Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Miss Lydia]

My stuck bucket unstuck when I emptied the entire top one. Have you tried that? I don't mean waste the food.. Just feed all of it and then try to pull it apart. Maybe it will work then?

Thats what I'm doing now feeding till empty.

 

[Miss Lydia]

3NHRed:
My dogs will eat the FF as well. The poodle especially loves the stuff.
I have to be careful to cover it properly.

Mine too, I have to sit the bucket on top of a stool or they would have the top off and gorge them selves. mine is in the house.

 

[aoxa]

Thats what I'm doing now feeding till empty. 

Bang it against the wall.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How many gallons are my buckets? I can't seem to find that info.. Just says dimensions. I go through two buckets a day for 140 birds.

Also..
Is 24 hours enough for it to ferment?

Should I get more bucket systems going?

Look like 5 gal. to me, and from all I've read on here 24 hrs is good.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Bang it against the wall.

But I don't want to lose my pro water in the bottom bucket. lol

 

[aoxa]

Look like 5 gal. to me, and from all I've read on here 24 hrs is good. 

I rotate all four.. So one bucket in the morning is fed. Fresh feed and water added, put to back of line. Next bucket fed at night, rotated to back of line. SO I guess they sit for 48 hours before being fed. Wow my math is off today

My buckets don't smell as sour as I like though. My chick bucket is really sour.

 

[aoxa]

But I don't want to lose my pro water in the bottom bucket. lol

Pour it into something else before smashing it against the wall?

 

[TexasLisa]

Who is the breeder?

Gotta tell you, DH made a chicken joke tonight. I had a pan of all the food the kids would not eat at dinner and the rest that was in the cooker. I said "I think I'm just going to give all this to the chickens" and he said "good. Do you want me to take this down to the chickens right now- tonight?" Which is code for "can you handle the dishes I dont want to get dry hands" I was like sure, they are asleep they can get it first thing in the morning. He said...."Well, what if one of them is a night owl?" lol.

Good Morning Lisa!

So your husband gets 'dry hands'. Mmmmmmm, very interesting. My husband's hands seem to turn very arthritic if he gets near dish water. MEN!!!

(Texas) Lisa

 

[Suzierd]

Thats what I'm doing now feeding till empty. 

When I get two cups stuck together really tight and no one can get them apart I put them in hot water and they come right apart. Maybe you can warm it up somehow like fill the tub with hot water and stick it there and try. Just a thought.

 

[flyinchicks]

Mine are pretty aromatic after 24 hours. I have had my buckets going for @ 6 weeks. I added Braggs to start and splashed extra in the first few weeks but haven't added any lately. I think its a matter of getting good cultures started and then letting them do their job. I also stir twice a day to bring the good stuff to the top. I have also noticed when I feed if I clean the bucket there is a nice layer of greyish white on the bottom of my top bucket. It looks the same as the film that developes on the top when the water is absorbed.