Free Corn!

[frustratedearthmother]

I was gifted 250 lbs of whole corn today - only issue - it's wet. Guy bought it, threw it in the back of his truck and got caught in pouring rain. He gave it to me thinking he didn't want to put wet corn in his deer feeder. Can't say that I blame him for that. I'm planning on feeding it to the pigs and chickens but I don't want to feed them moldy feed. So, first thing I think of is to ferment it.

Question is - how long will 250 lbs of corn last after I start the fermenting process? Will it eventually get nasty and dangerous? I wish I had a whole bunch of milk to add to it, but I don't. I'm contemplating using water and some ACV. Somebody help me! LOL... Can I throw all that corn into a big ol' plastic barrel (or 2) and cover it with water and ACV and just let it go? Or will it reach a point where it's no longer safe?

It seems like I remember reading about some of the oldsters that constantly kept a pig barrel going with corn and/or other grains fermenting all the time. Guess I'll give it a try, but want to hear any and all ideas and or suggestions!

 

[Mini Horses]

Can you spread it out to dry? Hot as it is there shouldn't take too long. Then, feed it...…..

I mean, a lot depends on "how wet" it is. In bags, stacked, if you empty it you may find little beyond edges wet. That would have a lot of impact on how to handle it.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I was thinking about spreading it out, but no place to do that. It was pretty wet though...it was in those plastic woven sacks and when I picked it up water ran out of it. Got me filthy - so it's all under water right now! I think the pigs and the chickens will be ok with it at least for awhile. I don't feed the pigs much - probably not even 10 lbs of feed a day for all of them...so this would be a good three weeks worth IF it lasts that long. Time will tell I reckon.

 

[cabinguy]

I was thinking about spreading it out, but no place to do that. It was pretty wet though...it was in those plastic woven sacks and when I picked it up water ran out of it. Got me filthy - so it's all under water right now! I think the pigs and the chickens will be ok with it at least for awhile. I don't feed the pigs much - probably not even 10 lbs of feed a day for all of them...so this would be a good three weeks worth IF it lasts that long. Time will tell I reckon.

Just add a bit of sugar to that fermenting corn and your on your way to make some Moon Shine

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Lol! So that's how they make it? Can ya just imagine a bunch of drunk pigs!? Wonder what's the legal drinking age for pigs????

 

[Mini Horses]

So -- if not moonshine, what have you done with it?

You say underwater. That means in a barrel ? Not sure how long it will now last. You Utube it? This will be a learning experience

 

[sumi]

I did some Googling and found this posted on another forum:

I buy non-GMO field corn (between $7 and $8.50 for a 50 lb bag). I put 200 lbs (4 bags) in a 50 gallon pickle barrel (with a lid). Fill it almost to the top with water. Start feeding 12 hours later (at first it's soaked but not fermented). Natural yeasts and bacteria in the corn start the fermentation so in a few days it's bubbly. It actually keeps swelling for days. I use it until there are only about 5 gallons left (too hard to scoop near the bottom) and dump that into a 5-gallon bucket, then refill the barrel and add that back to the top to start the fermentation of the new corn. With our 15 pigs (mini meat pigs, butcher weight to babies) we use the barrel up in about 2 weeks. Since it's not balanced I do feed the babies one meal a day of pig feed, just in case but the adults just get corn, grass, acorns, and scraps. The 180 lb boar we just butchered was fattened on 2 scoops a day that were about 4 cups each.

My cows usually aren't interested in the fermented corn (it starts to smell rather.... cheesy) but Eloise, who recently freshened really liked it.

There are articles online about the effects of fermented feeds on their digestion - in the first few days (when the ferment isn't complete yet) the levels of enterobacteria go up slightly but after that it's gone and the bacteria in them is all the good kind, so it seems to be a pretty effective probiotic. But I don't think they used corn, they were looking for uses for factory left-overs.

Source: http://familycow.proboards.com/thread/74751/fermented-corn-amazing-meat

 

[frustratedearthmother]

You say underwater. That means in a barrel ? Not sure how long it will now last. You Utube it? This will be a learning experience

Yep, I've got it all soaking. There's quite a bit of info floating around out there...a lot of what I read says you can feed it for months....and that it will be stanky….and the pigs will love it.

But, a learning experience for sure!

 

[Mini Horses]

Well, I noticed several spots of info and chickens can get until it becomes only "hog tolerable". Win-Win. Free is good!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Chickens loved it when I tossed some out for them this morning. I tend to scatter their goodies far and wide so the goats don't scarf it up like they would if it was in a feeder. However, the goats still usually wander around and pick up the kernels of corn out of the chicken mix. The goats mostly ignored the corn this morning. They would sniff a piece of it and move on. I'm glad to see that! I figured I wouldn't be able to toss any to the chickens after fermenting because the goats might try to get it - but it looks like that isn't going to be a problem.