How to make Fermented feed

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How and what you will need to make fermented feed:

NOTE: The times I have made fermented feed I have used Pellet feed I presume that other feeds will work too.

Making fermented feed is very simple the things you will need will be:

- A quart jar with a lid (like a Mason jar)
- A spoon
- Pellet feed (look at NOTE)
- Distilled Water

Begin by putting 1 part feed in a jar or whatever container you would like to use.
Then put 2 parts distilled water in the jar and mix the feed.

If you remember to mix it at least 3 times a day, the feed should be ready to feed to your chickens after 3 days.

IF THE FEED SMELLS ROTTEN OR ALCHOHOLIC, DO NOT FEED IT TO YOUR CHICKENS.
You want it to smell Tangy, or like Yogurt.

Things to remember:
- Remember to mix it at least 3 times a day
- Keep the feed in a room temperature room that is not in direct sunlight
- Smell it before feeding to your chickens

This is what fermented feed should look like in the end:

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What are the benefits of fermented feed?

Fermenting your chicken feed boosts the nutritional value of your chicken feed and gives more probiotics allowing you to spend less money and make happier and healthier chickens. Here is a site of statistics of a chicken farm who tested the benefits of fermented feed vs. dry regular feed. ttps://projects.sare.org/media/pdf/F/o/o/Foothills-Farm-study_Full-report.pdf.

Do chickens like fermented feed?

In my experience my chickens LOVE fermented feed, but as all chicken owners know chickens are picky animals. So, your chickens might not like fermented feed.

Conclusion:

I hope this article will help you boost your chicken's health and give you more ideas of different treats to make for your chickens.

Extra resources:

Here is a video for extra help on making fermented feed if you would like to make sure you know how to make fermented feed.

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LoveChickens27
Hello!
I love chickens and think that they are the best emotional support animal... sort of.... like when we had to put down our roosters, I went to my hens to get comfort.

Also, I love chickens because they love me back... because of the food. LOL! 😊

Hey, before you laugh at me, it is, as you must admit, true.

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This article is just the writer's opinion and doesn't give any scientific explanation on how fermenting processed feed improves an already balanced diet, especially if probiotics are already listed as ingredient in the feed bag. The concept that fermenting feed makes you save money is misinformation, because inflating dry feed with water and gas doesn't add calories to it.
Fermentation is great on whole seeds (reduction of anti nutrients, improved bioavailability of locked nutrients, whole seeds never rot) , fermentation is pointless or even harmful on processed feed (no anti nutrients in processed feed, no locked nutrients to unlock, all vitamins already available, often probiotics are already added plus as the writer stated it might rot instead of fermenting).
Processed (crumbles and pellets) feed already has all the nutrients a chicken need. The nutritional values are written in the bag. Fermentation changes the nutritional value of an already balanced feed to something we don't know. It is highly probable, from studies on other ferment like Kefir and kombucha, that the probiotic bacteria will consume certain nutrients from the bag to grow. Therefore, the author needs to prove, with before and after lab analysis, that processed feed, at least doesn't lose the nutrients stated in the feed label.
For a probiotic effect on chickens, it is much safer and more beneficial to add yogurt or Kefir to their crumble feed and make a mash, so you're sure that you're adding beneficial bacteria and you don't give these bacteria enough time to consume the vitamins in the feed, so the feed stay balanced as stated in the bag label, plus you have all the benefits of yogurt probiotics and extra protein.
LoveChickens27
LoveChickens27
Hey, thanks for reviewing my article. Please check out this website: https://harvestsavvy.com/fermented-chicken-feed/ under the "Fermentation Explained" section. It goes into detail about how the fermentation process chemically supplies the chicken feed with nutrients and probiotics. I don't have any lab analysis to cite, but this website does a pretty good job of explaining the fermentation process.

Comments

Well water is fine, but tap water is not fine. Thanks for the question! I feel like NOBODY has seen this article, LOL.
 
Well water is fine, but tap water is not fine. Thanks for the question! I feel like NOBODY has seen this article, LOL.
Okay, so just avoiding fluoridated water I guess. I've been making the fermented feed with Kalmbach's chick house reserve, and I take a bowl out every morning. By afternoon, it's gone and they are definitely eating less of the dry feed.

I find on BYC that there are so many new posts all the time, that anything new drops off the list very quickly so it's hard to get things seen.
 
I searched ‘Fermented feed’ among articles and yours came up first. I was mainly looking for a refresher on proportions of feed to water.
 
Okay, so just avoiding fluoridated water I guess. I've been making the fermented feed with Kalmbach's chick house reserve, and I take a bowl out every morning. By afternoon, it's gone and they are definitely eating less of the dry feed.

I find on BYC that there are so many new posts all the time, that anything new drops off the list very quickly so it's hard to get things seen.
I am so glad your chickens like it! 😊
 

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