Rotten egg / sulfur smell in fermenting chicken feed?

[phate008]

Just tried my first batch of fermented feed. I had it sitting on my kitchen counter in a jar with a piece of cheese cloth covering the top. It's been 3 day and I stirred in once each day. Today is day 3 so I figured I would give it to the girls to test it out, but now I am not so sure I should. It has a rotten egg odor. I read that it should smell sweet and yeasty. Anyone else have any experience with this? I think one of the things I read said that if it smells rotten to throw it away. The sulfur smell is fading though. Should I just throw it away and start over, or is this still good?

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

I would throw it out. I’m not sure if it is bad or not but it’s better to be safe then sorry.

 

[sealer39]

What are you fermenting exactly? Don’t give that to the chickens.

 

[Tonyroo]

Throw it out, fermented foods should never smell like that.

 

[Dephora]

I have found different foods will have different smells, and if you aren't attuned or use to fermenting EVERYTHING will smell bad. As you have never done a batch before and you feel your first batch smells bad... I wonder if it actually is. What is the food you are fermenting? I found different feeds can have a range from sweet, yeasty, sour, cheesy etc. I have found using whole grains will often have more of a cheesy smell. Seeds often have a more sour cheesy smell as well. Crumble/pellet will have that nice sweet/sour smell everyone talks about.

Still I would toss your first batch and only ferment for 24 hours until your chickens are use to the flavor and then go to 2 days, then 3. Are you completely covering the feed with water?

 

[phate008]

Yes the feed was completely covered with water. I fermented this feed https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NSHVJ5N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was waiting for a shipment of crumble to come in the mail so in the mean time, while I still had some of this food, I figured I would give it a shot with fermenting it. It's a mix of mini pellets, seeds, grains, etc. It had good reviews so I wanted to try it.

 

[phate008]

The new feed was actually just delivered today.

This is the one I was going to test out Purina Layena https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M3WDKAZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think I am just going to wet it and let it sit for 24-48 hours. Definitely don't think the other food is good. It had a bubbly powder like stuff floating on the top which I can only assume is mold. That one is getting dumped out.

For future reference should I seal the mixture in an air tight container? I have seen some people say they use jars which they open and stir once a day, and others that cover it with cheese cloth to let the gases escape.

 

[sealer39]

Don’t seal the jar. It could blow up on you. The fermentation process creates gasses which is why you saw bubbles. You should have better luck with the Purina. 48-36 hours should a good length of time to get fermentation.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think I am just going to wet it and let it sit for 24-48 hours. Definitely don't think the other food is good. It had a bubbly powder like stuff floating on the top which I can only assume is mold. That one is getting dumped out.

For future reference should I seal the mixture in an air tight container? I have seen some people say they use jars which they open and stir once a day, and others that cover it with cheese cloth to let the gases escape.

The bubbling powder is actually probably some yeast development, or just CO2 pushing up some fines that don't dissolve, up to the surface. However fermented feed shouldn't have a sulfur smell so I don't blame you for wanting to toss it.

I always start feeding my ferment the day after I mix it and just use it until it's gone, then start up another batch. So that's the "easy" way to do it, rather than try to micromanage for an ideal amount of sitting time.

Never seal up the jar airtight, it's an easy way to get a food explosion (someone this past weekend ended up with fermented feed splashed 20' across the room from a sealed jar).

 

[CatsandCrops]

I have found that I get a sweet pickle smell when I ferment our food. It grows stronger each day that passes but turns more of a sour smell after day 3.5. I always find the empty container smells "gross" after I empty it to feed that day. I can't really describe the smell, but a friend who enjoys fermenting all of their own food to eat ensured me it's a completely normal smell (she's been fermenting things for years and hasn't had issues so I feel like she's on to something lol)

I ferment their feed for 3 days. I have a really simple system - 4 plastic tubs (the ones that organic greens come in from the grocery store) with lids that I rotate on an previously unused microwave cart with shelves. Day 1's container when I first started = their measured out food, a splash of apple cider vinegar then water to cover, plus about an inch. That container got moved into Day 2's slot, started another Day 1 and did that until there was a container in Day 3/had been fermenting for 3 days. On that day, I took the food out to feed them and poured some the water into the 4th plastic tub to start a Day 1. Waaah la. It takes about 3 mins in the morning to rotate the bins into their new spots, empty that days feed into trays to take outside and start a new bin.

I like doing it this way in smaller batches for a few reasons
1) I can control how much food they are given daily without taking a ton of time to measure or scoop
2) if a batch goes sour/grows mold, I haven't lost a ton of feed or a big interruption in the process
3) the rotation/moving of the bins gives it the jostle/stirring it needs to keep fermenting
4) anyone else can feed them the appropriate amount of food and start a new one easily with the handle measuring cup I keep next to the feed bin.