Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[rambunctious]

How long has your ff been sitting, waiting to ferment?

2 cups of feed with however much water they will absorb (don't know if it will be 4 cups) and just a splash of ACV. 1/2 cup would be WAY too much. In fact, for 15 chicks, I think I would use a bit more feed if you want their quantity to last all day (depending, of course, on how old they are).

I started this Monday AM. I have 15 3 day old Chicks. I fed them some of the mix (I started with probably about 3-4 c of feed, 2T of UnACV, and water to cover). I have added a few 'glugs' of UnACV once since then. And I just added some more crumbles today .. I think they're going through about a cup or so a day. It's sitting in front of the fireplace right now. I have yet to see bubbling or a milky substance on top. If you have a 'recipe' I'll start it!

What happens if there is too much UnACV???

 

[B J Hopkins]

Do you mind if I ask how much feed you use each day?

I carry the FF in 2-5qrt ice cream buckets, full to the very top for morning feeding. Evening they get about 2/3rd of that. The Turkeys prefer dog food or scratch that's been fermented.

Forgot to mention I let the chickens free range when ever I'm home - 4-5 days a week, any where from 2-5 hours a day.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I started this Monday AM. I have 15 3 day old Chicks. I fed them some of the mix (I started with probably about 3-4 c of feed, 2T of UnACV, and water to cover). I have added a few 'glugs' of UnACV once since then. And I just added some more crumbles today .. I think they're going through about a cup or so a day. It's sitting in front of the fireplace right now. I have yet to see bubbling or a milky substance on top. If you have a 'recipe' I'll start it!

What happens if there is too much UnACV???

I have buckets of just grains fermenting. So, I have liquid available to "steal". When I make my fermented chick starter, I will take a few large spoons full of the liquid from my adult ration bucket and then add water to the chick starter til it's the right consistency... wetter than I want it... it will swell up and get kind of spongy looking and be a bit drier when its ready to serve. I only remember seeing a milky substance on top of my grain mix. It's been quite a while since I stopped using commercial lay pellets so I don't really remember if I saw the film on top of that or not. One of the reasons I quit using it is that I used to reach into the bottom of the bucket with my bare arm to stir it... it was too thick to use a spoon. Anyway, I quickly developed a stinging rash (only on my stirring arm) which was made worse every time I stirred the stuff.

I do the same thing now, without the commercial pellets, and I get no rash. I think it probably has something to do with the GMO grains used in the pellets. I figure if it does that to me after a very short time of being exposed to it, what does it do to the insides of my birds? No wonder they didn't like the stuff.

If there's too much ACV, I don't think your birds will like it, particularly the babies.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: How much do you remove: 1/4 ,1/6 ? and replace with braggs?

Quote: Handy husband! LOVE the idea!!

 

[Bmmjz Chicks]

I was gone for a week and forgot to tell my wife about using or mixing the fermented feed in the basement. When I got home there was a blue/green layer of something, I think mold, on the top. I mixed it in and it stunk extremely bad. Should I just throw it away and start over since I don't know exactly what it is? If I add more ACV will it kill the mold or whatever it is?

 

[armorfirelady]

I would start over. If you hadn't of mixed it in I would of just told you to scoop out the moldy stuff and use what's left but not now that you mixed it all together

 

[Feanor]

I've totally become a fermenter because of the info in this thread. Fermenting oats now because they don't sprout as well as the wheat I have. But after reading probably over a hundred posts I still haven't found a clear answer to a simple question: how long do you ferment grain before feeding it out? How long does it take to reach the maximum digestibility? Two days at room temp? A week? I started feeding from my bucket after day 3 and it took a week before I had emptied the bucket. I would like to know if I should be making smaller batches if it gets less digestible after X amount of days so that I have just enough to feed at peak digestibility.

 

[Suzierd]

Well I have been feeding FF for about 5 months now and my one hen still has a terrible dirty butt, unlike a lot of you it has not helped. And it still stinks.

 

[rambunctious]

I can tell you the fireplace really helped with getting the ferment rolling. I still never noticed any 'bubbling' or 'milky' substance on it. But I can say that it had an odor when I opened it up. I had added fresh finely chopped oregano and garlic to the feed. Smelled like wet dough. This time around when I had to add more crumbles to continue I added about 4 cups of feed, 3T of UnACV and enough water plus a bit more to reach oatmeal consistency. Hopefully I'm not doing them any harm! I feel like I have one that has almost constantly runny poo. I don't think I see any blood in it. Other than that I've just had to clean 2-3 butts..even then the poo was just stuck to the feathers on the back..not actually to their vent.

 

[armorfirelady]

I've totally become a fermenter because of the info in this thread. Fermenting oats now because they don't sprout as well as the wheat I have. But after reading probably over a hundred posts I still haven't found a clear answer to a simple question: how long do you ferment grain before feeding it out? How long does it take to reach the maximum digestibility? Two days at room temp? A week? I started feeding from my bucket after day 3 and it took a week before I had emptied the bucket. I would like to know if I should be making smaller batches if it gets less digestible after X amount of days so that I have just enough to feed at peak digestibility.

I think the average depending on temps is between 2& 5 days. Mostly you can tell from the smell. It should smell like its fermenting. A sweetish sour smell that smells like ferment. Even if you give it to them wet its still good for them to eat. Try putting it front of heat, that will help speed of the fermenting process. Whenever my bucket gets low and I add more food to it to ferment I put it next to the wood stove. After a few hours I give it a stir. It will rise like dough so u need to keep stirring it occasionally. And add water to as the grain will absorb it fast. I like mine a thick consistency that doesn't need draining. But there is always water you can see on the sides after it sits for awhile. Because I leave it thick I only see bubbles when I stir it.

Susie if the FF didn't help with the dirty butt maybe trying some plain yogurt for a few days would help. Something is off with their probiotics in there stomach somewhere. Also trying Nustock around her vent if its red or raw