Which probiotics for chicks??

[ElaynasChick]

Hello BYC fam!! i am getting chicks and i was wondering which probiotics and electrolytes to get i could ether get the Save-A-Chick electrolytes packets and Save-A-Chick Probiotics and maybe mix both in the water? or the Chick Boost probiotics this one has both electrolytes and probiotics and vitamins and all that stuff all in the same bag (it comes in like a brown and white bag if your wondering) which one should i get? i am leaning a little bit more towards the Chick Boost but let me know what you guys think, and how long should i give it to them the chick boost comes in a larger bag so should i give it to them until they are adults?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd use it maybe a week to 10 days, mostly to help chicks through shipping/new home stress. Don't try and use up the bag, you'll never use it up unless you have a massive batch of chicks.

 

[azygous]

Fermented feed goes "flat" by the fourth day, and it doesn't even smell appealing by then. What happens is the nutrients begin to degrade after the third day, and the stuff begins to give up water content, becoming soupy.

I have 23 chickens and I make only enough feed for two days. I have a second bucket going on the heals of the first, so the chickens always get FF before it loses its maximum nutrition and I never run completely out.

If you compare a bucket of fresh FF that is fresh and has just reached full ferment, it's light in color and fluffy with a very appealing yeasty odor. Before it starts to ferment, the feed is simply dark and wet with an unappealing odor of wet feed. After the fermented feed has reached its peak and is on the way to degrading, it compacts, becomes dense, turns darker again, and has a strong acidic odor.

Try fermenting just enough feed so that it's fed out in two or three days. Have a second batch going so that it's ready to feed as you finish the first container. With chicks, a juice pitcher makes a good fermenting vessel, or something similar. For two dozen chickens I use plastic buckets.

I use a tiny bit of FF from the preceding batch to jump start the next batch. It's ready in 24 hours using a "starter". Also filtering the chlorine out of your tap water will make it ferment more quickly, as well, as the yeast doesn't have to work at overcoming the chlorine.

 

[missypebble]

Fermented feed goes "flat" by the fourth day, and it doesn't even smell appealing by then. What happens is the nutrients begin to degrade after the third day, and the stuff begins to give up water content, becoming soupy.

I have 23 chickens and I make only enough feed for two days. I have a second bucket going on the heals of the first, so the chickens always get FF before it loses its maximum nutrition and I never run completely out.

If you compare a bucket of fresh FF that is fresh and has just reached full ferment, it's light in color and fluffy with a very appealing yeasty odor. Before it starts to ferment, the feed is simply dark and wet with an unappealing odor of wet feed. After the fermented feed has reached its peak and is on the way to degrading, it compacts, becomes dense, turns darker again, and has a strong acidic odor.

Try fermenting just enough feed so that it's fed out in two or three days. Have a second batch going so that it's ready to feed as you finish the first container. With chicks, a juice pitcher makes a good fermenting vessel, or something similar. For two dozen chickens I use plastic buckets.

I use a tiny bit of FF from the preceding batch to jump start the next batch. It's ready in 24 hours using a "starter". Also filtering the chlorine out of your tap water will make it ferment more quickly, as well, as the yeast doesn't have to work at overcoming the chlorine.

ah got it. So I got it all wrong.... I was thinking along the line of maintaining a sourdough starter!!!

thank you so very much!!

 

[azygous]

Natural probiotics in fermented chick feed is how I start off my chicks. This past April, I brought six baby chicks home from the feed store and the first thing they got was a tiny cup of fermented feed. They went for it with gusto, and they are still eating fermented feed now that they are laying. It maximizes the nutrients in the feed and supports healthy chickens for a long life. My oldest hen is eleven. My seven-year olds still lay regularly.

 

[azygous]

Can't hurt. Go for it.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Then you have no issues.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

so i put the bag in the fridge after i open it?

That's what I do. The instructions on the Gro2Max package say to keep in a dry area out of direct sunlight and humidity between 33F and 103F. Sometimes it can get hotter and colder than that here. I deem the refrigerator safe, and that way I know where it is.
Room temperature will work if it isn't very humid and not brightly lit.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I fermented the chick crumble a out 4 days, then offer to them on a small dipping dish but they shook their heads all the time. I also tried adding a few dry crumbles on top but they wouldn’t try either.

After being fermented for 5 days, can I put the extra in the fridge and reserve a little of it to add in the new crumble? Or, I’d need to make a fresh batch if the fermented feed isn’t consumed within the week?

Since you're trying to teach chicks to give it a try, I wouldn't even necessarily ferment at this time (especially not 4 days) - I'd try wetting the feed enough so it starts sticking together a bit and then serving pretty much immediately. If they won't eat it, give the bowl back to them tomorrow. You're going to waste a lot of feed trying to get them to eat it if you're fermenting 4 day batches and they're just not interested.

 

[ElaynasChick]

Natural probiotics in fermented chick feed is how I start off my chicks. This past April, I brought six baby chicks home from the feed store and the first thing they got was a tiny cup of fermented feed. They went for it with gusto, and they are still eating fermented feed now that they are laying. It maximizes the nutrients in the feed and supports healthy chickens for a long life. My oldest hen is eleven. My seven-year olds still lay regularly.

Wow that is amazing