Fermenting Chicken Feed: A Straightforward Method

interesting and helpful.
I am also interested in exploring fermenting Sicklepod leaves, as it is supposed to make a high protein feed. And we have a lot of Sicklepod weeds growing on our place.

Never heard of fermenting chicken feed. Explained very clearly !

Thank you this was just what I was looking for! So sorry to hear about the chicken you lost.

Very good article. I fermented the pellets (which the chickens didn’t like eating dry) and added to it some warm cooked oatmeal and other goodies for a warm morning meal. And they’re laying more eggs than they did the month before.

@Perris

I have been wanting to do this!
@Perris and you have been extremely helpful!
I will know to add less corn!

Excellent article. Very well written with a helpful layout. I enjoyed learning about food fermentation.

Hi! I found this article very informative and I'm so glad I found it!
I'm new to all this so I had a question about the yeast. I know the yeast in sour crop is a different species than the Kahm yeast, but when you feed yeast to your chickens do you notice an increase in sour crop? My train of thought is that all that yeast could continue to grow in the crop and make it sour. Just a thought I had

Also, could you add natural supplements such as cayenne powder, oregano oil, apple cider vinegar, etc to the fermenter while maintaining their medicinal properties? (not that I would add all those at once)

Interesting, I buy my feed from the same place

I’ve been wanting to try fermenting feed for my chickens for some time now and I finally got started last night. I work out of town for 3 to 5 days every other week so I figured that if I could get it started as soon as I got home this time I could see how it goes. I have pellets and it’s organic so that’s what I’m going with. I got up this morning to fully absorbed water so I added more. As soon as it settled I got bubbles and a little foam! I added more water and then decided that my sourdough discard would speed things up. They love the sourdough discard anyway. I wasn’t sure if anyone else had added that but right now, less than 24 hours, it smells amazing!

What a great article on fermented feed! Even a total beginner to it, like me, can find it easy to follow along with and learn from.

I love this great article. I need to save on feed with 10 sweet chickens. Thank you so much!

Learning something new all the time. Thanks

We are already doing this method with our chicken feed to try and save on feed and for the health benefits. So I am glad I found this post.

Great article, very informative. Had a couple follow-up questions for the author and/or crew:
1) The article suggests you could leave the FF fermenting at room temperature indefinitely as long as there is no mold, while only removing a scoop or so at a time. This is contrary to the lactofermentation guidance I have seen for human foods (e.g., sauerkraut) that suggests tabletop ferment followed by putting the whole thing in the fridge to stop the fermentation. Has anyone else tried fermenting feed indefinitely? I would think you'd need to refrigerate the whole mix after a week or so but the author has gone up to 2 months.

2) Has anyone tried fermenting a whole grain feed with grubs or other dried insects in it? I will just throw some in and see what happens, but was curious for opinions.

Thank you!

Just wanted to add a safety tip. Any time you are feeding in lightweight bins or feeders that can tip over and trap a chicken (mine fly off the roost and can knock theirs over) you can put a BRICK in it to weight it down so they cannot tip it over and get trapped...

Very detailed and educational! Pics are super helpful!!!

Great article! Pictures are very helpful! Thanks !

I appreciate you taking the time to add picture with your step by step instructions - super helpful to see and meet a lit the yeast! I’ve seen it before and thought my ferment had gone bad

Great article, thanks ks again!!

This was a great read, thank you for such a helpful article! Step-by-step, detailed with pictures. Would love a list of the grains you have posted in that close-up pic. Are the greens split peas?

One of the best articles out there, even a dummy like me can follow those instructions!

Fermenting Chicken Feed: A Straightforward Method

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