I started fermenting!!!!!

[jeria]

MY timid girls chowed down on a bowl of fermented feed. They were staying clear of it except for the barred rock--she seems to be the top hen at the moment. This afternoon it was gone and not much crumble eaten. Tonight did not replenish the crumble as there was a lot in there but they attacked the fermented bowl when I put it in their coop and also the handfuls of dandelion greens. FYI their run isn't finished yet so they are locked in their coop.

 

[6PeckinChickens]

So I took the leap last week and made a little 12 oz bucket of FF. After 3 days I fed it to my girls, they gobbled it up like they do when they get yogurt! I was happy to see that! So I then got a food grade 5 gallon bucket and filled it with about 3-4 inches of room for expansion. I also made a trough out of PVC E-spout to put in their coop for the FF.

Should I get another bucket to start another batch or can I add dry feed to the existing bucket and feed that out the next day?

 

[Hdghawg]

So I took the leap last week and made a little 12 oz bucket of FF. After 3 days I fed it to my girls, they gobbled it up like they do when they get yogurt! I was happy to see that! So I then got a food grade 5 gallon bucket and filled it with about 3-4 inches of room for expansion. I also made a trough out of PVC E-spout to put in their coop for the FF.

Should I get another bucket to start another batch or can I add dry feed to the existing bucket and feed that out the next day?

I don't know how many your're feeding but I feed 19 out of a 5gln bucket for several days (they free range a lot). Near the end I hold out the next days ff in a smaller 2qt bucket or two and refill the 5gln. I've found that if you leave a qt or so in the big bucket when you mix in the new it'll be ready when you need it again. I've gone back the next morning and it's puffed up and the top is covered in the beautiful scoby.

 

[Dayrel]

I've found that if you leave a qt or so in the big bucket when you mix in the new it'll be ready when you need it again. I've gone back the next morning and it's puffed up and the top is covered in the beautiful scoby.

^This. It takes a while for the bacteria that is naturally in our environment to settle into the feed and start breeding into a larger population- hence the 3-4 day starting period. Using a sample from the previous ferment will jump-start the process because you have a larger, active culture to begin the new ferment.

 

[lazy gardener]

I hold back about a pint in a 5 gal. bucket to seed the next batch. For 30 - 40+ birds, I rotate 2 x 5 gal buckets. So, each day, they get a bucket that was mixed up the day before yesterday.

 

[chicks are life]

My birdies still love the fermented feed!!!!!

They think dry feed is a treat.

 

[6PeckinChickens]

I don't know how many your're feeding but I feed 19 out of a 5gln bucket for several days (they free range a lot). Near the end I hold out the next days ff in a smaller 2qt bucket or two and refill the 5gln. I've found that if you leave a qt or so in the big bucket when you mix in the new it'll be ready when you need it again. I've gone back the next morning and it's puffed up and the top is covered in the beautiful scoby.

I only have 6 girls. Ours have a 30X50 prison yard with grass and we let them out into the pasture for a couple hours a day. We also give them meal worms, grapes, yoghurt and dig up earth worms for them everyday. I am going to leave their dry feed out also.

When I mixed this batch I used secondary water and it was puffed the next day. Does it mean it's ready to feed when it is puffed like that? It was up to the rim of the bucket and when I stirred it there were a lot of gas bubbles that escaped and it dropped 3 inches. I mixed it thick like oatmeal.

 

[igorsMistress]

Yes you can feed it. I mix a batch every couple days because my chickens don't like it much if I let it go longer. I've got a nice scoby going within 24 hours. I also hold back about a cup of feed to start the next batch.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, if it has bubbles in it, it's fermented.

 

[6PeckinChickens]

Is it still good if it smells kinda funky? It kind of has a poopy smell, I wonder if it is because of the secondary water or the FF gas? I have been making sure that the top is covered with water and set the lid on the bucket. They still eat the FF, I am increasing the amount everyday since a friend told me that they have had issues with their chickens if they suddenly switch their feed. Have you heard of this?