EM-1 (effective microorganism) & bokashi for chickens

[Double Kindness]

Ok, I will calibrate my ph meter, I have had seeds fermenting anerobicly in a sealed 5 gal bucket inside a couple weeks.

I see mostly millet seeds in their droppings, but I just made up their gluten-free feed a couple/few weeks ago from whole grains and seeds.

They have access to grit, I had to stop commercial feed b/c just handling it was bringing back awful symptoms of celiac disease. I worry because my youngest chickens are 12 weeks old and I took them off 18% protein all flock pellets that I fermented to unfermented seed/grain mix.

I will test the ph of the buckets of gluten-free feed I started. I opened it last week and phew it was very sour milk smelling.

 

[pdirt]

If it smells like sour milk, that's nearly a sure sign your pH is plenty low. But I assume that was a non-EM ferment? I've yet to have a batch of bokashi feed go bad, but I have had batches of activated EM go bad. Fermenting with EM is a bit more tricky that traditional wild "sourdough" ferments.

 

[DynesLady]

Thank you so much for this detailed post! I have been using bokashi granules to ferment food scraps (bokashi) for a while, but we just bought land and 4 laying hens and 8 chicks. This change has renewed my interest in EM-1. I have been using a diluted amount in a spray bottle to spray puppy pee spots in the house (oy vey!) and it is sooo much more effective with the odor than other products. I bought EM-1 specialized for the septic tank, too, but it's the chickens I really want to focus on! I'm excited to begin fermenting the feed as you do, to grow my EM-1, and to add some
to a second waterer. (I already spray their bedding as I change it out and clean.) Fascinating stuff!

 

[mbota]

hello any one out here know how to make local EM please can you share here because i dont find a place to buy here in TZ

 

[Stephoney]

I know this is an older post, but I wanted to thank you for the clear, specific instructions for prepping chicken feed and water with EM 1. I just began prepping some food with my EM 1 mother (terragranix brand) and am fermenting it using a Brod & Taylor proofer. I’m keeping it at 90 degrees for 2 weeks per you instructions. I put it in glass jars with a 1 inch headroom for room to expand. Then, I used rubber seals to keep them air tight. I checked this morning and found that they had already filled up the containers to the lid. This morning I transferred the contents into new containers to make sure there’s enough space and the jars don’t burst. Past the initial absorption, will the contents grow further?

UPDATED: I made some minor corrections and added a few more details so it makes more sense. Note to self, don't write such long messages before bedtime!

2nd Update: More details added about storing AEM.

Mind you the farm in the PDF you linked to has a lot of chickens (at least compared to us "backyarders"!). EM is very inexpensive, but still, any farm will want to keep costs at a minimum. At first I measured everything quite religiously, now I just use as much EM as seems fitting, meaning I use quite a bit more EM than the 1:4000-5000 ratios they are using.

There are a couple blogs out there, IIRC, that talk briefly about using EM with chickens, sorry I don't remember them off the top of my head.

I guess, what's your interest in EM in regards to chickens? I mean, what do you hope to gain (or get rid of) by using it?

I'll tell you why and how I use it. It's a bit of a science project, but I enjoy that part. Read this message several times to let a lot of info digest and I use it with our chickens 3 ways (we have 13 birds):

1. Spray down their litter and coop 1-2x/month with diluted AEM (activated EM, see below) about 4 tbs/gal on the Gilmour hose sprayer. Really helps with smells and will help compost their litter faster. We use a deep litter method and the coop has very little smell right now and it's been about a month since I sprayed AEM in there. I will spray once more before it gets much colder here and then focus more on their EM-fermented feed.

2. I give them two waterers (so they have a choice), one plain water and the other with AEM, about 1:80 (8 tbs (4oz) AEM in about 2.5 gal water). I worked them up to this amount, I started with about 1:1500 (1.25 tsp in 2.5 gal water), then doubled that amount each time I refreshed their water supply. This will help, in addition to the EM feed (below), to not only keep the chickens healthier, but also contribute to healthier composting litter (above). I do this instead of using apple cider vinegar in the water. Both EM/AEM and ACV will have similar effects on the water and the chickens (both being mild acids), but the EM stuff has many more benefits, from probiotics to more and more varieties of antioxidants.

3. I ferment some of their feed with AEM (aka bokashi), currently only a 1/2 gallon at time and feed it to them as a treat. The benefits are similar to the regular method of fermenting feed (just water and feed), but the EM will help the nutritional content of the feed much more. It's also not as messy as the water-y buckets of FF, but it's a batch-at-a-time method vs. a continuous fermenter setup. I need to step it up to a gallon or more here soon, they love this stuff!

To make the bokashi feed, I take a large bowl and fill it with feed (or the chaff is also excellent) that will fill about 8/10's of the 1/2 gal container. In the now empty 1/2 gallon container fill it about 1/3 full of chlorine-free water and pour in about 1/4 cup of AEM and maybe an equal amount of molasses (blackstrap is best) if your AEM has/was fermented for more than 3 weeks. Mix the AEM and molasses thoroughly (100-120F water helps) and pour this over the feed, mix together well with your hands. You want most of the liquid absorbed by the feed, but it should be thoroughly wet, like a sponge that is partially wrung out. There should still be some liquid in the bowl (this will be absorbed by the feed as time goes on), if not, add some more warm water. Stuff this back into the 1/2 gallon container and pack it down, pushing out as much air as possible. You want the container to be full, with 1-2" of headspace. It won't be under liquid like the regular method of fermenting feed or making pickles or sauerkraut, it will be moist. Place a plastic bag or two layers of plastic wrap over the opening and secure with a rubber band. If it's a plastic container, skip the plastic bag and just screw the lid on tight. Check after a day or two (and keep checking every couple days) and release any gases that may or may not form by lifting an edge of the plastic bag or unscrewing the lid. Otherwise, keep it tightly covered to keep air out. Keep it indoors, or somewhere where it is 70-100F. It will be ready in about 2 weeks, but longer is even better. It will smell slightly pickled and there may be white fuzz growing on top, this is beneficial yeast. If there's a different color of fuzz, it may be mold and you should be able to just scrape the moldly parts off. You can also check the pH, if you have test paper, it should be below 3.9. It will get even better if you ferment it for even longer than 2 weeks, but 2 weeks is what I've been doing lately. I usually feed a cup or so, ever other day or so to our 13 birds. If you start another container when the first one is ready, you'll have a more or less continuous supply of bokashi feed They love it and gobble it all down.

AEM, "Activated EM": You can take a quart of EM culture and "activate" it into 5 gallons of usable product, if you wanted to do the whole quart at once. You don't need to do this, but it will make it far more cost effective to use EM if you do. I usually do 1/2 gallon at a time. You will want to use the AEM within 30 days of making it, unless you add the optional ingredients listed below and ferment it for 9 weeks and then store it anaerobically. Teraganix's website has a recipe on on how to make AEM (the basic recipe), sometimes it's called "EM extension". You basically are giving the microbes food to multiply, thus making the purchased culture last longer.

The basic recipe looks something like this, to make 1 gallon of AEM:

3/4 c. EM mother culture (such as EM-1 or SCD Probio Original or Plus)
3/4 c. blackstrap molasses (if feed grade, be 100% sure no preservatives)
1/2 tsp. unrefined sea salt (such as Celtic or RealSalt)
Fill your gallon container (an empty tough plastic spring water bottle such as the Crystal Geyser brand comes in will work well) about 1/2 full of warm water (115-130F). Add molasses and stir to mix thoroughly. Add the sea salt and EM and stir thoroughly. Fill the container with the warm water so that you have 2-3" of headspace. Screw the cap on and either check on the ferment every day and release gases by unscrewing the cap or prick a hole in the cap with a pin. Place the container someplace warm, 90-105F is ideal, 95-100F even better. I use a cooler with a 25W bulb as a heat source and keep a thermometer inside and monitor it regularly until I figure out how much the lid needs to propped open to keep the best temp. The pH should drop to 3.5 or less within 7 days (usually within 3-4), use pH test paper to check. Stir or shake the container every day. It will be ready to use within 2 weeks, but will be even better and more robust if you wait a total of 4-6 weeks. For a recipe this simple 2-4 weeks would be fine.

If you want to improve your AEM to be even better (stronger, more antioxidants, more nutrients, more robust microorganisms), you can add any or all of the following extra ingredients (some are hard to find): 2 oz additional EM mother culture or AEM from a good batch, 2 tbs Azomite rock powder, 1/8 tsp EM ceramic powder (Super Cera C), 1 tbs kelp granules or powder, 1 tsp of fish emulsion or shrimp paste, 1 tsp soy flour, 1mg molybdenum. For best results with these additional ingredients ferment at heat for 9 weeks, but it can be used at as soon as 2 weeks, if necessary. Make sure pH is below 3.7, but it will likely be below 3.5.

I'll tell you what, I think that (I have no way to prove this other than my 5-senses observations) the 9-week AEM is possibly even better than the straight mother culture. It is thicker, darker red and smells/looks very alive. The red-purple color is an indication of the presence of the special purple non-sulfur bacteria, which are the ones primarily responsible for making the antioxidants.

It used to be thought that AEM needed to be used up within 30 days of first use, but if stored properly and especially if you make it more robust with the additional ingredients and longer ferment time, it could last for much longer. The pH will probably get down to 3.0-3.4, if it starts to rise above the lowest level it reached, you will want to use the remainder up very quickly, within a week or so. Don't use it if the pH gets above 3.9, feed it to your septic or sewer system down the drain. To store AEM properly, keep oxygen out, store it in a plastic bottle with a tight lid, out of direct light at room temp. If the plastic bottle bulges (check every week or so), just loosen the cap to release the gases. I've had AEM stored this way last for several months and others have gone bad after only a few months. I'm not really sure why. I don't usually make more than a quart or 1/2 gallon of AEM at a time. As you use up the AEM, squeeze the plastic bottle to push out as much air as possible before tightening the cap.

As far as purchasing the mother culture, I've found the site http://www.emearth.com/ has the best variety of products (including the Super Cera EM ceramic powder) and best shipping for my area (prices of products are pretty much the same from different sites). EM-1, SCD Probio Original or SCD Probio Plus is what you want. I usually use the SCD Plus, but lately I've been using EM-1 and it seems just as good. The pH test paper can be bought there as well, I use the 2.9-5.2 range one. SCD also has a product called "Bio-Ag" (buy it direct from SCD) which is designed to be used as-is and can not be turned into AEM, which is a very simple way to go, but will be more expensive in the long run. I haven't used it, so I can't comment further. SCD's site is http://www.scdprobiotics.com/

I can't imagine not using EM with chickens. It's just so good for them (and us) and with a little work, very easy and inexpensive to use. One guy I know buys cheap crappy chicken feed and claims that after his 4-month AEM fermentation of the feed, it's better than dry organic feed. I'd love to see test results of that. The chickens also get more nutrition from the food and in theory, eat less. I haven't noticed this result yet, but we are also very new to chickens and I probably don't feed them enough of the bokashi feed. EM is known for "eating" toxic substances such as pesticides and radiation, so there may be some truth in this.

Someday I'll make a blog about EM and chickens. There's also Youtube videos out there on how to make AEM, as well as about EM in general.

It's a bit of a science project, but I enjoy that part. Read this message several times to let a lot of info digest and then ask questions if you have them.

Have fun!
pd

 

[Judy With Chickens]

I was wondering is anyone out there feed activated EM-1 (effective microorganism) bokashi to their chickens?
I have used activated EM for several years as a ground spray to help breakdown the chicken manure and keep the smell down when it rains here. I also use it in my garden and in my composting bin and it really speeds up the process.
I just read an article about feeding bokashi to livestalk feed at a rate of 5% of their feed. They were mainly talking about cattle, pig, sheep and goat though, but wondering why no mention of chickens?
I did google search and all I could find was info about composting chicken manure using bokashi.
Anyone use EM in their chicken feed? or any other use around garden yard?

Aloha,
Cory

It's irritating searching for info about em and chickens. I know people do use it, but no one writes about it. I have seen that it should be added at 2 percent of feed. If anyone out there has used it as Cory has, or any other way and has a comment about it, please respond here.
I put it in their water at 1T per gallon. I filter their water because of chlorine, so hopefully it is still active by the time the chickens get it.
I also sprinkle bokashi on their food in the morning and they seem to love it.

 

[Hainies Hen House]

I make my own LAB from rice water using a 5gal bucket and a paint mixer in a drill. I use the LAB in liquid form. There is no need to apply it to a substrate such as bran. This eliinates the need to dry the substrate.

When I make LAB this way my sanitary standards are a little lower than when making for human consumption.

I usually have 10 gallons of liquid LAB in the cellar on any given day.

I had gotten away from adding milk to the rice wash, and just feeding molasses to the ricewash after stratification and racking of the middle layer. This method takes longer to culture LAB but is more economical.

I've been bokashi style fermenting leaves and cleared brush for about five years. I've only fed fermented birdseed to my chickens once so far. I mixed it in with woodchips. My main reason for fermenting seed is to prent the seeds from geminating.

My main reason for keeping chickens is to help regenerate soil, not as pets, but they are growing on me.

This year I started windrow style bokashi pile. It does contain some plants that chickens shouldn’t eat. I'm considering putting a couple hens on it this fall and see if they have any ill effects.

If there is intrest I can post some photos and explain in a little more detail.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I make my own LAB from rice water using a 5gal bucket and a paint mixer in a drill. I use the LAB in liquid form. There is no need to apply it to a substrate such as bran. This eliinates the need to dry the substrate.

When I make LAB this way my sanitary standards are a little lower than when making for human consumption.

I usually have 10 gallons of liquid LAB in the cellar on any given day.

I had gotten away from adding milk to the rice wash, and just feeding molasses to the ricewash after stratification and racking of the middle layer. This method takes longer to culture LAB but is more economical.

I've been bokashi style fermenting leaves and cleared brush for about five years. I've only fed fermented birdseed to my chickens once so far. I mixed it in with woodchips. My main reason for fermenting seed is to prent the seeds from geminating.

My main reason for keeping chickens is to help regenerate soil, not as pets, but they are growing on me.

This year I started windrow style bokashi pile. It does contain some plants that chickens shouldn’t eat. I'm considering putting a couple hens on it this fall and see if they have any ill effects.

If there is intrest I can post some photos and explain in a little more detail.

What is LAB?
I’m interested in what you have to share. Maybe consider writing an article for BYC? Thanks

 

[Hainies Hen House]

What is LAB?
I’m interested in what you have to share. Maybe consider writing an article for BYC? Thanks

First let me say I'm no expert. Everything is based on anecdotal findings and my memory. I admit I'm a poor note taker.
LAB is lactic acid bacteria serum. Basically a stripped down version EM1. My understanding is EM1 is patented.
More to come . . .

 

[Hainies Hen House]

First let me say I'm no expert. Everything is based on anecdotal findings and my memory. I admit I'm a poor note taker.
LAB is lactic acid bacteria serum. Basically a stripped down version EM1. My understanding is EM1 is patented.
More to come . . .

Here is the info I used to make my serum, sometimes referred to as lactobacillus serum, LAB or lacto serum.

https://bocashi.wordpress.com/newspaper-bokashi-instead-of-expensive-bran/

As I previously posted I skip the substrate, newspaper in the above attached website, and use the LAB in liquid form.

I started culturing LAB eight years ago, not five like I previously posted. I started with quart jars in a dough table.

I was looking for away to breakdown lots of invasive plants that would kill the invasives seeds more reliably than hot composting.

i started small fermenting cow parsnip plants I had run through my chipper/shredder. I used one of the black and yellow storage totes that are sold at big box stores.

The results seemed promising. I let the tote age for about a year. The resulting material was much like sphagnum peat moss. I've since scaled up my experiments every couple years.

I wish I would have saved the source for reference, like I said I'm not a good note keeper. I read somewhere lactobacillus is naturally occurring on rice grains. I thought buying gallons of milk to basically dump on piles of shredded leaves could get expensive.

I experimented with skipping the milk. I would make a batch of ricewash, feed it some molasses and let it sit for a month or so then syphon out the middle layer of lacto and use it in the garden.

The past couple years I ferment my fall leaves in the heavy-duty boxes used for shipping glass beads.

This how the leaves looked the following year. I don't know how fast the leaves break down. I just let them sit until I was almost ready for the following years leaf clean up.