Feeding Fermented Feed

You'll get loads of different opinions on how to ferment and how much to feed. And some people will tell you it's too much hassle. Some feed only a few spoonfuls per bird every couple of days, some feed as much as they'll eat in half an hour every day, some feed only FF.

I ferment about half of what they should eat in a day and leave it out all day. They also have free access to dry feed. They love the FF though, and will finish it off before going to the dry. That's the main reason I do it; they love it. I only have four and they are pets more than anything else.

I keep it simple; fermented the first batch for three days, then just keep using the same tub with a little left over to kick start the batch. Dish it out, refill with water and feed at a 1:1 ratio. It's ready to go the next morning. And I use plain tap water. Using water left out to let the chlorine evaporate resulted in alcohol fermentation for some reason (possibly because yeast has a lower tolerance to chlorine than the pro-bi bacteria, so tap water is less likely to be taken over by yeast).

You'll have to experiment and find what way works best for you. There's no hard and fast rules, and no real data on positive effects for health and pocket. All I know is that my girls love it, and it's a few extra minutes work a day.
 
All good opinions for and against feeding fermented feed.:old
I choose to do so, about half the time. 3 to 4 days of the week i mean.
just be careful in the summer, it will ferment faster, so I only do short fermentations for 1 to 2 days during hot spells.
(And a time or two when I've been desperate because the last food I had was fermenting and molded slightly and I didn't have a way to the store, I scraped mold off the top, and down 2 inches. I wouldnt do this again, but my chickens were fine :oops:...)
 
I scraped mold off the top, and down 2 inches. I wouldnt do this again, but my chickens were fine :oops:...)

Desperate times call for desperate measures. It's funny, I'd do this with my own food like cheese or bread. But not my animals (except in circumstances such as yours). Me getting sick is easier to deal with!

I did read one article saying that they just fold the mould in, but it has to be the right mould. Mould is just external evidence of microbial colonies. Some of those colonies are good, like the bacteria we try to grow in our ferment, or cheese, yogurt etc, or bad, like alcohol producing yeasts when you're not wanting to get your girls drunk! It's knowing which is which that's difficult.
 
Desperate times call for desperate measures. It's funny, I'd do this with my own food like cheese or bread. But not my animals (except in circumstances such as yours). Me getting sick is easier to deal with!

I did read one article saying that they just fold the mould in, but it has to be the right mould. Mould is just external evidence of microbial colonies. Some of those colonies are good, like the bacteria we try to grow in our ferment, or cheese, yogurt etc, or bad, like alcohol producing yeasts when you're not wanting to get your girls drunk! It's knowing which is which that's difficult.
Yeah I wish I could tell what was what ! Better safe than sorry though, so its easy enough and better to toss moldy feed into the compost bin or cruelly out to the wild birds ;)
 
The idea that fermented feed is as bad as food that gets wet by accident is silly.

People also tell you not to eat raw pork or old meat but I bet you don't blink twice at someone eating a slice of prosciutto. You shouldn't eat curdled milk, but yogurt and kefir are OK. It's all about taking care to make sure what you're making is more healthful than not. Which is fairly simple in this case.
 
I eat fermented food. I drink fermented drinks. I feed fermented foods and drinks to my family as well.

I also ferment feed my chickens and ducks and have had ZERO issues. I normally feed 1/2 cup of fermented feed per chicken and duck, but we tend to OVER scoop a bit, so think a scant 2/3rd cups per bird. We also feed them a few handfuls of scratch grains (less than 10% of their diet), alfalfa pellets and they get to free range. We also feed back eggs and eggshells.

With all that said, we have yet to have any issues with our flocks, other than predators. I hope this answered your ORIGINAL, asked question. :D
 
I also eat lots of fermented foods, but don't eat the science experiments, that used to be leftovers, I find in the back of the fridge.
I feed FF from hatch and so far have not had a problem... now coyotes and hawks , well that's my problems.
I feed what they will eat in 20 min, unless I have chicks. Chicks get food all day. But any leftovers picked up at night.
I use this method. https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/
 
Thanks for all the answers guys and for the guys saying mold grows on fermented feed this is NOT the first time I’ve fed fermented feed I’ve fed chickens it before(I just want to feed them more of a fermented feed based diet now and i didn’t know how much to feed them a day) and mold does not grow on it, also I’ve fed hogs fermented feed and they absolutely love it as well as chickens they seem happier and healthier on fermented feed
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom