Suddenly refusing fermented food

[Beekissed]

Easiest way is add feed to water and stir, wait a couple of day, stir it once a day. Should start to smell a little sour if you are doing this in temps of 50* or above. If using tap water it may take a little longer. If too soupy after all the feed has absorbed all it can, you can add more feed to make it thicker. Use less water next time. After you smell that sour smell, you can start feeding it out. I feed once a day, only what they can clean up that day.

Here's a site that will answer most any questions that arise after that.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/18179810/width/700/height/700/flags/LL

When doing your research, be sure and bypass any blog sites and forums and go straight to government studies and factual material that is knowledgeable about fermentation of grains, as there are a few sites that have led many astray and they don't contain the information you will be looking for to gain a working knowledge of the method. There are also two major threads already on BYC that list some sources and links for studies done.

 

[Leigti]

It is still dark when I go to work in the morning's, and now it's almost dark when I get home yuck! Another minor detail is that I am almost blind and cannot see if there is mold etc. on the food. I have a good nose though so if you can strictly go by that I will probably be OK. Maybe I should wait till winter when there's nothing for them to eat in the yard. They don't seem to be very interested in food scraps either, maybe that will change in the winter also
I will check out that thread, I think it is one I have tried to read but it was so stinking long. But all work at it. Thank you.

 

[Leigti]

I just started FF a few months ago, but one of the biggest benefits I think is having the moisture "built-in" to the food. I noticed my flock is now getting most of its water from the FF, and I have to refill waterers much less frequently. I have confidence they are well hydrated. My flock loves FF but also loves a simple wet mash. 

I think the modern use of dry food for convenience in manufacturing, transport, feeding etc. is not the best for animal health, esp. kidney health. 

To the OP, as others suggested, simplify your process and skip the dry feed. I have a big pottery bowl of FF. After I got good bubbles on day 3, I started feeding out of that batch twice a day. It should not be soupy or watery. More like wet cat food. I dip out a meal, leaving plenty remaining in the bowl, refill with dechlorinated water, add more dry feed, and stir. Get nice bubbles and pleasant sour smell. Feed second feeding end of day, refill. And so it goes. 

On the other hand, sometimes it is wise to respect when an animal refuses to eat something. The melamine scandal that poisoned so many dogs a few years ago comes to mind. Good luck. 

I understand what you're saying about the moisture being built in. I feed my dog and cat and my tortoises raw food instead of processed food. So it just makes sense for my chickens also. I have lost a dog and a cat to kidney failure, granted they were 17 and 14 years old but still.
I definitely like the idea of one container. I read somewhere that you could keep it going in definitely, I'm not sure I could do that but it makes me feel that it is safe to do it for a while anyway.
Do your chickens free range? I think that may be a reason why my chickens won't eat it so far.

 

[Beekissed]

I've been keeping mine for 3+ yrs now, so it can indeed be kept going like a sourdough bread mix. My chicken free range at all times and they scarf down the FF like it's the first feed they've ever seen. I feed them in the evenings in good foraging months so they fill up on foraged feed and only use the FF for a supplement, then feed in the mornings in the winter so they can pick at it all day if they want.

The trick to having them clean it up is to never overfeed....you'll know when you hit the sweet spot when they have the trough entirely clean by the next day's feeding and they are eager to get the feed you offer each day.

 

[Leigti]

Right now I only have two chickens so it's not a big deal. But soon enough I'm going to have eight or 10 so I will need something different. What a trough feeder be the way to go with the stuff? And do you still have the dry available at all times? Sorry for all the questions. But I've read so many different opinions and options that I need to narrow it down somehow.

 

[Beekissed]

Right now I only have two chickens so it's not a big deal. But soon enough I'm going to have eight or 10 so I will need something different. What a trough feeder be the way to go with the stuff? And do you still have the dry available at all times? Sorry for all the questions. But I've read so many different opinions and options that I need to narrow it down somehow.

Yep...trough feeder is best but you can't use the galvanized metal trough feeders for it, as the acetic acid in the FF will corrode them and cause leeching into the feed. No, I haven't fed dry feed since I started FF. No need for it at all and it defeats the purpose of feeding FF.

 

[allpeepedout]

I understand what you're saying about the moisture being built in. I feed my dog and cat and my tortoises raw food instead of processed food. So it just makes sense for my chickens also. I have lost a dog and a cat to kidney failure, granted they were 17 and 14 years old but still.
I definitely like the idea of one container. I read somewhere that you could keep it going in definitely, I'm not sure I could do that but it makes me feel that it is safe to do it for a while anyway.
Do your chickens free range? I think that may be a reason why my chickens won't eat it so far.

My chickens have a new large pen they haven't decimated of grass yet, but I think something else is going on with your flock -- either your fermentation process, its texture, or the feed you are using. It really is simple to keep one FF crock going. I'm sure mine is not as strongly fermented as the hard-core folks, but it bubbles and forms a gray-white film overnight. The chickens mostly clean up their morning and eve. feedings in about 5 minutes, and I feed other whole grains on the ground during the day, ample oats and sunflower seeds, plus as much veggie / fruit matter as I can turn up. I do have high turnover in my FF crock, with sometimes only a cup or two left to feed the next batch, so I'm not worried about bad bacteria. I feed in a big lasagna pan, a big clay planter drain tray, on a flat plastic dish drainer liner, and simply dollop scoops of FF on numerous large limestone slabs in my run.

I'd start with a quality dry feed they really like and just moisten that a bit, to get them happy with the texture, then start in gradually with increasing degrees of fermentation. I know my birds won't touch crumbles, and I think it's just the unfamiliarity of the form. It's about the only thing they won't eat!

The pleasure of eating really good feed is one gift we can give our animals. And chickens are especially so easy to please! The joy of a day-old apple core, the half-eaten stale bag of popcorn from Rural King, the core left from last night's head of cauliflower -- it's all thrillingly good if you're a chicken. However you choose to feed, I'd just make sure they really look forward to and relish their food. It makes for happy, healthy long-lived animals.

 

[ChickenHawk12]

When you tuck them in to roost at night make sure to pull dry feed from reach. First thing when you get up and start your coffee pot, the girls have already been up for hours, go give them a dish of FF . Before you leave for work give the dry back. Repeat daily. If after a few days they still refuse the FF drop it all . Follow their lead.

 

[crcgirl93]

I do not ferment my feed but I did start moistening it just a few weeks ago. I started this when I added some Ducks to the mix. It was suggested to me that Ducks have an easier time with moist or wet food. Well let me tell you - my chickens ignored the dry feed in their feeders and went straight to the moist food almost immediately! It works better for me too as I can now add herbs, garlic and brewers yeast to their food and the moisture helps it stick. No more left over powder at the bottom. I alternate between water, Kickin Chicken liquid vitamins and butttermilk to moisten the feed. The love it all. The food never sits and pans are completely empty at the end of feeding time.

 

[Leigti]

Well, this is the third day in a row my chickens won't eat it. And I even locked them up all day until just a few minutes ago. Maybe just wet teen the food with some milk and forgetting about soaking it all night would help. I did buy a mason jar today so that I could try truly fermenting it. Will see how it goes.