Soaking feed

[Jbyrne136]

Fermented feed does have a chance of becoming moldy, while if you use wet feed properly it doesn’t. Soaked feed only lasts good for 1-4 hours, and should be placed in the sun so mold doesn’t start growing. Normally you don’t make huge batches of soaked feed, so it’s easy just to take a few cups of feed and mix it in with water for a meal.

What I have been doing is getting 1 scoop of mash and adding a bit of water to wet it so it’s like a mash and they love ig

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Hey all I got a chciken mash ( a mix of corn oats barley pellets) the man said to soak it in water and apple cider to make it better I did that and the hens loved it was that okay to do

Yes. Just watch out for stuff going South on you in this heat. Cause it with do it much easier in such extremes. It lasts longer, stretches a dollar, but makes the most of the food also while making it a bit healthier for the birds. It’s called fermenting. Good way to feed.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Fermented feed is very little effort and I find there's a lot less wastage. It also keeps birds well hydrated in hot climates. It's the same technique as setting up a sour dough starter. You are using the yeasts that naturally occur in the air around us to ferment the feed. Just wet feed can harbour botulism which is very dangerous to birds.
OMG- you really didn’t have to search that hard for reasons not to ferment. Just not having enough space would have been acceptable.

I've fed chickens, quail and now our ducks on fermented feed and they all love it. Once you get your mix going you just add more feed and just enough water to make it an oatmeal consistency to the container that has a little fermented feed left in the bottom and it will be ready to feed out again the next day.

I was tired of watching our ducks almost choke on dry feed (then spit up half their feed while gulping down water to try and wash it down) so that's what gave me the motivation to start up fermenting again (selling our old house, moving to the country and living in a caravan for 8 months, with our 2 children and 3 indoor cats, while our new home was put in place meant I hadn't been able to do things like that).

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Fermented is better than just soaked. Soaked feed can start to harbor bacteria and fungi in very hot, humid weather, whereas the 'good' bacteria and yeast in fermented feed help to preserve it against spoiling. All you need is the feed and water to start fermenting.

This is an excellent article about exactly how to ferment chicken feed:
https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

Boy was Tikk Tok's blog good. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and taking mental note. Now I only need to get the concept of "backslopping" down pat. I mean it was simple and straightforward what she explained. I am sure I could retell it to someone. Somehow when I picture the procedure in my head I want to complicate it.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Once you get your mix going you just add more feed and just enough water to make it an oatmeal consistency to the container that has a little fermented feed left in the bottom and it will be ready to feed out again the next day.

Boy, reading it now a third time from @JaeG it makes sense. By jove I think I've got it!

Thanks J.