Fermenting question

Ruralhideaway

Crowing
5 Years
Sep 21, 2017
2,801
4,659
396
Upstate NY
Hi there, I've decided to start fermenting and see how we get along with it. My birds are around 6 weeks i think.
I mixed some Purina scratch grains and alfalfa cubes I keep on hand anyway yesterday. Sitting with lid ajar in a 90ish degree place(heat spell here in the northeast). Covered with water and stirred a few times.
My question reflects my surprise that I'm already seeing bubbles coming up. Was adding the alfalfa a wrong move? Is it fermenting way faster than the grains? I expected it to take a few days to see bubbles, only been 24 hours. If the alfalfa goes way faster will that spoil before the grains are ready?
Thanks for your help.
 
Grains and alfalfa should be fermented separately, and you can see why. I say go ahead and just straight feed that to the chickies, and then start 2 separate batches of grain and alfalfa.

FF is awesome!
 
Thanks yes I see that I've hit the limit of how lazily I can do this!
So I can feed it now with the grains merely well soaked vs actually fermented?
 
I do in fact have about a quart. For 8 like this, I've had them one month and guess they were a week plus when i got them. So I'm saying about 6 weeks unless anyone knows better, I do not.
Screenshot_20170926-151716.png
 
OK IMO, use what you have as a treat. Put out maybe 1/2 cup of it each day, after they've eaten their feed.

Are you also fermenting feed, or just doing the scratch and alfalfa? I hope you're fermenting their feed... SO healthy for them.
 
I will be fermenting their feed yes. I bought scratch then learned it's not the best nutrition so thought I'd improve it via fermenting as a treat. They have just moved outside last night so I'll maintain their dry ration until I get a batch of fermented ready. New to the forums and haven't had chickens for years so I'm learning tons here. Thanks for the info!
 
Well, scratch you just kind of toss out to encourage them to, well, scratch the ground for their snacks. We toss it out because our chicks are kept in a dirt run most of the day (they free range in the evenings). No need to ferment the scratch.

Your best bet would be to ferment their feed.
 
I'm starting a batch tonight. I confess using their regular crumble seems like it'll be a bit unpleasant smelling but I'll find a spot. Seems it's worth it.

I do all feed fermenting outside. I'm lucky, as I've gotten to the point I can backslop and the feed ferments within a few hours.

Things I've learned:

Fermenting straight pellet/crumble STINKS to high heaven (to me), whereas a blend of whole grains actually smells pretty good.

I add garlic powder, nutritional yeast and oregano (for their benefits), which makes it smell like pizza. My Flufferbutters go nuts for it!

I add in crushed egg shells for added calcium.

Good luck with your ferment!
 

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