Fermented feeds - does it really cut food use in half?

[MadAngler]

Hello,

I've seen ths claim many times. I'm skpetical...

Do factory chicke farms use fermented feeds? They work very hard and constantly monitor growth per pound of feed.

Factory farms also have large university research groups behind them. They have plenty of resources to evaluate these things.

If fermented feed would cut that cost in half, they would all immediately switch. Their food cost is a major part of their cost strip.

So, what am I missing?

 

[TwoCrows]

The problem with factory bagged feed is that it has the least amount of nutrients that they can possibly put into it and still call it chicken feed. So the birds end up eating more of it to get all the need from it.

So by feeding a food that is loaded with nutrients, they will eat less of this feed. Fermenting the feed increases the vitamin, mineral, protein and probiotic content of the food and hence, they will eat less.

As for why the big chicken farms don't use fermented feed, it is probably not cost effective to work with, being that bagged feed is the standard feed used. Main stream food. Why fix it if it ain't broken. They are not in the business to sell the healthiest birds or eggs from these factories, just as much of it as they can, of course at the expense of the birds.

 

[MadAngler]

The problem with factory bagged feed is that it has the least amount of nutrients that they can possibly put into it and still call it chicken feed. So the birds end up eating more of it to get all the need from it.

So by feeding a food that is loaded with nutrients, they will eat less of this feed. Fermenting the feed increases the vitamin, mineral, protein and probiotic content of the food and hence, they will eat less.

As for why the big chicken farms don't use fermented feed, it is probably not cost effective to work with, being that bagged feed is the standard feed used. Main stream food. Why fix it if it ain't broken. They are not in the business to sell the healthiest birds or eggs from these factories, just as much of it as they can, of course at the expense of the birds.

But...
A typical farm must spend thousands and thousands of dollars on feed. If they could cut that cost in half by fermenting, I'm sure that they would find a way...

 

[huntseat]

If they fed fermented feed they could not use the current (unmanned) system of tubes, etc. The cost of labor to ferment and put it out would most certainly be more than any savings in reducing the food bill.

It's common for small operations to underestimate the cost of labor.

 

[Angelicisi]

That savings would go onto a whole new expensive process of staff, feeders, regular monitoring (time) I have seen it worked out a few times and if an operating farm is profiting on current system they likely won't switch due to the exchange (saved feed waste vs New procedure implication and getting the go ahead from the USDA.

It WOULD be worth it if the initial start up was available and the politics of it were in place already.

I use it. We raise layers and Cornish cross meaties on it. I save almost 30% in wasted feed alone and the health benefits are outstanding compared to dry feed.

But...
A typical farm must spend thousands and thousands of dollars on feed.  If they could cut that cost in half by fermenting, I'm sure that they would find a way...

 

[Angelicisi]

Exactly.

If they fed fermented feed they could not use the current (unmanned) system of tubes, etc.  The cost of labor to ferment and put it out would most certainly be more than any savings in reducing the food bill.

It's common for small operations to underestimate the cost of labor.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

But...
A typical farm must spend thousands and thousands of dollars on feed. If they could cut that cost in half by fermenting, I'm sure that they would find a way...

No, a typical commercial chicken farmer doesn't spend a single red cent on chicken feed, he only provides land, housing, equipment, labor and water. Every single pellet and crumble is provided as well as owned by big multinational agricultural corporations like Tyson or Con-Agra who also owns every single feather on the farm.

You are right about your suspicions but like Big Foot, this fallacy has gained a life of its own and I have largely stopped commenting on this. I'll wait until it collapses of its own weight. If Tyson or any other large vertically integrated poultry operation could provide dry feed and require the chicken house owner (the farmer) to provide more water, equipment, and labor to ferment feed thus saving 50% or more on tractor-trailer-truck loads of chicken feed, don't you think that they would do it? Even if it meant they would have to pay the chicken farmer more for every bird they reared, fermented chicken feed would be fed to every commercial meat bird processed in America, especially if it reduced feed cost by 50%..

Chicken farmers (actually chicken landlords) would all rebel if the Integrators (companies like Tyson or Con-Agra) provided substandard feed because a big part of the chicken farmers' (again think chicken landlord) pay is based on a bonus for the chicken-farmer-landlord provided the chickens' landlord raises a large percentage of the integrators' birds to slaughter weight on X amount of feed or less. Poor or substandard feed won't cut it. Even if substandard feed was used it would mean a longer turnaround time for both the farmer and Tyson the integrator. Only a financial imbecilic could not recognize that TIME is MONEY .

Is it wonder then that many of American jobs have refuged to a kinder, gentler, environment?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The problem with factory bagged feed is that it has the least amount of nutrients that they can possibly put into it and still call it chicken feed. So the birds end up eating more of it to get all the need from it.

So by feeding a food that is loaded with nutrients, they will eat less of this feed. Fermenting the feed increases the vitamin, mineral, protein and probiotic content of the food and hence, they will eat less.

As for why the big chicken farms don't use fermented feed, it is probably not cost effective to work with, being that bagged feed is the standard feed used. Main stream food. Why fix it if it ain't broken. They are not in the business to sell the healthiest birds or eggs from these factories, just as much of it as they can, of course at the expense of the birds.

I can well assure you that no smallish commercial chicken farmers buys chicken feed by the bag. The multiple ongoing hernia repair operations, doctor bills, rehab cost, and Chiropractor visits would eat up all the farmers income, not to mention his profit.

You are also ignoring that there are USDA inspectors at every commercial chicken processing plant and that their job is to inspect the live as well as the dressed poultry going down the gut line. USDA inspectors receive bonuses for condemning X % of dressed birds. This is how the USDA deems that the inspectors are performing their job. These condemned chickens are often subtracted from the total number of live birds delivered to the processing plant. It all depends on the contract that the chickens' landlord (farmer) was forced to signed before the integrator delivered the first tractor-trailer-truck load of bulk chicken feed or baby chicks.

One final note. The laws of Physics do not allow something (Nutrients, Minerals, Vitamins, and Carbohydrates included) to be created out of nothing.

Truth in posting:
I did, and I still do soak about 1/2 the feed for young birds in hot weather because they eat it quicker in the late evening heat, the water is already incorporated in the feed and there is less time required for soaked feed to pass through a young chickens' digestive track. This also enables me to easily supplement the young birds' food with vitamins and minerals plus it is a good way to feed dry dog and cat food, blood meal (back when I could get it) and cod liver oil, to ensure that every bird got its fair share.

 

[dragonlair]

I just started feeding fermented feed to my layers 2 weeks ago.

My egg production is up

My feed use is less. Not sure if it is 50% less at this point, but it is a lot less.

I am filling up their water fountain every 2-3 days instead of daily.

They love their fermented food.

They are not kicking and scratching the food out of the dish and wasting it.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

One final note. The laws of Physics do not allow something (Nutrients, Minerals, Vitamins, and Carbohydrates included) to be created out of nothing.

While this is a true statement it may not tell the whole story.

If these "Nutrients, Minerals, Vitamins, and Carbohydrates" are converted to a different form by the process they may be more available for absorption by the birds digestive tracts. I know that garden soil with extreme PH can make nutrients that are present in the soil unusable by plants growing in this soil, but if you can get the PH corrected the plants can then better use the available nutrients.

also the FF is still in contact with the air, while I don't know if the yeast are using compounds from the air think about plants. A plant removes carbon from the air and can produce strong enough materials that we then build houses out of it!