Fermented feed for chickens

[Rillowen]

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/

We do our own fermenting too, thats why its good for us. Chickens still benefit from added fermentation, the same things you get growing when you ferment it properly are what they grow inside. It makes the digestive process and quicker and more effective, while adding nutrients (bacteria can synthesis things we and birds cant, like b vitamins) while also giving them a whole host of little army workers to help fight off infections of everything from colds to sour crop. The avian immune and digestive system are actually shockingly similar to people, with only a few key differences. In the case of the crop/gizzard the differences actually make fermented food MORE effective for them than us. If you think about it, it kind of makes sence. Their crop is almost all externally, so has a much lower temp than our stomachs. This means the beneficial bacteria you grow during fermentation is even more fitted for the environment, in us it mostly dies from heat and acid. It also means having thise good bacteria in there is even more necessary, because thats how they keep the bad stuff out, since they don't have heat and acid on their side like us. Plus if you think about it, they are opportunistic omnivores, they were designed to eat partially decayed/fermented things.

 

[Rillowen]

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

at least as regards fermenting grains and pulses for chickens.

I did say "almost" but actually by submerging in water you make it anaerobic, and you should ideally be adding some form of acid, thats what keeps the right stuff growing and the bad not, thats why most recipes include acv. Not salt of course, because they cant take the salt.

 

[Perris]

by submerging in water you make it anaerobic

No you don't. "An anaerobic environment is defined scientifically as a condition or location devoid of molecular oxygen, where biological and chemical processes proceed through alternative electron acceptors. These settings are crucial in environmental science because they dictate the types of microbial activity possible, fundamentally altering decomposition pathways. Such conditions are commonly observed in saturated soils, deep sediments, and within the core of landfill waste structures." https://lifestyle.sustainability-directory.com/area/anaerobic-environment/resource/1/

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

If nothing else, fermenting feed off and on in zone 6b for 5 years, has allowed my flock of 9 to come running to eat something new and that in itself = Happy Hens. A couple of them prefer it too, so again, happy hens. If it cost nothing and doesn't add extra precious time, why not ferment some feed. I like to stir it and see all the bubbles. After a long winter, with spring time comes bugs/microbs/fungi/parasites, you name it..... I reach for a fermented feed to help them create a healthier microbiome to support them. And again, it couldn't hurt. I have 9 hens so 1 large ball jar does it.

 

[Molpet]

Before I had to lock up the chickens most of the day due to fox , I gave the fermented feed 2x a day and pick it up after a half hour.....unless I have broodies or poults/chicks who need food when they want it. Then I'll have turkey starter available.
The pickup after a half hour keeps it from freezing or getting too fermented in heat.

I leave a couple inches in the bottom of 5 gallon buckets of FF as a starter and add new feed and water in the evening. By morning in the summer it's bubbly and I feed it out that day. In the winter I have gone through three 5 gallon buckets a day. When there's not snow and the ground isn't frozen solid, they fine stuff.

 

[ChickenshedStudio]

I use fermented whole grains too - like @Perris and @Molpet I feed specific meals, so I don't have a problem with it going nasty over the course of the day.
I ferment for 24-48 hours depending on the temperature, it doesn't ever get to the point of smelliness and is fine in our utility room.

I raised my first brood of chicks on fermented chick crumb - they and the broody hens thought it was fab, but it was more messy, and I'll probably switch to whole grains more quickly next time

Sometimes I get distracted and forget to refill the tub when I get back from feeding - If I get to the next day and there's nothing fermenting, the chickens get a mix of dry grain with pellets as a backup (which they dislike), either dry or as a mash. For me this takes away the stress of being prepared every day.