Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Bugsdad]

when i drain off the water from feed. the feed is wet. won't the feed carry disease if left to long. my set up is a pen and run. i have 12 cornish x . new to this meat bird thing.

Shadowmane, your wife's book "Nourishing Traditions" is a great starting place. Lactobaccili and other species of the endogenous digestive microflora can produce phytase (Famularo G and others. Probiotic lactobacilli: an innovative tool to correct the malabsorption syndrome of vegetarians? Medical Hypotheses 2005 65(6):1132–5.) to offset the phytic acid. So combining whey and ACV will benefit the fermentation of the whole grains.

BruceH, the wet feed is fermented and will continue to ferment until eaten. The Acer bacteria from the apple cider vinegar, and the lactobacillus from fresh cole crops (think making saurkrout) or whey will likely outcompete any negative bacteria. If left out it will attract insects, which your chickens would enjoy. How long are you talking about leaving feed out, dry or wet? You could try two pans one wet, one dry. Feed only enough wet that would be consumed in one day.

 

[Bugsdad]

My wife recommends "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. That's where she learned everything about fermenting. She has all kinds of recipes on fermenting grains, fruits, vegetables and beverages. However, new research has come out since her book was published that some of the methods in her book are not sufficient for breaking down phytic acid in grains. I have seen her make home-made yogurt to get her whey.

Shadowmane, your wife's book "Nourishing Traditions" is a great starting place. Lactobaccili and other species of the endogenous digestive microflora can produce phytase (Famularo G and others. Probiotic lactobacilli: an innovative tool to correct the malabsorption syndrome of vegetarians? Medical Hypotheses 2005 65(6):1132–5.) to offset the phytic acid. So combining whey and ACV will benefit the fermentation of the whole grains.

BruceH, the wet feed is fermented and will continue to ferment until eaten. The Acer bacteria from the apple cider vinegar, and the lactobacillus from fresh cole crops (think making saurkrout) or whey will likely outcompete any negative bacteria. If left out it will attract insects, which your chickens would enjoy. How long are you talking about leaving feed out, dry or wet? You could try two pans one wet, one dry. Feed only enough wet that would be consumed in one day.

 

[Bugsdad]

My wife recommends "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. That's where she learned everything about fermenting. She has all kinds of recipes on fermenting grains, fruits, vegetables and beverages. However, new research has come out since her book was published that some of the methods in her book are not sufficient for breaking down phytic acid in grains. I have seen her make home-made yogurt to get her whey.

Sprouting will also reduce the phytic acid, but that is pretty labor intensive.

 

[Farmchick1977]

Hey there, I see this thread is super old, but it came up while researching fermented grains. Last summer I fed my free rangers soaked grains. I used pigeon food (high protein ration) mixed with sunflower seeds and some wild bird food. Whatever grains I could find that were whole and available. I soaked them for about 24 hours in two different buckets, one for morning and one for evening. Enough so that there weren’t many leftovers, but enough so they were satisfied. If they wanted more food during the day they had to find it in the pasture.
I grew them for 12 weeks (the free rangers naturally take longer than the Cornish X, but they can walk around on their feet even to the end) and they butchered out between 5-6 pounds each.
I am soaking their grains again this year, but am also looking into fermented, which is how I ended up here. I recently called my chicken food manufacturer and asked them to start making a feed that is whole and can be fermented. Maybe they will

 

[Perris]

Hey there, I see this thread is super old, but it came up while researching fermented grains. Last summer I fed my free rangers soaked grains. I used pigeon food (high protein ration) mixed with sunflower seeds and some wild bird food. Whatever grains I could find that were whole and available. I soaked them for about 24 hours in two different buckets, one for morning and one for evening. Enough so that there weren’t many leftovers, but enough so they were satisfied. If they wanted more food during the day they had to find it in the pasture.
I grew them for 12 weeks (the free rangers naturally take longer than the Cornish X, but they can walk around on their feet even to the end) and they butchered out between 5-6 pounds each.
I am soaking their grains again this year, but am also looking into fermented, which is how I ended up here. I recently called my chicken food manufacturer and asked them to start making a feed that is whole and can be fermented. Maybe they will

there are lots of resources on fermented feed; this is one of the better ones imo
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/science-of-fermented-feed/

and this is a recent-ish review (2018) looking at the health benefits as well as the nutritional value, 'Recent advances in fermented feeds towards improved broiler chicken performance, gastrointestinal tract microecology and immune responses: A review'
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2018.11.001

 

[BelowTheSea]

Well, after reading all 21 pages I promptly went to the coop and grabbed some feed and grain and mixed up a concoction. Hopefully it will turn out right

Imagine coming across this post in the year 2023 and having 1752 pages left to go in this thread.. (have a 3-pot-revolving ferment of grain/scratch going in the meantime)

 

[Molpet]

Imagine coming across this post in the year 2023 and having 1752 pages left to go in this thread.. (have a 3-pot-revolving ferment of grain/scratch going in the meantime)

And there's different methods with people admit about their way LOL
I use the method this Byc member wrote up
https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[Becstasy94]

And there's different methods with people admit about their way LOL
I use the method this Byc member wrote up
https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

I can’t believe I found someone talking about this page!! I discovered it on a deep dive down a FF rabbit hole and it seemed like some amazing information, but quite different than what other info is out there. How do you find the method works for you? 3-4 days seems like so long to wait

 

[Molpet]

I can’t believe I found someone talking about this page!! I discovered it on a deep dive down a FF rabbit hole and it seemed like some amazing information, but quite different than what other info is out there. How do you find the method works for you? 3-4 days seems like so long to wait

I have been FF since 2016. Saves me money and if they spill their water it's not AS critical. I usually have around 100 birds.

The first is 3-4 days. After that it's 12 or so hours at room temp. Right now it's 60 in my basement and I'm doing 24hrs.
Actually to get them use to the change, feeding them it right away and as it ferments until the 4th day. Then adding feed and water to back slop.
You can do this by starting a couple containers with a couple days worth in each.

 

[Becstasy94]

I have been FF since 2016. Saves me money and if they spill their water it's not AS critical. I usually have around 100 birds.

The first is 3-4 days. After that it's 12 or so hours at room temp. Right now it's 60 in my basement and I'm doing 24hrs.
Actually to get them use to the change, feeding them it right away and as it ferments until the 4th day. Then adding feed and water to back slop.
You can do this by starting a couple containers with a couple days worth in each.

I was able to wait the three and a half days and it looks and smells good so far (relatively speaking of course)! I fed them about half, am I able to just add more feed and water and keep the cycle going indefinitely? Should I be draining the old water off when I replenish the jar or is it better to leave the water full of those good cultures in there? I worry about it getting too strong for my chicks and ending up deterring them before they learn to love it