The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:

I took a grain based organic food that they were wasting horribly (so nothing lost), added water and fermented. Pretty simple...

I was thinking of taking pellets and adding a little of my nasty FF to get it going and some 3 grain scratch. Whatcha think?

You got a written recipe?

Scott - if you're lacto-fermenting you can pm me and I'd be glad to discuss w/you. I'm wondering if you're getting any kahm yeast on it, what it's smelling like, etc. Rather than filling up the thread here with it, drop me a note and maybe I can help work through it with you to get it in balance and to a place where they'll like it and it will be a healthy, in balance mix.

 

[Scott H]

I'll try a new batch with buttermilk to get it going? They like plain yogurt but I understand that's not the best to use to ferment. ..

 

[Leahs Mom]

Scott - if you're going to start a new batch I'd make it just a small batch for experimental - maybe just 3-4 cups of the dry feed to get started. Let it set undisturbed for about 4 days and be sure the liquid is above the feed level. You can stir it once a day if you want and smell to see how it's coming along.

A little buttermilk IF IT HAS LIVE CULTURES is okay. Just have to read the container to be sure it has live cultures.

 

[Scott H]

Ageed! Small batch. ..

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I'll try a new batch with buttermilk to get it going? They like plain yogurt but I understand that's not the best to use to ferment. ..

Sorry. I wasn't clear ... The buttermilk soaked cat kibble is just a wet treat to get them used to eating wet treats I put out, and eating them quickly. I used buttermilk and cat kibble for animal proteins and good cultures to help them through molt. But it was NOT fermented. Just a wet supplement treat. Sometimes I feed scrambled eggs, too ... there was no training time for that ... They gobbled scrambled eggs the very first time they saw them. They were less sure of the wet cat kibble.

Once they were trained to run for a yummy wet treat bowls, I started combining the cat kibble treat with fermented feed just before putting it out, so the birds would slowly get used to eating the Fermented Feed. I've been increasing the percentage of FF in the treat. So far so good.

When they are done molting I'll illuminate the protein treat and give them more FF ... I'm gathering supplies for the feeders and large-scale fermenting now.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I just used poultry pellets and water to get the fermenting started. I stirred it frequently the first few days.

Because I have a lot of birds to feed, I started a second bucket fermenting by using some liquid from the first batch.

So far it all looks and smells pretty good. Now I know what they mean when they describe the scent.

I've decided, though, that I don't like the bucket-in-a-bucket system.

 

[Scott H]

Quote:
No, I understood completely......did you mean eliminate? Spell Check gone wild?

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

No, I understood completely......did you mean eliminate?  Spell Check gone wild? 

I did mean eliminate. I wrote that on my iPhone, and had a big dog in my lap. I'm glad you could decipher it.

 

[ki4got]

I've decided, though, that I don't like the bucket-in-a-bucket system.

I agree... I was told it was a pain, I tried anyways, it's a pain. LOL

what I'm doing now, I have a 2 bucket process going on... 4 scoops of feed to 1 scoop grain (each scoop is a 4 cup) and fill the bucket with juice left over from the last one. it takes about 2 days for me to go thru a bucket, so in the mean time the other bucket is cooking along.

i have 2 wire strainers (enamel coated wire mesh) and i'll put one over my 3rd 5 gallon bucket, pour off most of the liquid into the extra bucket, then transfer the strainers onto 2 smaller 2 gallon feed buckets, just for ease of use... the strainer wants to fall into the 5 gallon if I'm not careful but fits the smaller buckets great. then i fill both strainers to the top with the glop and let it drain while i feed the horses, and feed it to the chickens once the horses are done.

the poured-off liquid goes back into the bucket and when it's about down to the bottom, then i add the next round of feed, add enough water to top it back off and set it aside. made the mistake this time, i forgot to stir it yesterday, so the feed had a huge air bubble trapped underneath and had risen to the top. but it still smelled ok so i just stirred it back in and added a bit more liquid from the other bucket.

fwiw, i found plastic strainers don't work so well, they take a lot longer to drain than the coated wire does.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

With the bucket in a bucket I feel there is too much liquid in the bottom bucket that doesn't get stirred up ... And it doesn't drain as promised, either. I'm sure I could tweak to fix the second problem, but am not okay with the first.