Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[heartofdixie]

What causes fermented feed to smell bad after 4 or 5 days. I am using organic grower from ts, fill large stainless steel pot that has stainless basket, fill basket 1/2 way with grain and fill water to about an inch from top of pot add a glug of Braggs acv and stir occasionally. By late afternoon next day it is boiling/bubbling. For the next two days it smells great and I will top off with more feed as I am using it. But by the 4th or 5th day on every batch it develops a thick white film and starts to smell bad. I've tried removing the film before but it doesn't help. I keep this inside where it stays 76 degrees. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong

, this is a pic of the pot I'm using. I'm using RO water from a well.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

FF smells different to everyone. It could just be that you're more sensitive to it than some people or it could be an ingredient in your feed. Basically the way fermenting feed works is the bacteria and acid breaks down the nutrients the same way that digestion does. That means that it can sometimes start to smell a little like vomit or poo if it ferments too long. It could be that you have a warm environment so it's digesting really fast or it's breaking down some ingredients that don't smell so nice as they break down.

 

[heartofdixie]

FF smells different to everyone. It could just be that you're more sensitive to it than some people or it could be an ingredient in your feed. Basically the way fermenting feed works is the bacteria and acid breaks down the nutrients the same way that digestion does. That means that it can sometimes start to smell a little like vomit or poo if it ferments too long. It could be that you have a warm environment so it's digesting really fast or it's breaking down some ingredients that don't smell so nice as they break down.

Thank you for replying. So should I give it a couple of more days and see if the smell goes away? Is it still safe to feed or should I throw it out? I'm afraid to keep trying it if it's going bad, don't want to waste expensive organic feed and really don't want to make my chickens ill..

 

[Latestarter]

You're not doing anything "wrong"... you are actually doing everything "right". Your ferment is growing in strength over time because you're back-slopping continuously. The whiteish/grayish film on the top is the ferment. Part of the reason it's getting so strong an odor is because of the way you're doing it... with the grains in the draining basket, the mother and fermented/ing liquid below is going to just keep getting stronger and stronger because you keep "feeding it" above. Very little of it gets taken away. Eliminate the drain basket and ferment everything IN the water... don't fill it so water is "above" the level of the grain, but where the grain is the consistency of a nice bowl of grits or oatmeal... easy to stir/mix, but NOT needing to be drained or strained to use. Since you'll then be removing some of the liquid each time you serve it out, it will be much easier to maintain that "nice" smelling ferment over time.

Other than that just keep doing what you've been doing... use some, add new water and grain... use some, add more of both... stir every now and again... good to go!

 

[Latestarter]

The strong ferment smell doesn't mean it's "bad"... when it goes bad, the ferment has stopped because you've stopped adding fresh grain for the microbes to "eat" and then it will start to develop in the opposite direction with "molds". The smell increases in "strength" over time due to the sheer numbers/concentrations of microbes present with the continuous back slopping. Typically over the first couple of days it will develop that sweet/sour "sourdough" smell. it will continue to get stronger so that by the end of a week or more it will start to smell like vomit or some other nasty smell. If your ferment gets too strong, simply remove more of the liquid and add more grains and it should equalize out...

 

[heartofdixie]

it will continue to get stronger so that by the end of a week or more it will start to smell like vomit or some other nasty smell.

that's gross, I have it in my kitchen. On the other hand, might be good for dieting and make me want to do anything but eat....

how can I tell the difference between it growing mold and beneficial bacteria? Especially if it can smell like vomit.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I agree with the above posts. Everything sounds normal to me. I keep my ff outside. Mold will be blue, green or black. 9/10 white fuzz is yeast, not mold. Think about bread mold. It'll be kinda like that. Even then, some molds are pretty harmless. Chickens can eat just about anything. I throw mine mouldy bread any time we have it.

I had a friend who compared the smell of strong FF to a cup of natty light left on the table for a week. A gross almost beer-like smell but way worse. Everyone thinks it smells like something different.

I might also stop adding ACV to the mix. Once the ferment is going you don't need to add any more.

 

[Tikkijane]

Thank you for replying. So should I give it a couple of more days and see if the smell goes away? Is it still safe to feed or should I throw it out? I'm afraid to keep trying it if it's going bad, don't want to waste expensive organic feed and really don't want to make my chickens ill..

It will only smell stronger as it continues to ferment. I'd get it out of the metal {which isn't affecting smell}.

That layer you see is the SCOBY= the good stuff.

 

[Hiltonizer]

At about day 5 our fermented turkey feed smells like dog poop... its in a hot barn and usually crawling with maggots by that time (bonus protein!) and it hasn't harmed the turkeys a bit.

 

[heartofdixie]

is the Scooby like what's in kombacha? I was going to start using that as a starter. Why is stainless steel bad for the Scooby? I thought as long as it was non-ferrous it's okay to use.