Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Pozees]

Wow! I don't know if I would stir THAT down. What I would probably do is get it all scraped off the best that you can and then smell the grain underneath. I have a good sense of smell and can smell mold before anyone else in my house can. After you get it scooped off, I would wipe the sides really well to get rid of any residue... might be easier after you take out a portion for feeding if you deem it safe. Good luck!

I was thinking the same thing - I figure it won't hurt to just skim it off and discard, the good bacteria should still be in the rest of the liquid. Even if it didn't all survive, without new grain/feed to consume, there should be enough in there to get chugging again.

 

[texasmomma]

I was on vacation for couple weeks and came back to this. Is this normal? Its only the liquid part no feed since I decided to just go dry feed while I was gone. Should I start over or can I scrap this off or mix it into the liquid? The brown spot is what my liquid after draining looks like normally. Its the gray mold looking stuff I'm worried about.

I don't worry about grain film. I just stir it in.

 

[pigeonguy]

I feed at day break and if any is left at noon, I dump it


in the grass in the orchard and they clean it up at their leisure. The dishes are hosed out and I feed a smaller amount three hours before lights out. The dishes are mostly clean in the morning. I add alfalfa cubes to my ferment and the rough bits are the dregs most often left in the dish. My feed dishes are old dry wall mud pans. I drill drainage holes in them.

I don't understand this fascination with holes in the feeder. My chickens love the juice as much as the ff feed. In fact I have started adding a little extra water to my carry out bucket so that they get a good drink of it while eating. It got to 10 degrees Fahrenheit this week and nothing froze in the feeder. I have been feeding twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. The night feeding is not all get eaten when I go out in the morning but is still not frozen. When I go in the coop in the morning I wake them up when I start filling the feeder they all come down and start eating and drinking that good healthy juice. When I go out to give the night feeding the trough looks like I washed it clean. I never wash my trough though and once a day it is always sparkly clean just like I have.
That FF juice has got to be good for them it is full of all the good probiotics that are in the FF. So why waste the good stuff.
The extra water I put in just before feeding would dilute it a bit so maybe that's why they like it so much. I don't know. I don't put so much extra water that the entire top of the feeder is covered with it just puddles and on the sides you can see it setting. Hard to describe but when you push down on the FF in the trough with just slight pressure it will have a puddle of water (juice) in that spot.

 

[groverlvchx]

They are LOVING their fermented feed today! I got a heated doggie dish and it works great to keep it edible (but still chilly) for them. They had it pretty cleaned out so they are on board. I think you're, they don't exactly embrace change. They sure enjoy eating, though! I stood and listed to them wolfing it down for awhile. Very gratifying. FF is so much easier to make than fodder, which I also feed them. Here's a pic of them attacking their fidder today:

Some of the unsprouted grain landed on some backs as they didn't wait for me to finish before diving in. They clean each other off, so it's all good.

and here's my thank-you gift. The little yellow one is a painted easter egg rock for inspiration. The other two are the real deal.

 

[pigeonguy]

Wow! I don't know if I would stir THAT down. What I would probably do is get it all scraped off the best that you can and then smell the grain underneath. I have a good sense of smell and can smell mold before anyone else in my house can. After you get it scooped off, I would wipe the sides really well to get rid of any residue... might be easier after you take out a portion for feeding if you deem it safe. Good luck!

x2

 

[groverlvchx]

Sorry, should have proofed before posting. Fidder should be Fodder and I believe you're RIGHT about not embracing change. Sheesh! I hope that wasn't too confusing. A picture is worth a bazillion words, though, right?

 

[groverlvchx]

I don't drain mine, either. It's not as soupy but I get the puddling like you mentioned. Good stuff, Maynard! And since my coop is a fridge (freezer) I don't worry about spoilage. Besides, it's fermenting! We'll see how it goes in the summer. I'll probably feed outside more and that will attract bugs for them, too.

 

[pigeonguy]

I don't drain mine, either. It's not as soupy but I get the puddling like you mentioned. Good stuff, Maynard! And since my coop is a fridge (freezer) I don't worry about spoilage. Besides, it's fermenting! We'll see how it goes in the summer. I'll probably feed outside more and that will attract bugs for them, too.

I also do the fodder they seem to love both.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I was on vacation for couple weeks and came back to this. Is this normal? Its only the liquid part no feed since I decided to just go dry feed while I was gone. Should I start over or can I scrap this off or mix it into the liquid? The brown spot is what my liquid after draining looks like normally. Its the gray mold looking stuff I'm worried about.

Now that looks like a crust, mine was just a very thin layer and when i mentioned it Bee said it was fine and she had it too and just stir it in and I did.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sorry, should have proofed before posting. Fidder should be Fodder and I believe you're RIGHT about not embracing change. Sheesh! I hope that wasn't too confusing. A picture is worth a bazillion words, though, right?