Fermenting feed

[lazy gardener]

Lazy Gardner - I started a new batch with less water & 1/4 tsp of ACV, I see air pockets in the "mush". Did start them on the ACV water, one day & I can smell/see the difference in their poop. Can't wait to start the FF. The weather this Summer has been intense heat & humidity (Hawaii) wondering in the humidity is a factor? Thanks a bunch.

Sounds like you've got it.

 

[mobius]

Mess-free (hopefully) fermented food feeder for chickies (my little invention):

 

[Upontheroost]

I also give my chicks fermented feed right of the bat:

 

[mobius]

I also give my chicks fermented feed right of the bat:

Nice! That's you in the video! i enjoyed several of them! Good work!

I think it was one of the best things I could do...give them a headstart as babies...they have been quite healthy all along now 10 months old.

I mean it is great to give them FF now, but while they are developing is SO crucial!

And

 

[Beekissed]

I also give my chicks fermented feed right of the bat:

You don't need to keep the water over the feed to get LAB growth in the feed. No matter what anyone says, that's a fallacy. Most who are doing this are not keeping water over the feed at all.

" In the vocabulary of microbiology, lactic acid bacteria are “facultative” in that they that do not require oxygen, but are not inhibited by its presence; in contrast, certain other bacteria (for example Clostridium botulinum) are “obligate” anaerobes that require a perfectly anaerobic environment."

Please don't tell people their chickens will get sick if they don't cover the food with water as it's just not so. That's an untruth and it scares people away from FF rather than encouraging them to use it. The feed containers will not grow mold overnight and make the birds sick and mold will not contaminate the feed bucket, nor will it cause the feed to go sour or rotten....a highly fermented feed will smell sour or almost rotten in the summer months, but that is not caused by bacteria or mold growth at all, it's due to increased acetic acid which is the by product of fermentation and sometimes by the type of meat proteins used in the feed.

Please, please get the facts straight before instructing others?

 

[Upontheroost]

Nice! That's you in the video! i enjoyed several of them! Good work!

I think it was one of the best things I could do...give them a headstart as babies...they have been quite healthy all along now 10 months old.

I mean it is great to give them FF now, but while they are developing is SO crucial!

And

I couldn't agree with you more. Ever since I started giving the chicks for me to read I haven't lost one to disease. Which is saying a lot because if you've ever raced chick's you know you always lose a couple.

 

[Evan W]

My brand new bag of chick starter got wet over the weekend. Can I ferment it? It is medicated, does that make a difference?

I'm no expert but I would not ferment medicated feed. Your basically making a chemical soup causing the medicated feed to leetch out.

I would suggest fermenting scratch grain and feed the medicated dry.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: Sidhe13 While you can ferment the medicated chick starter, the issue you are going to run into is that the chicks most likely will not eat the fermented starter in a timely fashion. How many chicks, how old are they, and how much feed got wet?

Medicated feed can be fermented and it will not cause the issue that Evan is suggesting. If any thing at all happens to the Amprolium in the fermented feed, it will most likely loose some of it's potency. I'm not a pharmacist, and I doubt that Evan is, though I could be wrong. So... I'm making a wild guess that fermenting medicated feed should be just fine for you. But, you are not likely to use it before it is too old to benefit them nutritionally. Nor would it be wise to just continue feeding it after it has gotten wet. Mold can be very toxic to chickens.

ETA- This is an old post by Sidhe13. But a recent response by EvanW. So, I'm responding to clear up any misconception re: fermenting medicated feed. I personally don't use medicated feed, have been fermenting for 4 years, but it is perfectly acceptable to ferment medicated feed.

 

[Evan W]

So they don't have one of those "use as directed" labels on the bag?!

I can ferment anything, even the old food tucked in the darkest part of my fridge. But would I want to?

 

[Beekissed]

I'm no expert but I would not ferment medicated feed. Your basically making a chemical soup causing the medicated feed to leetch out.

I would suggest fermenting scratch grain and feed the medicated dry.

I'm confused as to how amprollium would "leach out" of the bucket of feed. Fermenting isn't introducing any other chemicals into the feed, so the only "chemical soup" would be caused by the amprollium itself. Fermenting the feed can save the feed and render it still good for feeding, whereas since the feed is already wet, she can't very well "feed it dry", now can she?

The medication in medicated feed is pretty nigh useless anyway, so fermenting it won't make a bit of difference.