Feeding chickens fermented feed

[bcorps]

Here is the webpage: https://the-chicken-chick.com/fermented-chicken-feed-why-how-in-3/

And I screenshotted the comment

 

[bcorps]

By the way, I have a quart of starter fermenting (will be 48 hours when I get home). Yesterday it just seemed to be wet. I hope there's some magic going on tonight. I hope my peepers like it. The amount they eat is amazing. When they were all fighting to be the one jumping into my hand, I couldn't believe how much they weigh at only 2 weeks. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but it seems like they've quadrupled their weight.

 

[centralcaligirl]

Here is the webpage: https://the-chicken-chick.com/fermented-chicken-feed-why-how-in-3/

And I screenshotted the comment
View attachment 2308368

She is referring to Scratch and Peck (the brand) which is a whole-grain feed. If you overfeed Scratch and Peck the chickens will pick out the whole grains and leave the rest behind. But the issue is overfeeding. If you portion out the feed properly each day, then they will eat the rest by the end of the day. It's like children, they will eat their favorite things on the plate first.

She wasn't really answering the question about fermenting feed for chicks, she was addressed that particular style of whole-grain feed. However, if you ferment the Scratch and Peck, then the smaller particles stick to the whole grains and are more likely to be consumed. I fermented Scratch and Peck for years without issue, but you can't give them more than they will eat in a day. It is more labor intensive, so time is more of a consideration in using a whole grain feed.

Unfortunately she is incorrect about there being "no benefit" to fermenting pellets or crumbles for chicks. There is considerable research now supporting it and indicating that it is actually better for them long-term to eat fermented feed than dry feed. If you google fermented feed and read some of the scientific literature I think you will find quite a bit now on the Internet, and as more research is being done, more will surely come out.

 

[centralcaligirl]

Here is one example from a quick Google search. Not even looking at fermented feed but on the benefits of simply wetting the feed to increase nutrient absorption in chicks.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233706168_Wet_Foods_for_Poultry

Remember that in any natural environment, birds in general would rarely eat anything that was as perfectly dried as modern commercial feed.

 

[yakitori]

I’m fermenting my crumbles and it takes about about 10 hours. I ferment enough for the day + a little bit more. That little extra serves to inoculate the next batch. At the end of the day, I add water to the leftovers and add fresh crumbles, this sits on the counter until the next morning. In the morning, I feed my birds and put the ferment in the fridge to slow the fermentation process. My birds’ poop are easy to scoop and doesn’t smell bad at all!

 

[centralcaligirl]

I’m fermenting my crumbles and it takes about about 10 hours. I ferment enough for the day + a little bit more. That little extra serves to inoculate the next batch. At the end of the day, I add water to the leftovers and add fresh crumbles, this sits on the counter until the next morning. In the morning, I feed my birds and put the ferment in the fridge to slow the fermentation process. My birds’ poop are easy to scoop and doesn’t smell bad at all!

I do pretty much the same and have since they came home as day-old chicks.

 

[bcorps]

Unfortunately she is incorrect about there being "no benefit" to fermenting pellets or crumbles for chicks. There is considerable research now supporting it and indicating that it is actually better for them long-term to eat fermented feed than dry feed. If you google fermented feed and read some of the scientific literature I think you will find quite a bit now on the Internet, and as more research is being done, more will surely come out.

That was the main question I was having. I don't know enough about specific foods yet to know brands. And add that my chicks don't seem to have a favorite food yet, except for maybe my hand when I try to bond with them.

 

[centralcaligirl]

That was the main question I was having. I don't know enough about specific foods yet to know brands. And add that my chicks don't seem to have a favorite food yet, except for maybe my hand when I try to bond with them.

Yeah it can be confusing. Here’s a picture of some Scratch and Peck. Notice the whole grains and the “fines” in the upper right. They will pick out the whole grains first if it isn’t fermented. If you use a regular feeder and put several days of feed in it they will eat the whole grains and scratch out the fines and leave them on the ground. This is not an issue with pellets or crumbles where it’s all combined and pressed together.

But it’s wonderful fermented feed and they love it and laid more consistently on it too.

 

[yakitori]

Yeah it can be confusing. Here’s a picture of some Scratch and Peck. Notice the whole grains and the “fines” in the upper right. They will pick out the whole grains first if it isn’t fermented. If you use a regular feeder and put several days of feed in it they will eat the whole grains and scratch out the fines and leave them on the ground. This is not an issue with pellets or crumbles where it’s all combined and pressed together.

But it’s wonderful fermented feed and they love it and laid more consistently on it too.

View attachment 2308426

Oh, I didn’t know whole grains can be fermented!
I’m confused about the advice on the chickie chick blog... it looks like she’s fermenting scratch and peck in her images, yet she’s advising against it?

 

[centralcaligirl]

Oh, I didn’t know whole grains can be fermented!
I’m confused about the advice on the chickie chick blog... it looks like she’s fermenting scratch and peck in her images, yet she’s advising against it?

That confused me too.

Yes, you can ferment whole grain feed. The procedure is the same, you just ferment a little longer.