Fermenting feed...

[Beekissed]

Well a new question popped up.

Haha.

Amazing how so many things can come up.

If you do 3 buckets of feed fermenting with each day being a bucket and cycling them, then it would generally mean 1 bucket is a morning feed and an evening feed if you are feeding 2x a day.

So when I lug the buckets out to feed in the evening, I thought, hey I wonder if there would be any problem in leaving that bucket outside to have everything ready in the morning (which is cold), and to make it faster to do the morning feeding.

Is there any problem in doing this, with leaving the fermented bucket outside over night in winter? Or would it weaken the process somehow? (So to be clear, half this bucket got used for dinner. And then to save time, I thought I can leave it there and then just dump it in the morning, and then refill, and reset the bucket cycle.)

Sure, you can do that. But, here's an idea....why not just feed it out once a day and let them eat on it all day long? That way you don't have to do an evening feeding at all. Same feed, same amounts, just not split into specific times of the day.

 

[Nao57]

Sure, you can do that. But, here's an idea....why not just feed it out once a day and let them eat on it all day long? That way you don't have to do an evening feeding at all. Same feed, same amounts, just not split into specific times of the day.

If you do once a day feedings,...

Won't they make more noise later in the day, from not spacing their food out through the day?

I am trying to figure out how viable your idea is, but not cast any doubt on it.

Will animals make more noise during the day in a once a day feed setup or a twice a day feed setup?

Do most people do once a day setups, if they don't have any young poultry/ducks?

(My ducks used to be very young, for one group of them. But they aren't in the duckling stage, anymore so I think it is possible to switch things around. They are now about 3 months old. I probably wouldn't have dared do this when they were very young.)

(I also have rabbits. Will that work for them also? But I am also trying to breed the rabbits soon. Not yet, but soon. Will once a day feedings work w those? If it doesn't I suppose I could feed the ducks once a day and the rabbits twice...)

I'm a bit worried about how it will affect their noise level most of all, since I'm doing all this in an urban backyard.

I would like to discuss your response in detail, or look into the study on it.

Thank you for your help and suggestion.

 

[Baymule]

Rabbits can be fed once a day, no fermented feed for rabbits. Overfeed a doe and she will get too much internal fat and won't get pregnant.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm a bit worried about how it will affect their noise level most of all, since I'm doing all this in an urban backyard.

I have no experience with penned flocks in urban settings, so not sure about how much noise they would make, but my free range flocks only seemed to make noise around feeding time, ducks included. So, if noise is the issue, I'd say once a day feedings would be ideal.

Agree with what Bay says....a tuna can full of feed a day is enough for a large meat breed rabbit to keep them optimal for health and breeding. Rabbits do well with once a day feedings, as they are nibblers. Once the feed is gone they tend to nibble the hay and mine had continuous hay.

 

[Finnie]

and then just dump it in the morning, and then refill, and reset the bucket cycle.)

It’s worth mentioning, for fermented feed, you will not want to dump the whole bucket and start over each time. You will want to leave a small amount of the already fermented feed in the bucket as a starter, and then add new feed and water to that.
When I was doing FF, I had a one bucket system. Once the fermenting process was going, I would feed out what I needed (mornings only ) and leave about 2-3 inches of fermented feed in the bucket. Then I would add the amount of new feed and water that I would be using the next day and stir it real well. By the next morning, it was nice and bubbly.

To be sure, the more birds you are feeding, the more likely it won’t all fit in one bucket. When I needed two buckets, then I alternated them, which allowed them to get a longer ferment time, too. But never feed out the entire bucket. As long as you keep some starter, you can keep adding more feed and water daily (or every other day), and you can keep this going indefinitely.

 

[Finnie]

One more thing, about you question on leaving it outside overnight. Your profile doesn’t have your location, so I don’t know what kind of climate you are in. But if the nights are cold, then the fermenting process will be slowed down. I think any temp below 40F will be the same as putting your starter in a fridge, so even though it will still grow, it will be a much slower rate. And if it freezes, no growth at all.
In fact, it would be a bit difficult to feed it out if it’s frozen. I don’t doubt that birds can peck bits off of frozen food, but it’s probably best not to let it freeze.

 

[Baymule]

When I raise Cornish Cross meat chickens, I keep 4-5 three gallon buckets going at a time.

 

[Nao57]

It kind of sounds like a lot of you go through a lot of feed each month?

Is that the case?

How much feed do most people use in a month?

 

[Baymule]

I haven't done all the math on my Cornish, or anything else this year. All the receipts are thrown into the drop front secretary desk. I shudder every time I open it to stuff more in there. Cornish Cross eat a LOT, they poop a LOT, they grow fast and make a LOT of meat. They are a good way to pack the freezer in a short time, but beware! Read up on them, they are labor intensive for those few short months.

 

[Beekissed]

When the flock is at high numbers, I'll go through about 60-80 lbs of feed per month. When I get it down to winter numbers(15-20), I'll go through about 40-60 lbs per month. My layer mash cost a little over $10 per 40#. So, somewhere between $11-$22 per month, depending on the season and flock size.