Suddenly refusing fermented food

[Leigti]

I wanted to show a picture of what I have going so far but for some reason it won't let me download from my phone. I put the scratch and peck brand layer feed in a mason jar, about 1 cup worth, then added water and stirred. There's about a quarter to half inch of water on top of the grains right now. And of course the sunflower seeds are floating. I covered it with a dishcloth.

 

[Leigti]

here we go, I finally got it to work.

 

[Leigti]

That will work just fine.  Really no need to read those threads through....the FAQ site I gave you has most of the answers to most of the questions folks usually ask about FF:  https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

You can ask questions there or the big threads I gave you and you'll get pretty prompt answers from folks who are fermenting all the time. 

thank you, that is a great article. It did answer most of my questions.

 

[Leigti]

It is starting to smell a little sour. I think it's working

 

[Leigti]

Well, I gave them a spoonful this afternoon. And they won't touch it :-( they have been free roaming but I have not given them any other food for two days. I do have it in a different bowl of course, it doesn't work in a free feed her. Could that be the problem? How long does it usually take them to get used to this?

 

[Leigti]

It is the consistency of thick oatmeal. I did sprinkle some of the regular food and some corn on top. And even a couple pieces of cheese, they are molting right now. Nothing has worked yet. I don't want to keep wasting feed, as long as I keep it stirred how long can I keep it sitting on the counter? I don't want to keep adding to it if they aren't going to eat it.

 

[lazy gardener]

The stuff you see sitting on the top: the light colored sludge is what they refer to as SCOBY: Symbiotic Combination of Bacteria and Yeast. Big whoop!

Stir it back in and they'll wolf it down!!

 

[Sutremaine]

How long does it usually take them to get used to this?

Mine went from dry to wet with little hesitation. The feeding ritual was kept the same, with the only transition being a layer of dry feed on the top to get them to stick their beaks into the bowl instead of staring at their food like it's the most unbelievable thing in the world. I don't recall if they carried on eating their way down once they hit the wet stuff, or if they picked at the dry pellets on top before moving on, but they didn't walk away once the dry pellets were gone.

On the days where they just have fermented food available and don't touch it, are they still going to bed with full crops? Also, do you have any other feed options for when the bag runs out? It seems as though the mix of particle sizes isn't working out wet or dry.

 

[Leigti]

The stuff you see sitting on the top:  the light colored sludge is what they refer to as SCOBY:  Symbiotic Combination of Bacteria and Yeast.  Big whoop!  Stir it back in and they'll wolf it down!!

I stirred it all in right before I gave it to them.

 

[Leigti]

Mine went from dry to wet with little hesitation. The feeding ritual was kept the same, with the only transition being a layer of dry feed on the top to get them to stick their beaks into the bowl instead of staring at their food like it's the most unbelievable thing in the world. I don't recall if they carried on eating their way down once they hit the wet stuff, or if they picked at the dry pellets on top before moving on, but they didn't walk away once the dry pellets were gone.

On the days where they just have fermented food available and don't touch it, are they still going to bed with full crops? Also, do you have any other feed options for when the bag runs out? It seems as though the mix of particle sizes isn't working out wet or dry.

I don't know if their crops are full when they go to bed, I haven't really tried to touch them because they are molting. Is it normal for chickens to get more flighty and less tolerant of people when they are molting? This is their first big multi, they are about 18 months old.
They ate the food fine dry. I'm just trying to get all the nutrition out of it I can. Should I just keep them locked up in their coop for a while with just the fermented food? I hate to do that but I'm worried they're not getting enough of the nutrition they need just foraging in my yard. Especially considering they are molting. I'm going to plant pasture seed next year but right now I can't.