Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[PetRock]

Hmmm too bad ...you miss the comments that way and there's a lot of "clarifying" and question asking going on there. Google/Chrome/Blogspot...should work together

You are right! I miss the comments by reading it in email form. And when I click on the link in the email, I get the big yellow box!

Edited to add that I opened up the page with Internet Explorer and I'm able to read the comments there. No big yellow box!

 

[Kilsharion]

What about ACV with the mother? I thought that the bacteria is in the mother. I watched the video on natural Korean Farming and I'm thinking about growing my own LAB bacteria. There are so many things that it can be used for including fermented feed.

You do not /have/ to use ACV with mother. All the mother does is kick start the whole thing. It's a shortcut to the fermentation process. You could, theoretically (if you have a colony in the area) just sit the feed out with a bit of honey/molasses/sugar in it and let it ferment wild. But, there are not always colonies nearby.

It's easier to just start it with either ACV with mother, or with warm water, yeast and a bit of honey/molasses/sugar.

 

[Leahs Mom]

The mother culture in ACV isn't a lactic acid bacteria. It is Acetobacter aceti which produces acetic acid (vinegar). That kind of bacteria FEEDS ON ALCOHOL and produces acetic acid (vinegar).


So...hopefully you aren't producing alcohol as it is processed through the liver rather than the digestive system. When you ferment for alcohol as you do when using yeasts to do the fermenting, it is a whole different output/result than it is with using lactic acid. Alcohol, over long periods of time will affect the liver adversely (think of people having liver issues/failure after having consumed alcohol over the long-term). Probably even more quickly when you're dealing with a very small animal like a chicken. This wouldn't be a good feed alternative over the long-run.

Lactic Acid Bacteria do a whole different job. When they digest carbs, they produce lactic acid. (They are a whole different family of bacteria than acetobacter aceti that do different things.)

The really basic explanation of all that is in part 2 of that series.

So...the short answer is that ACV and the cultures in it aren't really useful as a STARTER for lactic acid fermentation...but they are good toward acidifying the digestive tract and also have other enzymes that are good.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: Well - at least you can see them. Strange chrome isn't working w/blogspot!

 

[Kilsharion]

Well - at least you can see them. Strange chrome isn't working w/blogspot!

considering google owns both, yes it is strange.

This is where your code is messing up:

 

[PetRock]

This is a very interesting discussion! My FF has been going since January but I am thinking about making my own LAB culture and starting it again. I would like to know what bacteria I have growing in there. I am also interested in the other uses for LAB in the garden, compost, etc.

 

[Mingming]

I thought alcohol was a byproduct of anaerobic fermentation? So if your fermenter is open to the air, you're not making alcohol, right?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Alcohol is made by yeasts - generally they need air to produce.

Lactic fermentation is anaerobic. Thus keeping a layer of water above the feed will help to deter the growth of unwanted yeasts and molds.

 

[Kassaundra]

This is a very interesting discussion! My FF has been going since January but I am thinking about making my own LAB culture and starting it again. I would like to know what bacteria I have growing in there. I am also interested in the other uses for LAB in the garden, compost, etc.

That is why I started my LAB I use it regularly for the garden and spray it on the litter in the coop. I will try it on white powder mildew if our drought ever breaks in the summer.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Yay Kassaundra! I was going to refer them to you as I know you do that. You're a good go-to person for that.