Fermented Alfalfa Cubes How To

[Kiki]

Very interested to hear about your experience and thoughts!

I will update you soon...
Although I may have jumped the gun.
My girls free range..and have access to good greens every day...LOL

 

[azygous]

I've been feeding my flock Chaff Haye. It's a fermented alfalfa. Expensive though.

I'm interested in fermenting my own. Can anyone tell me what brands alfalfa cubes have the most leaf to stem ratio?

 

[mobius]

I buy mine from my friendly local feed store, it is unmarked...here is the best I can come up with: I think the increased leaf comes from one of the harvests...there seems to be three (?) alfalfa cuttings during a season. And one of those cuttings has the most leaf, if I recall correctly. So if it were me, I would go to my feed store and ask them about how to max it out. Alternatively, I might source a farmer on Craigslist and ask there....I suspect my feed store themselves process the alfalfa into cubes.

Hope that helps and I would be interested to know what you find out if you pursue!

Wanted to add: I have been doing this all winter and it seems I have barely made a dent in the original forty pound bag for six chix. It really goes a long way! In addition, of course, it will help save on feed costs, just like, say, barley fodder, which I am also now trying...

 

[Percheron chick]

How many cuttings you get is dependent upon where you are and the farmer. Colorado typically gets 3 while New Mexico might get 12. Dairy alfalfa is cut earlier with more leaf less stem so they will cut about every 3 weeks. They hay that ends up in cubes and pellets is often rained on, mature or over cured hay that has lost it's eye appeal or is too dry to bale properly. The equipment is very specialized so no feed mill is going to produce them. They are only found in high alfalfa producing areas. All they will and can produce is cubes.

 

[azygous]

Isn't it the first cut that's got the most leaf? I had forgotten about that. It's been decades since I bought alfalfa for the goat I had. TSC had about five different brands of cubes. Maybe it says on the labels which cut they're from.

 

[mrskalka]

Fermenting alfalfa cubes is done just the same as with fermenting chicken feed. If you want a faster start with the cubes, add a little of the fluid from the fermented feed. I take 4-5 alfalfa cubes to a 2 quart glass container and fill about 3/4 with water to start with ( don't fill completely, because it has run over onto counter... ) then add a little of the fermented fluid ( 1/8 cup to max 1/4 cup to give you an idea), stir and leave at least overnight. It will break down on its own. Stir in the morning and if you added some starter (not ACV, I don't think that is necessary) it might be ready overnight but at least in 2-3 days for first batch.

The alfalfa ferment replaces the nice green grass and other plants that they can't get foraging during the winter...how much do they miss that?

OR if your run is devoid of green plants and you want them to have a steady supply of greens...think about fermenting alfalfa as an alternative. i will be doing "salad bars" in the spring but we are not near that in the cold upper climes even now...

You can add a little unflavored yogurt or buttermilk to hasten the culture, which I do with leftovers like that plus I rinse out milk containers and add that water...the lactobacillus is ALL good...every last drop right? It will work any of the ways I have mentioned. 

Some of my chickens will go for this before they eat the FF....

Lots of chickens apparently find the dried cubes a bit hard to peck (they are SO compressed) you get a big bang for your buck with those bags of cubes...my chickens are like "Mommie! Ferment those cubes! We are working too hard here!"

I backslop the alfalfa cubes just like I do with the FF...2-3 cubes every 2-3 days and nearly fill with water, stir once a day...it expands just like the feed....hope that helps! I don't submerge... doesn't need to be, don't worry about it, the cubes will fill with water and separate and it is all a nice green wet mess...

Remember I am doing this for only six chix so YMMV.

I should add this: one more benefit of the cubes...people are concerned about feeding hay or alfafa bales to chickens because of long grasses getting stuck in their crop. Well. The cubes I have are chopped chopped chopped to one inch or less...no long stringy stuff to impact crops. It is as if you took fine chopped parsley...and fed them that...so one less worry about the green stuff! Yay!

Bag of alfalfa cubes cost me $10 for 40 pounds at the feed store.

Hi! What a awsome idea! My girls LOVE alfalfa! I never thought of fermenting it! I got them a bag of cubes, but as you said it's just to compressed for them to peck it down.
I have a question tho.
How do I start a batch if I don't have fermented fluid.
Iv read I can use acv but how much do I use?
I'm gunna start with 13 cubes. Since I have 12 girls and a roo. I will increase it when my new chicks get old enough.
-Nikki

 

[Percheron chick]

1st cutting will have the most weeds which will typically make it a poorer quality hay.
Hay is analyzed and graded by relative feed value. Basically digestibility, energy, minerals and a few others. Optimal timing of the cut (at the bud stage),proper fertilization and curing, no excessive raking due to wind and rain (causes leaf shatter and loss) has a greater impact on the quality than the individual cutting. The best alfalfa is reserved for the dairy industry and they pay a premium for it. Horses do best with lower grade alfalfa and since cubes are mostly a horse forage alternative fair to say it's going to be made with hay that best meets their needs. Any cubes I have bought over the years have mature discolored stems which would indicate sunbleaching or rained on hay. Cubes are never bright green and sweet smelling like a fresh bale for a reason.

 

[mobius]

Hi! What a awsome idea! My girls LOVE alfalfa! I never thought of fermenting it! I got them a bag of cubes, but as you said it's just to compressed for them to peck it down.
I have a question tho.
How do I start a batch if I don't have fermented fluid.
Iv read I can use acv but how much do I use?
I'm gunna start with 13 cubes. Since I have 12 girls and a roo. I will increase it when my new chicks get old enough.
-Nikki

In truth you can start it just like you would fermented feed (FF). Don't need ACV. Take a few cubes and immerse in water, stir a couple times a day, and then after 3-4 days you will have fermented alfalfa. I see the seeds in mine and the leaves and it smells like strong alfalfa. If you really want to jump start it I would add 2-3 TBL of yogurt...no sugar and no flavored kind....homemade yogurt if you have it...and it will kick-start like nobody's business!

Great idea to start with one cube per chicken! I think that is great! you will have about 2-3 days worth for them at that rate...ask me anything....it so works for my flock...

 

[weirdlywired]

GREAT info - thank you!!!

 

[weirdlywired]

In truth you can start it just like you would fermented feed (FF). Don't need ACV. Take a few cubes and immerse in water, stir a couple times a day, and then after 3-4 days you will have fermented alfalfa. I see the seeds in mine and the leaves and it smells like strong alfalfa. If you really want to jump start it I would add 2-3 TBL of yogurt...no sugar and no flavored kind....homemade yogurt if you have it...and it will kick-start like nobody's business!

Great idea to start with one cube per chicken! I think that is great! you will have about 2-3 days worth for them at that rate...ask me anything....it so works for my flock...

I have a small scale FF set-up, and if your city chlorinates the water, I find I have much quicker results letting water sit a day at least before adding it to dry feed. It cuts a day off of the fermenting time.