts, just wait until your sprouts are as big as they want to be and then toss them into your ferment bucket.

x2

So, I know a lot of you in winter add alfalfa to your ferment? I just had a big duh moment, maybe you were all there before me. This started with my obsessive worrying about my turkeys getting malnourished. Evidently they're prone to vitamin deficiencies? The kind that can be prevented by a lot of dark green leafy things in the diet, Kale, what have you. I didn't want to put vitamin drops in their water unless I had to, so I put my thinking cap on... and realized that I have a huge bank full of stinging nettles. Which are, 24% protien and ridiculously high in vitamins. So, every day when I prep the food for the meat birds I go outside, gather myself a big bunch of stinging nettle and/or dandelion chop it fine, and stir it into the ferment bucket. Once the kale in my garden comes in a bit better I'll add that in rotation too. I'd say that the feed when I mix it up is almost a third green matter. So far (a month only) everyone is thriving. Now that I've thought of this I'm planning on harvesting and drying nettle to add to my feed in winter. It's free! (and lord knows I have enough of it.... )

 

[Triple Willow]

 So, I know a lot of you in winter add alfalfa to your ferment? I just had a big duh moment, maybe you were all there before me. This started with my obsessive worrying about my turkeys getting malnourished. Evidently they're prone to vitamin deficiencies? The kind that can be prevented by a lot of dark green leafy things in the diet, Kale, what have you. I didn't want to put vitamin drops in their water unless I had to, so I put my thinking cap on... and realized that I have a huge bank full of stinging nettles. Which are, 24% protien and ridiculously high in vitamins. So, every day when I prep the food for the meat birds I go outside, gather myself a big bunch of stinging nettle and/or dandelion chop it fine, and stir it into the ferment bucket. Once the kale in my garden comes in a bit better I'll add that in rotation too. I'd say that the feed when I mix it up is almost a third green matter. So far (a month only) everyone is thriving. Now that I've thought of this I'm planning on harvesting and drying nettle to add to my feed in winter. It's free! (and lord knows I have enough of it.... ) 

Ahhh how frustrating! I was reading your post and decided to Google "stinging nettles" and see what it looked like. Just so happens that I have or HAD plenty of it too until a few days ago when I mowed the area where my chickens forage. It had got really shaggy looking and I figured they could get to more bugs if I cut the grass down a little bit. I cut down a lot of it! I noticed that the chickens would always eat plenty of the nettles while foraging. I was more worried about "would that weed hurt them"! lol This really ticks me off. I hope it comes back up!
There are so many plants just growing wild that are good for so many things. I honestly believe that if we only had the knowledge about what is actually out there, I believe God has give us the cure to many (most!) sicknesses. (There is a verse that says "My people perish from the lack of knowledge". I believe our lack of knowledge of herbs and such is at least one huge area that fits that verse very well.) My boyfriend's family elders were really active in herbal medicine. Just like in most cases, the younger generations have practically lost that valuable knowledge. I have always been interested in this but it seems hard to find information. It seems like the elders have took this knowledge to the grave with them. Well, this is going to be my new obsession! lol Thanks much for your post BlueMouse!

Can anyone recommend any good books on wild plants, edible wild plants, herbs, etc.?