Wet feed

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justcallmepenny said:
Hi! Had a sudden downpour yesterday & some rain got into my feed. Can I dry it out in the oven on low heat? It's damp, not soaking wet. Finisher crumbles
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Or, you can use that as a reason to start feeding fermented feed. Takes a little time but it's healthier, and easier for the chickens to derive the nutrition from. Also, you go through about 1/3 less feed with the fermented feed. Just sayin'.
 
Equal parts feed and water, add a splash of RAW apple cidar vinegar (with "the mother") meaning it's unfiltered in a food grade bucket with a loose fitting lid. Stir it up a few times a day, you'll see a light film start to grow - this is the good bacteria needed to ferment and needs to be stirred in. You'll also see it bubble. It takes about 3 - 4 days for the process to complete and should have the consistency of sticky oatmeal. You can feed it out while you're waiting. The feed expands with the moisture by at least 1/3 and because the birds can absorb more nutrition, they don't eat as much and you won't have any wasted feed. They LOVE it. It also reduces the amount of droppings, makes them dryer and less smelly. It's a win for everyone.
 
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There's a couple of threads on the forum here about it. Essentially what you are doing is taking the chicken feed that you normally feed your birds, and adding water. Take 3-4 days worth of feed and cover it in water. Stir it up and let it sit for 3-4 days. The natural yeast that's on the grains will cause fermentation, which is safe for your birds. What is happening is that by sitting there soaking the antinutrients that are in grains are being broken down, and the nutrients then become more readily available for the birds nutritional needs. By doing this your birds will eat 30 - 50% less feed because they are getting more nutrition out of what they are eating. I raised a batch of meat chickens last fall with good success. This year I am raising a batch of hen chicks that will be my egg producers. I should be having my own eggs by mid October. These chicks are doing great on it. That's it in a nutshell. If you do a search for fermented feed the one thread last I knew I believe had 1700 pages or something like that. Good luck if you decide to pursue it. I know I will keep it up as long as I have chickens. Oh, and another major perk is that it gives the birds probiotics which makes for better intestinal health, and less illness.
 
You can tell by looking at it, the difference between the yeast growing on it and mold. You can tell by the smell also, it should smell like fermenting sour dough, or fermenting veggies. If it smells bad, it is bad. Not to say that it smells great, but not like it is rotting. However, I refuse to sample it. I don't eat my dogs food, nor am I going to eat my chickens food.
 
Pendragonz said:
You can tell by looking at it, the difference between the yeast growing on it and mold. You can tell by the smell also, it should smell like fermenting sour dough, or fermenting veggies. If it smells bad, it is bad. Not to say that it smells great, but not like it is rotting. However, I refuse to sample it. I don't eat my dogs food, nor am I going to eat my chickens food.
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roll.png
i got a good laugh out of this..

by sampling i'm talking about using a small amount at first

like how you do it with paint or carpet cleaner ?. testing it out in a small location first

when you are trying something new.. using samples would be best.
 

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