fermented lay pellets, getting slimy

[pdirt]

Years ago there was a trend of soaking oats to make them "easily digestible" for poultry. It wasn't true since many found that by doing that, their birds regularly had diarrhea. If you think about it, the fermentation process is the result of bacterial action, so anything that is fermented is a perfect environment for bacteria and germs to grow. Not the good ones like lactic acid bacteria either. When the intestinal tract becomes irritated, enteritis ensues, among other problems. You had a concern about "slimy" food as a result of fermenting feed, so it would seem logical to stop doing that. Especially with the amount of people, many who've posted in the Emergencies & Diseases section of the forum, having problems as a result of fermenting their feed.

If the pH is low enough (I've seen 3.8-4.5 as suggested range) then my understanding is the bad bacteria generally don't "win". They may still be present to some degree, but the acidic environment makes it difficult for them to thrive, and easy for the lactic acid bacteria to not only thrive, but also destroy or consume the bad bacteria. A few lone salmonella or E. coli bacteria won't kill a normal healthy adult human or chicken. It's when one consumes large quantities of these bad bacteria that our own digestive systems can't destroy enough of them...and then we get sick.

Lactofermention is how humans put up food for winter before canning and freezers came along. My experience with fermenting all sorts of things is that while a lactofermention project can go bad, it's very rare and a high or rising pH will confirm this.

 

[Aacre]

Personally, I would toss it (or compost it) because slimy FF can mean that there is too much bad bacteria in there. It could be salvageable.. How often do you start anew? Have you been using the backslop and keeping it going? Sometimes starting anew is good because the fermenting liquid can get too sour and is more likely to go bad or result in the chickens not enjoying it anymore. Also, do you keep it mostly covered up? Maybe there is too much oxygen getting in there?

 

[LindaB220]

That's interesting. I had only read posts about the benefits of fermenting, but have not read about the problem it might cause.
My chickens have not shown any problems yet, but I think I might just start a new batch from scratch. ( I had been saving the "juice" from the previous batch to start new ones , but now that the juice has become very thick slime,I think I better start totally new ).

You go girl. There are alway naysayers on any project. If you're uncomfortable with this batch start another using about 1 c of the old feed. No more ACV at all.

 

[Alilbit88]

Did u put enough water ?