Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Costa Rica Art]

I have a packet of vitamins and electrolytes to mix in water and when I do, it turns it orange.

The liquid in my bottom bucket went baaaadddd! Apparently my 2 bucket system wasn't working and mixing properly; there was only a half inch of liquid with "mother" in the bottom bucket so my top bucket wasn't draining into it. It smelled repulsive! Thankfully my top bucket wasn't contaminated and still smells fine. I think my mash is too thick and my buckets fit too close together to get proper drainage. I'm just glad I pour the bottom bucket over the top every couple weeks or this could've been really gross when it finally contaminated the top bucket.

Every time I do my morning FF I use a strainer (see page 83) to pour in my daily amount. The fermenter that I pour from is set aside till the FF in the strainer is drained, I then take the fermenter that I poured from and empty the rest of the mash into the fermenter in which the liquid from the strainer had drained. I swirl the remaining mash with water till it is all lose from the fermenter bottom and pour that into the fermenter into which I had drained the mash in the strainer. My mash ferments for 36 hours and believe me it has a wicked smell to it by then but that doesn't seem to bother the chickens.

Hope this is of some help to you. BTW I don't think the mash ever gets bad it just smells that way if left too long, the alcohol should keep it from getting bad. Others might chime in here if the mash actually goes bad so we know if it can happen.
Thanks for the explanation of the orange water.

 

[jrsckn]

I've been fermenting for about 2-3 months so I'm used to the ff smell and rather like it; the smell in the bottom bucket was nothing like it lol. It almost made me vomit; the closest thing I can compare it to is rotten meat. I had one small batch for my meaties go bad 6 weeks ago but that was due to mold getting into it from sitting next to a dirty dish towel under my dish strainer (DD has been educated on hanging it to dry out between washings

)

I've been using the two bucket system but usually only to strain it when it gets low, most days I use a mesh strainer because it's quicker and gives me the right amount of food. I scoop then let it strain over the bucket. I stir several times a day and add new food every 3-4 days. When it got low, I would strain using the bucket, scoop out what I needed, place the strained bucket in a fresh bucket, add feed, then pour the old liquid over it, cover with water, and stir.

I was originally using two different brands of buckets and things were working fine. The last time I added feed and swapped buckets, I ended up with two of the same buckets so I think they fit together too tightly to allow proper drainage and circulation.

 

[jeapa]

I have a question that goes right along with being able to tell if your FF bucket has gone bad. Mine gets this greyish white coating on the top over night that looks like mold spores. I stir it up to mix it in but it will reform in a few hours if the surface is left undisturbed. The smell is definitely sour, but I think that is what it is suposed to smell like. My chickens have been eating it with no problems at all. Maybe I am using too much water to cover it? Here are a few photos before stirring and after. I am keeping the bucket in my garage if this makes any difference.

 

[Costa Rica Art]

This is what shows up on my FF during fermenting, looks just like yours. The bubbles are of course the result of the fermentation process which also brings the mother to the top of the mash. It means everything is just fine.


The smell sometimes can be potent but it is as far as I know normal, about the only problem might be mold if you don't have a lid of some sort to help stop foreign stuff out of the mash. Even then I would just clean off the mold and feed the FF anyway, the hens won't eat it if it would be bad for them I would imagine.

 

[jrsckn]

Yep, that's what it's supposed to look like

A sour smell is also normal.

 

[Island Roo]

Wow - Costa Rica - that's an active culture for sure!

My whole grain bucket has been cooking for a month and has nice mother on it. It smells "RIPE" but the chickens love it.

I've switched my method for the crumbles (I used to use a two bucket drain system). Now I ferment for two days - there are 2 separate buckets, alternating days. I mix enough water with the crumbles to get it moist add some whole grains / mother from the ripe bucket. Then let it rise for 2 days - it ends up nice 'n fluffy and smells a bit like sour dough. I could almost eat it myself - unlike the whole grain stuff.
The consistency is still crumbly but its fluffed with co2 bubbles.

I'm pretty sure I read earlier that some others went that way (start with oatmeal consistency and keep it a bit drier). Anyone else still doing that?


I find this a bit easier than my draining bucket system for crumbles/mash. I use my draining bucket for the whole grains but now I'm just using the strainer to get what I need for a feeding.

Added some pics:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/album/view/id/6234920/user_id/122034

 

[jeapa]

Thanks everyone. That is what I thought, but I figured it couldn't hurt to check. I tried the two bucket drain system and it doesn't work as well as a strainer. I am just using the strainer and if I let it drain for 20-30 minutes it ends up like a wet mash which the hens seem to really like.

 

[LunaticCafe]

I wanted to increase the protein in my fermented feed a little by adding some legumes. I know that peas don't have the anti-nutritive factors that are in many beans; I've read conflicting information on lentils. I decided to try adding some pigeon feed, since I knew the peas in there would be OK to feed raw. All I could find locally was some dove & pigeon mix intended for wild birds, which didn't have the protein level I really wanted. However, it did have peas, and the price was good, so I figured it would be a good test.

Fermented it for 24 hours, have been feeding for two days. My chickens do eat the peas, although they have to peck them a little to break them up. In fact, they tend to eat the peas first! I'm going to look for a better source for pigeon feed, or I may just decide to grow some pigeon peas. That would certainly be cheaper!

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Lentils are very high in protein, higher than soy, and almost all essential amino acids and iron. This much I remember from nutrition 101. They have been a dietary staple since recorded history. Try a small batch and test your chickens on them. Old beans do need to soak longer but they are cheeper.

 

[Belinda's Funny Farm]

This is a great Thread! Yes I read all 88 pages over 2 days. I started my FF yesterday on about page 33. I started it with ACV and Layer rations for now. Need to get to Feed store for grains this week but didn't want to wait to start. I fed some this morning to my Delawares and they loved it.

I am using Bee's 5 Gal Bucket method and only taking out about 1/4 out per feeding so I will still have 1/2 left in the bucket after the evening feeding. I will add new feed to the remaining half every evening and hope that by morning it is ready. I don't want to have to use two containers. I'm not having to lift the bucket out to drain. The top feed is like oatmeal and easily scooped out. When I stir it, the bottom half is more moist so would need drained if I needed to feed it all. Maybe it's because I put holes in the bottom of the bucket and about 3 inches up the sides but I didn't put the holes as far up the sides as the feed goes. Is that going to be a problem for the food on top that is is wet but not sitting in the ACV Water.

Also, I drilled small holes in the lid so it could breathe when I snapped the lid on. I was afraid if I just cracked the lid critters would get into it. It rained today with the bucket sitting outside with the lid on and from what I can tell the rain water didn't go through the holes (or not enough of it to worry about it).

I can't wait to use this for my Meaties next Spring. I have 60 quail eggs in the bater now and I plan to start the quail on FF from the start.

Thanks everyone for all your posts. It was very educational and I learned a lot. I already was giving my dogs yogurt on their feed and once in a while some to the chickens but had no idea FF would be so beneficial to them.