Fermented feed for chickens

[BDutch]

If chickens are used to eating X, especially if they have been eating it since chickhood, it takes some time for them to change their tastes, rather like some modern tourists faced with unfamiliar foreign food when on their hols. So Brits abroad notoriously seek out restaurants serving British style food instead of trying the often delicious and usually much healthier local options.

But if you keep offering it in small amounts, the bravest member of the flock will try it, and when the rest see it isn't dangerous, and especially if the brave one comes to obviously like it, they, or most of them, will follow suit. Chickens could not thrive in almost every habitat and food environment in the world, as they do, if they were not suited to eat whatever grows wherever and whatever they are offered by their keepers.

No doubt you are right. Im convinced a fermented grain mix with whole grains is healthier than the grains coming directly from the bag.

But for chickens who can not free range all the time, part of their food needs to be a completed food with all the extra vitamins and proteins, like all flock, layer or chick feed. Chickens who have access to a lush and healthy environment all year through, don’t need much besides what they can find. There is no need to give the breeds who are fit to free range completed food.

My chickens can not free range 24/7. It varies from 0 - 8 hours a day. In summer there are more hours to free range and there is much more to find than during winter. We adapt.

For the time being I’m pleased with the food regime I give them now. Everyone chooses or can do things differently and we all live in a different environments and even the requirements of the chickens can vary. The commercial hybrids who lay an egg almost every day need other feed than the old heritage breeds, old hens or roosters. Therefore there is not one strategy that suits us all.

 

[Perris]

I’m pleased with the food regime I give them now.

I am glad you have found something you and your flock are happy with and thrive on.

Everyone chooses or can do things differently and we all live in a different environments and even the requirements of the chickens can vary. The commercial hybrids who lay an egg almost every day need other feed than the old heritage breeds, old hens or roosters. Therefore there is not one strategy that suits us all.

Indeed. I agree with that. But I do not agree with the following:

for chickens who can not free range all the time, part of their food needs to be a completed food with all the extra vitamins and proteins, like all flock, layer or chick feed.

Vitamins and minerals are called micronutrients because they are needed in minute / tiny quantities. And they exist in real food, if they haven't been destroyed by processing or oxidised in storage. I imagine you do not take daily pills to get your recommended vitamins and minerals, but trust that you are getting the small amounts you need from the plants you eat as fruit, veg, cereal, pseudo-cereal, pulse, nut, seed etc. plus those from animals on those relatively few occasions you eat meat or fish etc. And in real food they exist in the sort of concentration that we and our chickens have evolved to metabolize them, unlike in commercial formulations which are concentrates (the clue is in the name given to animal feeds: 'concentrates'). Some vitamins and minerals are toxic in 'extra' quantities (that's why there are *maxima* as well as minima on the labels for those elements of the feed).

I think that a little free range time or real food treats and leftovers can supply all the micronutrients a chicken needs, in general (and all these sorts of statements are generalizations, on both sides of the argument, of course). I think that's what saves the backyard chickens that mostly eat processed feed, and is why they don't look and live and die like industrial commercial layers.

My chickens can not free range 24/7. It varies from 0 - 8 hours a day. In summer there are more hours to free range and there is much more to find than during winter.

I think that's more than enough for them to find what they need in your lovely garden and environs. Yes there is less in winter but also typically they aren't laying in winter so have fewer demands. And like wild birds they can stock up and store a lot of nutrients when times are good, to see them through the lean times. Wild birds manage. Chickens can too, especially with a caring keeper who is making sure they're getting the macronutrients (carbs, fats, proteins) every day through their supplied food, whatever form that takes.

 

[BDutch]

Indeed. I agree with that. But I do not agree with the following:

BDutch said:
for chickens who can not free range all the time, part of their food needs to be a completed food with all the extra vitamins and proteins, like all flock, layer or chick feed.

Vitamins and minerals are called micronutrients because they are needed in minute / tiny quantities. And they exist in real food, if they haven't been destroyed by processing or oxidised in storage. I imagine you do not take daily pills to get your recommended vitamins and minerals, but trust that you are getting the small amounts you need from the plants you eat as fruit, veg, cereal, pseudo-cereal, pulse, nut, seed etc. plus those from animals on those relatively few occasions you eat meat or fish etc. And in real food they exist in the sort of concentration that we and our chickens have evolved to metabolize them, unlike in commercial formulations which are concentrates (the clue is in the name given to animal feeds: 'concentrates'). Some vitamins and minerals are toxic in 'extra' quantities (that's why there are *maxima* as well as minima on the labels for those elements of the feed).

Yes, again you are right. I should have added or other food which is fresh, healthy and balanced.
This is even better than the cheap commercial feed.

Good additions from your side. Thanks.

 

[SkyAJK]

Since reading this post I had start on a small jar of ferment feed and mixed it with dried feed. It is not mushy and I imagine the fermented feed continues to ferment in the dried feed throughout the day.

Now that I read many posts here about whole grains...I will ferment a jar of whole grain today. At the moment the weather is warm so bubbles is visible in less than 24 hours.

I think might be fermented feed is doing the same thing as plain yogurt is for chickens.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Fermented feed may have a place in northern chicken yards but I'm in the deep south and find it has no place in my hot springs, summers and falls. And in winter it freezes. For me it was a waste of feed and an invitation to sour, rotting food, and I ditched it in a hurry. My flock shines on a good, high-quality all-flock commercial feed with calcium fed free-choice. In better than 20 years I've never seen an impacted crop. Most of my birds are still laying regularly at 7-8 years of age, with only 1 egg-bound hen that I can recall. This works for me so I've long-since stopped experimenting with other diets.

HTH

Rusty

edited to add: My flock does not free-range at all so all their greens come from my garden in the summer and the produce dept at my local grocer's in the winter with regular side-dressings of homemade yogurt.

 

[CabritaChicks]

I tried fermented feed for a while, but without a garage to exile it to, the operation lived in the utility room (which is attached to the kitchen- open floorplan) — which meant my laundry area and the side entrance eventually smelled like a questionable science experiment. Tropical weather didn’t help either. Fermented feed in the tropics doesn’t politely ferment; it sprints toward “something died in here” and starts inviting guests.

First came the flies. Lots of flies. Then the flies attracted lizards. And those, naturally, attracted larger predator birds. At that point it felt less like chicken care and more like I was accidentally running a wildlife buffet.

So I retired the fermented feed. It was extra work, potentially risky, and frankly — very smelly.

What I do instead is much simpler: every morning I wet a couple cups of their feed and mix it with vegetables, fruit, egg, and healthy kitchen scraps. That basically just becomes their breakfast, then they have free access to the dry pellets, and they free range all day 24/7 at their discretion. It keeps the feed fresh, adds variety (as sometimes i add extras like bee pollen, tea leaves, flowers, etc), and helps the chickens stay hydrated — without summoning half the food chain to my yard.

 

[Shadrach]

I've tried fermenting whole grain feeds and processed commercial feed.
Fermenting commercial processed feeds just doesn't make any sense.
I wrote this after trying fermenting commercial feed. It's a bit of fun basically.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...o-fermented-facts-myths-and-experience.74414/

It seems the idea of fermenting grains has come form the fermented products made for human consumption and there is some evidence that there may be gut health benefits from such foods.
But, the human digestive system and the chickens digestive system are different.and I have yet to see any evidence that fermenting whole grains, seeds, pulses etc provides any measurable health benefits for chickens.

The chicken has a digestive system that crushes hard particles of feed and if the system finds the particles difficult to process it either returns such particles from the gizzard to the bottom of the proventriculus where digestive enzymes break the food particles down or for more difficult food particles the ceca glands take over and the particles are fermented there.
Chickens can do their own fermenting.

Chicken feed fermentation seems to be one of those faith based practices rather than a practice based on evidence. Somehow what may be beneficial for human digestion has been adopted for chickens without a lot of thought or knowledge about how the chicken digests its food.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...fluence-it-may-have-on-feeding-regimes.79124/

 

[Perris]

"

Importance and Benefits of Fermented Cereals

Fermented foods contribute to about one-third of the diet worldwide (Campbell-Platt 1994). Cereals are particularly important substrates for fermented foods in all parts of the world and are staples in the Indian subcontinent, in Asia, and in Africa. Fermentation causes changes in food quality indices including texture, flavor, appearance, nutrition and safety. The benefits of fermentation may include improvement in palatability and acceptability by developing improved flavours and textures; preservation through formation of acidulants, alcohol, and antibacterial compounds; enrichment of nutritive content by microbial synthesis of essential nutrients and improving digestibility of protein and carbohydrates; removal of antinutrients, natural toxicants and mycotoxins; and decreased cooking times.

The content and quality of cereal proteins may be improved by fermentation (Wang and Fields 1978; Cahvan et al. 1988). Natural fermentation of cereals increases their relative nutritive value and available lysine (Hamad and Fields 1979) (Fig. 4). Bacterial fermentations involving proteolytic activity are expected to increase the biological availability of essential amino acids more so than yeast fermentations which mainly degrade carbohydrates (Chaven and Kadam 1989). Starch and fiber tend to decrease during fermentation of cereals (El-Tinay et al. 1979). Although it would not be expected that fermentation would alter the mineral content of the product, the hydrolysis of chelating agents such as phytic acid during fermentation, improves the bioavailability of minerals. Changes in the vitamin content of cereals with fermentation vary according to the fermentation process, and the raw material used in the fermentation. B group vitamins generally show an increase on fermentation (Chavan et al. 1989) (Fig. 5). During the fermentation of maize or kaffircorn in the preparation of kaffir beer, thiamine levels are virtually unchanged, but riboflavin and niacin contents almost double (Steinkraus 1994).

Reddy and Pierson (1994), reviewed the effect of fermentation on antinutritional and toxic components in plant foods. Fermentation of corn meal and soybean-corn meal blends lowers flatus producing carbohydrates, trypsin inhibitor and phytates (Compreeda and Fields 1981; Chompreeda and Fields 1984). However, fermentation of cereals with fungi, such as Rhizopus oligosporus, has been reported to release bound trypsin inhibitor, thus increasing it’s activity (Wang et al. 1972). Fungal and lactic acid fermentations have also been reported to reduce aflatoxin B1, sometimes by opening of the lactone ring which results in complete detoxification (Nout 1994).

Another benefit of fermentation is that frequently the product does not require cooking or the heating time required for preparation is greatly reduced (Steinkraus 1994)."
https://www.fao.org/4/x2184e/x2184e06.htm​

 

[Rillowen]

If you’ve never tried fermented feed for chickens, it can feel a little strange at first. After all, soaking feed in water for a day or two until it starts bubbling doesn’t exactly sound like gourmet chicken cuisine. But many backyard chicken keepers swear their birds absolutely love it.

Fermenting feed is said to help chickens digest nutrients more easily and may even reduce feed waste. Some keepers also report healthier-looking feathers, firmer droppings, and slightly lower feed costs because the birds seem to feel full sooner. On the flip side, others find it messy, time-consuming, or simply not worth the extra effort.

So here’s the question for everyone: Have you tried feeding fermented feed to your flock?
Did you notice any real benefits or did you decide it wasn’t for you?

Share your experience, tips, or even your fermentation “failures.” Let’s hear how it’s working in your coop!

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I think its important to realize that "fermenting" doesn't mean soaking in water until it rots. The fermentation process is a very controlled and specific set of circumstances designed to brak down food to make it more bioavailable while also growing beneficial bacteria. This almost exclusively means an anaerobic environment (no air) with high salt or acid, at between 70 and 90°. This sort of environment mimics what you would find in your gut and produces bacteria that can work symbiotically with you.
The common ways to achieve this does depends on the food, beer and alcohols, bread, yogurt, and Cheese being some of the more common American foods. Natto, old fashioned pickles, sourkrout, kimchi, kombucha, and old fashioned sodas are all other examples. Fermenting is healthy and normal, we as a society have just lost track of it. Fermenting makes it easier on your digestive system, increases the nutrients you can actually absorbe, adds nutrients from the bacteria, and strengthens the digestive and immune systems. The same goes for chickens.
I ferment my feed for 48 hrs with water mixed with acv, yogurt whey, and sometimes other probiotic sources like kombucha scobies (which they love and give them amazing collagen) or kimchi juice. I stopped for a few months and had 1 hen develope sour crop, isolated her for a day with nothing but water and probiotics, and 1 scoby, she was better by the next day. That was 2 months ago, no problems since.
They recently found that people who struggle with obesity, digestive problems, and even depression all had an incomplete "gut biome" and when they transfered the "gut biome" from people without the problems into the ones with, they mysteriously started getting better, with no other changes. So probiotics and gut biome can make a shocking difference, this is the same for our chickens The most noticeable advantages being no sour crop and usually a longer and overall healthier life.

 

[Perris]

most of the last post is accurate, but the following bit is not:

The fermentation process is a very controlled and specific set of circumstances ... This almost exclusively means an anaerobic environment (no air) with high salt or acid, at between 70 and 90°.

at least as regards fermenting grains and pulses for chickens.