Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[waltandlori]

I'm going to meander like Walt a bit...was sitting up at the coop the other day and took a pic of the view from the coop...these birds have a pretty cool life for a chicken, I'm thinking.... the sunlight through the trees, all those leaves to dig through, brush piles to dig under and through, green grass. What a life for a chicken! All that's lacking is a lovely little waterfall and a babbling brook.

Thanks for the plug Bee. You have a nice piece of land there, and just think you get to look at it too, hopefully you are not too busy to notice things like that. The leaves are falling here had a couple of frosts already. I have an app on my phone for weather mostly so I can tell wifey how warm (or cold) it's going to be. Today I'm looking at it and I'm not really liking what I see. Today high of 54 low 36,through friday... 48-50 for the high and low 27, now I hate it when there is no autumn and it goes from t shirts to coats in a few days. Last week we had some 80's, oh well welcome to climate change.

 

[akelley]

Here's a fermentation question for y'all:

Yesterday I opened the bucket of ff to feed the chicks, and there was this weird...film on the top. Now, I know that forming a scoby is the point of fermentation, but what does it look like? My feed looked as though someone draped an opaque (white) piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the feed. There were some wrinkles and trapped air bubbles too.

It did not smell "off" in any way, it's just that the rapidity with which this substance formed took me by surprise. In the end I just stirred the film into the feed and gave it to the chicks, who have not died. The film was back this morning, and I did the same thing.

So is this weird film my scoby? And if not, did I just kill all of my chicks?

 

[armorfirelady]

That was your scoby!!! Congrats you have fermentation
Just stir it in and serve like normal

 

[beverly evans]

Beekissed-----Now that's a winner! Sorry I haven't the time to read over 9000 posts to your thread! I want to start fermenting and sprouting. Whole foods has grains for both. Which grains are best? How many days do you stir up this fermenting grain before you give it to your chickens? When it reaches the "good" point and you feed them some, what do you do with the rest ? Won't it continue its process to spoilage? Must one refrigerate the rest? Or do you ;make it small batches, feed it to them and then start over? Sorry for so many questions but atm you seem to be the go to person. THX for your trouble. You seem to enjoy sharing your knowledge and your Christianity. God bless you!! beverly

 

[akelley]

That was your scoby!!! Congrats you have fermentation
Just stir it in and serve like normal

Okay good. It just shocked me how it just "appeared". I guess I was expecting a more gradual, visual process. Hopefully someone else freaking about the weird film on their ff can learn from my confusion!

 

[beverly evans]

Triple Willow- - - -In your album you picture all sizes of your eggs; what kinds of chickens produced the very large egg and the very small egg? Is there a bantam variety for copper marans or wellsummers? I'm also curious about the plate of egg shaped organs. Please tell me, what are those? THX

 

[Triple Willow]

Triple Willow- - - -In your album you picture all sizes of your eggs;  what kinds of chickens produced the very large egg and the very small egg?  Is there a bantam variety for copper marans or wellsummers?  I'm also curious about the plate of egg shaped organs. Please tell me, what are those?   THX   

My birds just started laying in August so the different sized eggs were all from birds of the same age and size- mostly Black Australorps plus a couple Columbian Rocks and a couple Speckled Sussex. Now the eggs are all the same size (large) except the SS. Their eggs are a lot smaller and less uniform. That tiny egg in the picture was just what some pullets lay when they begin laying. That was the only one layed like that. I believe Australorps layed the small egg as well as the large egg. The organs in the picture are testicles. It's an odd number because one got lost in the process. lol

...Sorry, can't tell you about bantams. I'm sure somebody else can.

 

[beverly evans]

THX for your response. I ate "mountain oysters" in Mexico from a brave bull from the bullfights. Delicious. Did you eat yours? Your eggs? Wow. I have 5 layers. The first 4 laid normal size eggs right off- - - not small ones. But I have a black maran that just began laying little eggs. I think ISA Browns lay the largest eggs. I am going to get at least one of those. I plan to stop at having 8 girls. I have 10 in all right now because 3 of my last acquired pullets turned into roos. I am trying to place them now. They are abusing my girls terribly and the stress is cutting down on my eggs! No one wants them. The noise is complained about in the city. Three roosters (only 2 are randy) to 6 mature hens is way too many. I have started keeping the roos in the run and letting the girls forage w/o them. I saw Australorp roosters for sale for $75 somewhere on here. And I can't give mine away! I have a gorgeous silver spangled Americauna, a lavendar Americauna and an equally gorgeous Copper Maran to find homes for. I really can't eat them. If they were mean maybe, but they are sweet. Anyway, I wanted to save some of that gene pool before getting rid of them so have a friend hatching 8 eggs for me in her incubator. We'll see in 121 days!

 

[pipemum]

You mean fermented volcanos like this? I've probably done this... maybe 10 times and will more than likely do it that many more at least. If that is all that goes wrong in my day I figure I have done well. LOL

Haha, yes! Except I only have my layer FF in an old almond bucket from Costco. A wee little volcano! Good to know I'm not the only one!

 

[pipemum]

Bee, beautiful pictures!