Can you ferment Grubbly layer feed?

nicolevg

Songster
May 30, 2021
71
110
113
Tehachapi, CA
I'm very new to chicken keeping, and just learned you can ferment your feed before serving it to the chickens as a way of not only increasing the fermented foods in their diet but also for overall health reasons too. I'm currently using Grubbly layer feed for my 1-yr-old hens, which to my knowledge, does not contain grain... just seeds and pellets made from larvae/insects. I also have been adding a good amount of black-oil sunflower seeds and feeding them soldier fly larvae every other day or so (in addition to giving them access to oyster shells when they need it), since their feathers were very patchy when I first purchased them a month ago from a local friend of a friend who raises chickens. She had just let them be with a rooster several weeks prior, and he kind of beat them up, so she told me to give them lots of protein to help their feathers grow back in nicely.

Anyway, if I'm interested in serving them fermented feed for the overall health benefits, could I do that with Grubbly feed? It's not like there's corn or wheat in it to sprout, just seeds.

Thanks in advance, y'all!
 
I'm very new to chicken keeping, and just learned you can ferment your feed before serving it to the chickens as a way of not only increasing the fermented foods in their diet but also for overall health reasons too. I'm currently using Grubbly layer feed for my 1-yr-old hens, which to my knowledge, does not contain grain... just seeds and pellets made from larvae/insects. I also have been adding a good amount of black-oil sunflower seeds and feeding them soldier fly larvae every other day or so (in addition to giving them access to oyster shells when they need it), since their feathers were very patchy when I first purchased them a month ago from a local friend of a friend who raises chickens. She had just let them be with a rooster several weeks prior, and he kind of beat them up, so she told me to give them lots of protein to help their feathers grow back in nicely.

Anyway, if I'm interested in serving them fermented feed for the overall health benefits, could I do that with Grubbly feed? It's not like there's corn or wheat in it to sprout, just seeds.

Thanks in advance, y'all!
You can absolutely ferment that feed. I have had a container of Flock Raiser crumbles fermenting for months. I dump half out into my "feed" container, add enough dry Flock Raiser to mix with it to get a good eating consistency and feed.
I add more dry FR to the fermenting container, top it off with water and mix it up really good. It just keeps bubbling away.
I would stop feeding the extra BOSS and SFL. The BOSS is primarily a fat source. Keep it to a minimum.
I have a flock of 23 birds and they get three small handfuls of birdseed mix and one handful of mealworms as scratch each morning followed by about 2 tablespoons of raisins that are hand fed to them when I'm done with chores. That is the extent of their treats a day. Way under the 10% max of their total daily diet.
Your girls are only going to grow feathers back that were pulled out. Any that broke off because of the rooster will have to molt back in this fall so feeding these treats isn't really going to help with that.
I would either switch them over to the chick starter mix or supplement their feed with food grade fish meal to get the protein content up to 18-20%. Feed free choice oyster shell on the side at all times.
Layer mixes are always very low in protein. 16% is the minimum and inadequate IMO.
 

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