Help, fermentation of fodder

[bellaterra214]

My first "batch" to come out of the container smelled awfully fermented. I took it out of the container, rinsed it off and then set it in the sun without the container to see if drying it out would work. It didn't smell as bad as before, but I am hesitant to give this to my rabbits. I read somewhere that single gut herbivores, not like a cow that has more than one, should not be fed the fodder if it is fermented. Something about their gut not being able to do...... something. Had some questions

Is it safe to feed rabbits if it is fermented?
How do you prevent fermentation?


Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Country-Girl]

the air flow you have going on your fodder isn't enough and the temperature is too hot of an environment for the fodder. if you ever have any doubts throw it all OUT! and keep trying.. try a cooler spot in the house!! and also always water your fodder with clean water cold water. another thing is always clean your containers throughly because you don't want that ruining your new batch, use water anti bacterial soap and scrub scrub scrub and air dry,, i usually spray some simply green all purpose cleaner on the containers and let them dry that way after i scrub them!

 

[Country-Girl]

it took me literally I'm not even joking 36 tries till i got this right and yes i wasted a lot of seeds and time but I'm not risking putting my rabbit in danger!

 

[bellaterra214]

i figured this was going to have to be a trail and error thing to get it right. I was rinsing them in warm water, which is were I think I made my first mistake. The green part is super green and smells great.....until you get to the bottom. SO GROSS!

36 times? are you serious? Right now 4/9 smell funky, very pretty and we will see how the rest turn out. Thankfully seed is really inexpensive in my area, so I will be making some adjustments in the coming days and trying this over again

Would the wheat grass be ok for human consumption? If you juiced the grass?

 

[Country-Girl]

Yeah wheat grass is used by Jamba Juice in their drinks lol. So I'm sure it's great to use! Also yes don't rinse with warm water. Always cold. Hot water makes it all musty and warm.

 

[bellaterra214]

So far, I have added a zillion holes to my containers. All over, even the sides to help with air flow. I moved a few outside that were already showing some grass to my patio in the new containers. My patio gets partial sun and shade for most of the day, so wondering if it would do well. We will see.

From now on, the more holes the better and use cold water. Silly me. I figured I could get my wheat to sprout quicker if I used warm water. My impatience has gotten the better of me.

 

[Country-Girl]

Yeah that happens all the time when I'm growing fodder. I'm like why can you just be green and mold free already!! & moving your fodder outside is great! Just be careful about those fruit flies. They love the smell of the fermentedness

 

[bellaterra214]

OMG....WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT!?!?!?!??!

Not enough water, mold
Too much water, mold
Too much seeds, mold
Not enough seeds, mold
Windy, but too sunny, mold
Dark, cool but not much wind, mold
Not mold, here comes the fermentation
Fermentation, here comes those stupid little flies

WTH! This is very frustrating and I think my limited space makes it even harder. Oh why can't you just grow properly? sigh~~~I was so excited about this project, but it is not as easy as it looks. Going to keep trying, but this project is definitely testing my patience.

So far 14/14 no good.

 

[Country-Girl]

Keep trying! Buy a mini fan from walmart set it on low/medium and keep it on like oscillation! It's back to the basics with me! I'm struggling too!

I've started all over again.!



On day 3 I transfer them to the drainage wear. But I just discovered they grow best for the first 1-2 days after initial soak in complete darkness! Try it out & let me know! Also. I tried doing a vinegar soak. And I'm having no luck with keeping the mold away as they advance after day 4. So I'm going back to the 12hr bleech soak over night. I've had the best luck with it by far. Of course don't forget to dilute the bleech as much as you can