I copy this from my article on home-made feed to answer your question:
fermentation has begun as soon as bubbles can be seen rising through the grain to the top of the liquor, which becomes slightly cloudy as starch and so-called ‘anti-nutritional compounds’ in the grain are drawn out of them...
Interesting. I was soaking the wheat for about 5 days, so it was fermented and my chickens slowed right down with their laying. That was in summer. Going in to spring now and they are just starting to lay and I was thinking of trying it again once they were right in to laying and see if it...
...beans before adding them to your chickens' feed. I normally feed my birds a homemade mix of raw grains which I soak in water and allow to ferment. I've been doing it this way for years using just whole grains and peas and have never had a problem - at least none that I could trace back to...
Why would grain feed need to be fermented?
It seems easier to just scatter the grains over the yard before a shower of rain, for them to ferment then be eaten by the chooks while foraging?
...on measurements. Just pour dry feed into a five gallon bucket and cover it with warm water. Add a splash of ACV to start it off. This initial ferment takes about 36 to 48 hours. Then you feed one cup per chicken per day. Some chickens eat more, some less. It's not high math.
Save a bit of...
...non gmo food? And do your chickens prefer pellets or crumbles? I know chick food only comes in crumbles.
I've read many mixed reviews on fermented feed. I like the health benefits it seems to give, but does it really make chickens eat less/make the bag of food last longer? And does fermenting...
...than I should be: a newbie did a necrobump on a 2020 thread, telling DobieLover that she didn't know what she was talking about, and that fermented feed was alcoholic, and she got buzzed when she drank it. And sort of doubled down on an additional old post. I really shouldn't laugh...
I use S&P whole grain mash (currently feeding starter) but it optimally needs to be fermented or the birds aren't eating most of the fines that contain vitamins and minerals.
Their pelleted feed removes the need to ferment but are more expensive.
Back in university, some students in the lab ran an experiment to see how long it would take fortified hummingbird nectar to ferment outdoors, and whether it would produce alcohol—and potentially get the hummingbirds drunk.
They discovered that the natural presence of wild yeast in the...
you don't need to exclude air for fermenting grains @MrsNorthie ; in fact it's better if air and the local microbes in it can circulate to join the brew when fermenting grains. I use normal mason jars with their lids just resting atop, slightly ajar, as the built-in mechanism leaves the lid if...
Around where I live, they ferment loads of "silage" according to my mom. It smells so bad, but the dairy cows love the stuff.
Also I may have accidentally given my chickens watermelon that was starting to ferment, there were no obvious signs of drunkenness other than the leghorns not wanting to...
No they are getting plenty of greens, free ranging and also porridge, cooked rice and occasionally layer pellets. But they were getting fermented wheat at least once a day. Just wondering if there is something in the fermenting process that can affect them When plants sprout they have a natural...
Hi, I am fermenting Scratch & Peck Naturally Free Organic Layer Feed which is a whole grain feed. I am fermenting it in a 5 gallon food grade bucket with non-chlorinated water and a little apple cider vinegar. It smells terrible!! I use a scooper to get the feed out, careful not to get anything...
This is my grotty, highly unscientific fermentation kit. I’ll need to step it up to a third jar when the new pullets arrive:
(I really do wash the jars before a new batch. Especially if I see them starting to move around under their own power.)