Fermentation qualifier

[Rachela]

My chickens are going on 6 months old. Since I received them as pullets I’ve given them fermented food.

Last week we were gone for 8 days so had someone taking care of our animals and I just did dry food for the chicks instead of having someone do fermenting.

A few things I noticed when getting home I haven’t previously had:

1. Stinky poo. There are times it smells some but this time it was really bad

2. One chick had bad pasty butt and she’s never had issues before...coincidence?

3. Feather look less fluffy but then maybe due to heat here...but we have had warm days.

 

[Perris]

sounds to me like 3 good reasons to get them back on the ff asap!

 

[Rachela]

sounds to me like 3 good reasons to get them back on the ff asap!

Yes started right away with new batch

 

[yakitori]

I had to hunt the thread down to share my experience because yesterday I forgot to make a new batch of fermented feeds for my girls, so they got regular feed for half a day. And Oh my, when I opened up the coop this morning, the smell was absolutely atrocious. I’m never going to forget to ferment again!

 

[RW1984]

Sorry I’m new with chickens, this is my first flock. I have 35.
What’s the deal with fermenting their feed? Why do it? What’s the benifits? Is it better?

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

Number One Benefit is Less Stinky Poop!

 

[pibb]

Fermented feed adds lactic acid bacteria (probiotics) but sometimes mold (bad bacteria) if you do it wrong. Bascially lactic acid bacteria is below the water line and mold above the water line.

 

[yakitori]

Fermented feed adds lactic acid bacteria (probiotics) but sometimes mold (bad bacteria) if you do it wrong. Bascially lactic acid bacteria is below the water line and mold above the water line.

Mold is a fungi, but you can certainly get bad bacteria if the fermentation isn't done right.
I do a drier ferment, which I first inoculated with my sour-dough starter. There is no actual liquid visible, and it smells wonderful... a bit like yoghurt My chicken run actually has a sweet fermentation odor sometimes from the chicken poop.

 

[yakitori]

Sorry I’m new with chickens, this is my first flock. I have 35.
What’s the deal with fermenting their feed? Why do it? What’s the benifits? Is it better?

So, the general consensus on the Pros is drier, less smelly poop. Health wise, they will have probiotics in their diet, which promotes good gut health and general good health as a result. In addition, since fermentation allows the birds to absorb more nutrients, they also consume less feed, which is good for your wallet!

Cons would probably be the need to ferment feed before feeding, which, depending on how many beaks you have to feed, could potentially be a lot of work. You also cannot leave fermented feed out for too long, as it is wet and could potentially spoil.