Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

Well you can see how far back I am reading. Slow reader but tortoises get there eventually.

I was wondering if we can add some 'mother ACV' to the regular ACV from Walmart to create good mother ACV. Doesn't seem to say anywhere on the gallon jug of non-mother stuff that it's pasteurized.

Thnx.

Yes, you can...this is what I do and it just goes on from there and you never have to buy a mother vinegar again because you just keep passing the same cultures along.

I was at one of the local pumpkin farms yesterday. They have pumpkins EVERY DAY that are getting soft on a side or a spot which they cull and dump on their fields. They told me I could take those pumpkins for free.

I took one home yesterday (they only had one as they had already made a dump for the day). But..when I opened it, the inside was looking pretty gnarly.... watery in the seed area and just like it was not something anyone should eat. I didn't put it out for the birds.

So now, the question... Would those be okay to put out for them? It was just looking somewhat "slimy" inside and definitely soft. I keep thinking about the difference between ROTTEN and fermented. Since these are going bad in warm weather, the thought was "rotten" vs. one that is soft because of the freeze/thaw cycle. Am I correct in that thinking?


At the moment, I wasn't sure if it was something that I should let them eat so I stuck it in the compost pile.

The only way you will find out is to give it to them. Rotten doesn't matter to a chicken and it won't harm a chicken to give it rotten food....if they will eat it, it's good. If they won't eat it, toss it.

The freeze and thaw cycle gets rid of all the excess water in the pumpkin and at the end it's like a big, but lighter than previously, sponge. When they tear into it, it sounds like someone ripping paper....rip! Rip! Rip! until they get to the inside and they will continue to rip off pieces of spongy looking flesh and even run around, chase each other, etc. with it. The reason I keep them out in a shed, not piled up on one another, is they get less of the bad mold growing on them this way. When I kept them in the cellar, they would have too much black mold on the outside and they didn't freeze and thaw, so all the fluid was trapped in there growing who knows what....these pumpkins were not well received by the gals or the sheep. Wouldn't touch them.

 

[Island Roo]

Quote: My whole grains that were fermenting all summer smelled "ripe" and I could see how it might be described as something that died but it did not smell like rotting flesh to me. Unpleasant to humans definitely - dead animal no. The chickens loved it but I had to turn my head when I handled it.

I also used the liquid from that witches brew to inoculate other buckets that contained mixed feed. Since I had lots of liquid, I used about 4 cups of this in a 5 galloon bucket of mixed feed and water - it fermented faster than any other method I've tried.

The witches brew did not start out that way. The smell from that batch was pleasant at first but it kept cooking until about august when I started over. It just didn't seem right at the time to feed animals something that smelled like that. I'll probably do it again next summer.

 

[Beekissed]

I've got a very overly sensitive schnozz but I can honestly say that my FF has never smelled bad or rotten either. The strongest smell that it gets is like pickled corn or kraut...a pleasant, pickly smell but never has it smelled "bad".

I'd venture to say it's because it is always working on new, fresh feed that keeps it always in a good state of ferment, not sitting inactive and possibly growing bacteria that will yield that bad smell. If mine ever did have that smell, I'd try to reactivate it with a fresh infusion of feed and water...if it didn't fix it, I'd toss it and start all over.

 

[Island Roo]

I'd venture to say it's because it is always working on new, fresh feed that keeps it always in a good state of ferment, not sitting inactive and possibly growing bacteria that will yield that bad smell.

Over 100 posts and I just figured out the proper way to use the "Quote" button.

I've been wondering about the smell and what is growing in the pot. It seems we have:

• good bugs (those that do our fermenting)
• unwanted bugs (those that make it stink - chickens still eat it but it would ruin human food)
• bad bugs (those that poison a batch i.e. Salmonella or other disease)

Like the "Quote" button I suppose that information was right under my nose all along.

I think your correct Bee - I'll keep to the first category of bugs - those that smell better.

 

[Island Roo]

With a stinky batch you don't really know whats growing in there. Is it just unwanted bugs or something really nasty. With a fermented batch that smells like fermented food you know the good guys are in control.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I had a batch of oats I was sprouting to give to my birds. I kept the oats until they all had about an inch or so of sprout. The last day, they decided they were going to smell really really bad. So what I did to save them (I pinch my pennies pretty hard) was to put them all in a bucket and fill it up with water and then I added (please don't gasp too loudly, you'll scare me) a good sized splash of bleach! I know, I know... but it did the trick. I let them soak in that for about 10 minutes then I rinsed them really well and added them to a batch of already ready ff and then I added a good sized splash of ACV to the mix.

The next day they were ready to feed and they didn't smell bad at all!

 

[normanack]

About greens in the wintertime: I haven't had chickens over a winter yet, but I grow kale and chard for my family (and this year, the chickens, too). It stays alive and looking good right through our Michigan winter.

 

[Beekissed]

I had a batch of oats I was sprouting to give to my birds. I kept the oats until they all had about an inch or so of sprout. The last day, they decided they were going to smell really really bad. So what I did to save them (I pinch my pennies pretty hard) was to put them all in a bucket and fill it up with water and then I added (please don't gasp too loudly, you'll scare me) a good sized splash of bleach! I know, I know... but it did the trick. I let them soak in that for about 10 minutes then I rinsed them really well and added them to a batch of already ready ff and then I added a good sized splash of ACV to the mix.

The next day they were ready to feed and they didn't smell bad at all!

I'm not shocked....I washed a hen's butt with a bleach solution last night.

 

[armorfirelady]

Yes, you can...this is what I do and it just goes on from there and you never have to buy a mother vinegar again because you just keep passing the same cultures along.

The only way you will find out is to give it to them. Rotten doesn't matter to a chicken and it won't harm a chicken to give it rotten food....if they will eat it, it's good. If they won't eat it, toss it.

The freeze and thaw cycle gets rid of all the excess water in the pumpkin and at the end it's like a big, but lighter than previously, sponge. When they tear into it, it sounds like someone ripping paper....rip! Rip! Rip! until they get to the inside and they will continue to rip off pieces of spongy looking flesh and even run around, chase each other, etc. with it. The reason I keep them out in a shed, not piled up on one another, is they get less of the bad mold growing on them this way. When I kept them in the cellar, they would have too much black mold on the outside and they didn't freeze and thaw, so all the fluid was trapped in there growing who knows what....these pumpkins were not well received by the gals or the sheep. Wouldn't touch them.

Excellent I was wondering the same thing. I usually toss the pumpkins in the compost but this year they will be going in the garage for the process so the hens have veggies over the winter. I agree they dont like pumpkins, squash or gourds that you just cut in half & leave. To hard. I baked up some squash and put some in a bowl for them & they lick it clean.
But I did freeze watermellon, tomatoes, grapes, zucchini & cukes to see how chickens would like them after they were frozen......all I had left was rinds & skins. Same theory as putting the pumpkins in the garage/shed.
And the hens chase each other around for grapes

 

[Beekissed]

If you do this in the garage, put them on a tarp or a sheet of plastic.....big mess when they lose their fluids. Your hubby will scream about that if you make a syrupy mess in his garage floor.

That's why I always store them in my broody pen in the winter...not in use and will dry up and be worked into the old wood long before I get a broody sitting.