yeah me to, nice to have some me time girl time or whatever you wanna call it. ;-)
I've downsized to only six chickens. They still get their grower/finisher ration free choice, dry (I know, I know, I'll start fermenting that now that I've told on myself.) I just give them a little scratch grain each day and I use 3 jars so I know they are getting all fermented grains instead of the old mixed with the new. Chicks are peeping & pipping in the bator right now, so it looks like we're upsizing again!How about just putting all of it in a big ol' bucket and then you won't have to wonder if this one or that one is fermenting or not...the whole thing will be fermenting at once and you can clearly see and smell the signs of fermentation and you can just feed out of it until it's almost gone, add more feed and water, stir it, start feeding out of it the next day and the next and the next until it gets low again.... and repeat the cycle over and over ad infinitum.
Gnats are usually attracted to anything rotting or fermenting, so I'd say the one attracting the most gnats is the one with the highest level of fermentation going on.
Curious...why would you use a complicated and fussy system of jars and a daily job of messing around with dumping, refreshing, etc? It really is much more simple than that and can really streamline your chores if you just feed out of a bucket and be done with it...unless, of course, you like fussing about with small containers and such, then I'd say "Carry on!"
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I've said it before, but not on this thread... Hanging CDs has worked wonderfully for my open run. I lost three chickens the first two days they were in the open run. It had to be a hawk. They disappeared without a trace. On the third day I hung CDs with fishing line and heavy wire, one on each fence post. It has been over three months since then and I have not lost another one since. Recently a storm blew most of them down (fishing line was too light.) When I was out re-hanging them a hawk flew directly overhead and scared the bejeezus out of the chickens. After I got the CDs hung the hawk circled farther and farther away and went out of sight. I haven't seen him again. The CD's do look like redneck decorations, but I don't mind if it keeps the chickens alive. The flashing light scares away the hawks but doesn't bother the chickens.This morning I let everyone out to free range, like I normally do, and after being out for only a few hours we get a visitor...
A hawk I'm guessing
My Roo did not see it. Did NOT sound the alarm(like he does for EVERYTHING else!) I only saw it because it had been flying around, and I saw where he went. ( Then there was about 4 more that were circling overhead..none of those stayed around though) I got really worried that my BSL was in the middle of the yard, where there aren't really any places to hide, so I shooed them up near the house, but after that bird kept hanging around I decided it wasn't worth the risk, so I ended their free range timeMaybe later we will be able to go out again if he gives up and moves on..I don't want to lose my small flock to a dang hawk
P.S. That hawk sure is pretty though...if he wasn't the enemy I wouldn't mind him hanging around! (maybe he'll catch a squirrel and move on lol)
I may get scolded for this, but here goes: I have much more experience making wine than fermenting feed, but wine making is a process of fermentation. Whenever you ferment something, you are wanting a particular organism to grow in the container. Sometimes the wrong organism gets in there and takes over. When fermenting wine, it has to be carefully protected from contamination or it could be taken over by bacteria. When fermenting feed we want it to be taken over by bacteria, but not just any old bacteria, that's one of the reasons that folks use vinegar, buttermilk, etc. to get the fermentation started. With the billions of different bacteria out there, I don't think it would be crazy to suggest that maybe your FF has been taken over by a bad bug. If I were in your position, I would keep the current batch going, but start another new batch from scratch and be careful not to cross-contaminate the two. Let the new batch ferment for a few days and see if your chickens react differently to it.
Yeah, I need to do something because I don't want a problem out of them and I had seen about 4 of them flying around yesterday
We have two hawks that circle around here, and none have gotten my chickens......but my Great Pyrenees barks at hawks and crows when they fly over. It is so funny to watch him run and bark while looking up at the sky. We laugh that he enforces a "no-fly" zone.
I've got a mutt that does the same thing. Great to have dogs for protection. 
