fermenting feed smell???

[pigeonguy]

Is there a chance rodents might be able to touch the feed you're fermenting? I've noticed with my sprouts that the slightest amount of rodent excreta in the bucket will ruin the whole batch of sprouts, and they'll rot before sprouting (and smell very vomity). I had rats climbing to dip paws into the soaking water, ugh!

Sorry to raise a new issue and it may not be the problem you're seeing.

Mines in the house too. You should look into kassaundras way of sprouting in burlap bags.

By day 3 my fermented feed was starting to grow mold...so I tossed it...not sure where I went wrong, but there went that idea.

What were you trying to ferment?
Did you kick start with anything?
How long did it set before the mold ?
1 or 2 bucket system?
Your ferment should have a smell not strong and punjent but a smell. Some say like sour dough some say a little stronger than that. When mine loses its smell I add some more UP/ACV

 

[CluckAcres]

Only cracked corn nothing else. Mine is cracked corn oats and poultry base it is mixed at the feed mill down the road but yo could mix it at home if you needed to.
How many times a day do you feed? I do once in the morning. Then if they seemed starved the next morning I feed twice that day. Then they are generally back on track with once a day for a while.

Forgot to ask. What system is yours 1 or 2 bucket? The 2 being where you have 1 with holes drilled in it setting inside of another bucket. I use the 1 bucket system and keep 2 buckets going all the time. 1 of those buckets has been going continuous for 4 or 5 months without ever starting over.

I feed once a day in the mornings. I use 2 plastic tubs. The smell is much better now i just added more UACV to the mix. I just did corn this time then right before feeding added some dry layer crumble to it. I made plenty of this mix and they didnt eat all of it so I will switch back to fermenting the crumble then add some dry cracked corn to it like the first time.

 

[MichelleT]

I just started doing this last week. I mixed 1 C water with 1 C feed (layer feed) and let it sit for 4 days. It was quite warm on day 4 so I know it was doing its magic!

Anyway, it does indeed smell - not bad, but not a smell I want in my house/kitchen (like sourdough and a brewery mixed together). We were getting overpowered with the scent when we walked into the house. It's now in the feed bin (rodent proof) outside but it's starting to get cold (finally) and I'm not sure that that will be an option much longer.

Since it needs oxygen to ferment and since I'm going to have to keep it indoors over the winter, are there any ideas of what to do with it so that the smell doesn't take over our house? Right now I've kinda wrapped the container in a paper bag...

 

[FlyWheel]

Has anyone ever tried tasting it (it's not like it's harmful)? I lost my sense of smell decades ago so there is no way I can use that method. Is there a kind of taste I could 'look' for? I use commercial flock raiser crumbles.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Has anyone ever tried tasting it (it's not like it's harmful)? I lost my sense of smell decades ago so there is no way I can use that method. Is there a kind of taste I could 'look' for? I use commercial flock raiser crumbles.

I eat a lot of fermented food, but I'd be loath to taste fermented poultry feed. A visual cue that the FF is ready to go is if it's bubbling. There should be small bubbles that rise to the surface.

 

[Upontheroost]

Mine always smelly yeasty (read the description below the video):

 

[Chefdustin]

hello its my first time fermenting chicken feed. Im using layer feed. My question is.... is it suppose to smell like vomit? Its bubbling so thats a good sign.

Lol. Depends on your stomach contents and the lingering memory thereof. This made me lol. Nice.