Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

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sonofabish1 said:
Sorry if these questions have been answered before...new to this thread and I can't read through all 1700+ pages!!!

Couple questions...

I have 2 bags of crumbles left over from last fall when my meat chickens were...let's say taken away early. I have been looking for something to do with it other than compost. By the time I get my next batch the feed will be a good 6 months old and vitamins/nutrients have degraded. Would there be any benefits to fermenting it and feeding it to my meaties?

I'm mostly interested in FF to reduce the smell of the poop while in the brooder (30+ chicks in the garage during the summer...even with regular cleaning and deep litter it gets a little ripe). Do I need to provide a constant diet of FF to reduce the smell or can I throw a couple scoops on top of their normal food a couple times a day?

Thanks!
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You've nothing to lose by using it. You'll have to feed them the FF all the time to get the good effects of the diminished smell of the feces...the reason that is happening is because the feed is predigested through fermentation, so it doesn't come out of the bird only partially digested, which results in the bad smells of regular chicken feces.
 
What if I were to give them a blend of 50% fresh, dry crumbles and 50% fermented old feed? With how much they eat I don't feel like I'll be able to keep up will 100% FF.
 
I give my birds all the ff they want twice a day but I still have a feeder of dry food in the run in case I'm late getting good out there. They prefer ff and free ranging but it gives me peace of mind.
 
To answer the Q... @sonofabish1 , Yes... are you talking mixing the new dry in with the (old) ff or doing 2 separate containers of feed? You can just mix the old with new at 50/50 and feed it out dry. Chickens typically will eat until they have achieved the nutrients they need. So, if they aren't getting enough, they will keep eating. The moisture content in the old feed may be pretty low, so it may be like eating little rocks for them, I'm sure you keep them well watered, so that shouldn't be an issue. Or you can mix the dry in with the FF (you'll need to add some more water to be able to mix it I think) then serve it. My FF is NOT watery at all... it's like thick oatmeal.

I don't know how much feed you go through a day... I have ~30 birds and when feeding dry go through about 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket. When feeding FF, it's about 1/2 a bucket or less.

You DON'T have to ferment for days on end before serving. The first time you mix a batch, you'll need to let it sit for 3-4 days to get the ferment going. After that, you just feed out 90% of whats there, then immediately re-fill with water and feed, give it a good stir, and let it set over night till the next morning and because there was the 10% ferment already in there, the new feed will basically ferment overnight and be ready to go. Of course temperature is the primary determining factor in how long the ferment will take. I do mine in the house. So when I'm doing FF, I make about 3/4 or a bit more FF, then serve out about 1/2 the bucket, leaving 1/4 bucket or a bit more as back-slop to start my next batch (overnight). When temps are below freezing, I have to switch to dry, which the birds and I hate. They waste a LOT of feed picking and scratching the dry.

Even just wetting the feed will help. Put it in a bucket, add enough water to make a very thick slurry, then dish it out.
 
Thanks everyone. Latestarter…that explanation was very helpful!

It sounds to me like I need to just try it out and adapt. I’m glad I don’t have to throw away the old stuff. Another thread I posted about the old feed everyone gave me the impression I shouldn’t use it. It’s been stored dry in the basement this entire time.

One reason I thought I would mix 50/50 is to make sure there’s proper nutrients for the chicks. If it’s OK to give them 100% old feed as they will just eat more of it then maybe I’ll just go that route. Since you say I can have a new batch of FF ready overnight (once I get going) then that’s pretty easy to keep up with and I may just do all FF and use up the old feed.
 
Does anyone have a chart or something that shows increased nutritional value of fermented feed? Haven't been able to find anything. I just started feeding my Cornish meat chicks ff a couple days ago, would like to know how much more nutritional it is....
 
Someone on the other FF thread~the one I started~did the math on it. She keeps meticulous accounting records on her farm expenditures. I can't remember her exact figures, nor did I save her post, but she had been spending 2K+ on feed each year, but that number was down to around $1200+, if my memory is serving me well. It worked out to little over half the amount she was spending before FF. Her numbers were pretty impressive.
 

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