Utah!

[LadyIsadora]

I'm not sure what I would do without this place and you folks!

Good luck Bitsy! Keep us posted.

Does fermenting cause a strong smell? When my fodder is not draining well it starts to rot or ferment and the smell is terrible.

I have come to find that smells are very personalized. What may smell like Roses to me may smell like bug spray to the next guy. I find the smell rich, and earthy. and a lot like sour dough bread. There is a big difference between rot and ferment. especially with grain. my system would only let the newly added grain ferment/ age for 3-5 days in an aged fermented liquid base, if you use a system that goes longer than that it can smell quite a bit like alcohol a brewin'
I love the smell. It is strongest when you stir it and the warmer it is the more active the ferment so it gets quite strong on warmer days. I keep it in the sun room so it can stay as warm as possible to ferment well. I spend a lot of time in there.

Strong ferment to me, may smell rotten to you, so take that as you will.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

Does fermenting cause a strong smell? When my fodder is not draining well it starts to rot or ferment and the smell is terrible.

Fodder reeks if it is not rinsed enough ...keeping it in a cool area and rinsing helps, but it's never quite right lol..... fermented feed just smells vinegar-ish/yeasty to me.

 

[LadyIsadora]

Gus, I'd like to take you up on the lemon verbena. Are you sure you don't want anything in return? I have oodles of white rock cress. Edible succulent, drought tolerant ground cover. The elderly couple that had this house before my husband must have been gardeners, too. I keep finding all kinds of fun plants here.

Hi LadyIsadora

I have three ducks.



Cynthia, well wishes to you my friend. Sorry you have to deal with that.

To whoever mentioned they found the orange thyme - thank you! I'm actually after orange mint, but I appreciate it all the same

EEEEEE I forgot for a minute that you had 3 ducks. I remember reading about your tragedy about a month ago. I wish I had read it a day before. We had just sent 4 ducks to freezer camp and I remember wishing I could have sent one or two of the boys to you. They were so very sweet and beautiful and though full grown a couple of them were really too small. I still feel bad about that. How are your girl & new friends coming along now? are they taking treats from you yet? I had a kitten once that got into some cooked chicken bones and got one stuck in her throat. Every so often she would choke, stop breathing & pass out my husband gave her CPR & revived her about 5 times over a few days, but not the 6th. Sorry it didnt work with your boy. You are amazing to have thought of it & tried it.
Im quite worried about the ducks comfort in the fluctuating temperatures in Utah. They seem to dash for shade when its in the high 60's, what is it going to do to them when it reaches 100's? hopefully their palace will be done by then. its quite shaded & the water should help. Then I get to worry about sub temps for the winter. Im so glad we had a mild winter. I started ducks early in the year but freezing was not a real problem this year. I just worry. Im hoping some ppl from here will chime in with wonderful advice for this region.
Will keep an eye out for orange mint. It is not one I have. but if you ever want catmint....well there we got ya covered LOL It really loves where it is planted. I have to dig out a ton of it. I have never grown rockcress. good for ducks? LOL Im changing so much of my garden for these guys. OUt with the Ivy & sweet peas, in with the leafy greens & berries. My Iris are staying though. I will just have to try to keep them away from it.

 

[sideWing]

Fodder reeks if it is not rinsed enough ...keeping it in a cool area and rinsing helps, but it's never quite right lol..... fermented feed just smells vinegar-ish/yeasty to me.

I think I need to put them on a steeper angle and rinse more often. I don't know if I'm getting fermentation or rotting, but it's gross and I endup starting over after a few weeks.

 

[gus2pp]

Sidewing, I don't find the smell unpleasant at all. It is a sweet, maybe cheesy sort of smell -- far different from the putrid rot smell. I use unsecured lids to keep my curious sons out of it, though. Ha ha

 

[gus2pp]

So fellow broody keepers. My mama moved her clutch inside the dog kennel I have her in. She just scooted the further back into the kennel, but one of the eggs got left behind, and was cold when I found it. I scooted it under her, and she gladly accepted it. Just wondering if anyone had seen a mama bump an egg out on hatch day. I am wondering if the babe quit, or if she just couldn't get the babe to where she moved her nest inside the dog kennel, while protecting the babies who had hatched. (Two sex-linked cockerels so far. Black austrolorp roo over BR hen. Both boys have the white spot on their heads. Bummer! Any takers? They will look like BR roosters when they mature.)

 

[sideWing]

Sidewing, I don't find the smell unpleasant at all. It is a sweet, maybe cheesy sort of smell -- far different from the putrid rot smell. I use unsecured lids to keep my curious sons out of it, though. Ha ha

Sweet and cheesy is exactly what it smells like. Kind of thick in the air. I wouldn't call it rotten. I do know the chickens absolutely love it when I put it out.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

Sidewing, I grow my fodder about 7 days --10 max, then feed it to them. When I'm on the ball, I try to start a new tray each morning, and I have 8 trays, so I start one each day and feed one each day, and rinse them all each morning. I only do it during the cooler months, and keep it in the garage window when its 60 degerees or so. If you add a T of ACV to the rinsing water, that helps with rot as well.

 

[sideWing]

Sidewing, I grow my fodder about 7 days --10 max, then feed it to them. When I'm on the ball, I try to start a new tray each morning, and I have 8 trays, so I start one each day and feed one each day, and rinse them all each morning. I only do it during the cooler months, and keep it in the garage window when its 60 degerees or so. If you add a T of ACV to the rinsing water, that helps with rot as well.

A teaspoon of ACV? What is that? I have a setup with 7 trays that drain in to the tray below. If I rinsed with fresh water everyday I think I would be fine, but it goes into a bucket at the bottom and is then recycled through the fodder. If I changed the water every other day I could probably keep it all fresh, but when I miss a fresh water day it starts to ferment or rot all of the trays and I have to bleach and start over. If this magic ACV (whatever it is) can keep the ferment down you will be my new hero. Again.

 

[gus2pp]

CV = Apple cider vinegar

And yes, fermentation does kind of hang in the air in a way. It is the offgassing from the beneficial microbes. I started making wine, so I could make my own vinegars, and wine is a super strong ferment smell! Microspic life is amazing.