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.

 

[Rillowen]

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/

Um yes. "Saturated soils" as in submerged... true to get completely anaerobic you have to weight the top, I use a plastic bag filled with water. Anyone who has ever taken a bilogy lab and prepared slides has prepped anaerobic samples that way.
Fermentation and anaerobic respiration | Cellular respiration (article) | Khan Academy https://share.google/OWyValxbkJzYqmslG

That's how lactic acid fermentation (the same kind for yogurt, kimchi, saurkrout, cheese ect) primarily works, and yeast to alcohol fermentation.

 

[Perris]

So @Rillowen please explain how fish, for example, survive in water if it is an anaerobic environment.

 

[CabritaChicks]

Ill chime in once more (apologies for typos):
Fermented feed can work in some systems, but a few biological points are often misunderstood. Fermentation of poultry feed is primarily driven by lactic-acid bacteria (especially Lactobacillus spp.), which produce lactic acid and volatile compounds that create the characteristic sour odor. In warm environments microbial activity accelerates rapidly, so wet feed can move from mild fermentation to spoilage more quickly and attract flies or other pests if it sits too long.

It’s also important to remember that chickens already ferment feed internally. The crop acts as a natural fermentation chamber, housing lactic-acid bacteria that begin softening and fermenting carbohydrates before the feed moves to the proventriculus and gizzard. Research on poultry crop microbiology consistently shows Lactobacillus dominating this environment and initiating early carbohydrate breakdown. Because of this built-in microbial system, commercial poultry feeds are already formulated to be nutritionally balanced and digestible without external fermentation. Modern feeds are milled and supplemented with precise amino acid profiles, vitamins, and minerals to meet poultry nutritional requirements. However- I free range- so this is mute-point on my end.

Problems can arise when feed remains excessively wet or uncontrolled fermentation occurs, because this can allow undesirable microbes such as yeasts (for example Candida spp.) to proliferate. People contact me weekly for clinic- while I work mainly with other birds- some young-type chicken keepers are pplexed. When that imbalance occurs in the crop it may contribute to conditions such as sour crop, where fermentation becomes excessive and the crop empties poorly.

There is also a difference between fermenting complete feed versus straight grains. Whole grains function mainly as energy sources for chickens—similar to how rice or bread functions in a human diet. They are relatively low in key amino acids like lysine and methionine and lack balanced minerals such as calcium. Fermenting them may soften the grain, but it does not convert them into a complete diet. The issue becomes more concerning with dry bean mixes, since many raw legumes contain lectins and protease inhibitors that interfere with digestion.

For these reasons, fermentation can be a useful management choice for some keepers, but it is not required for poultry diets and should be managed carefully, particularly in warm climates. Many keepers instead choose to simply moisten feed fresh at feeding time, which provides hydration and palatability without maintaining a standing ferment that may spoil or disrupt normal crop microbial balance. Many people will source and argue- but go to a clinic- and see the quantity of issues that come from people fermenting grains in hot territories. But chickens will eat anything- I have had perfectly healthy eggs coming from chickens who eat leftover cheeseburger and french fries- while free ranging in town. Until it doesnt.

 

[Shadrach]

Let me start with chickens have been doing just fine in the digestion department for thousands of years without humans fermenting their food.

Somewhere in your post you write that human and chicken digestive systems are similar; I'm just not seeing this. Even if one ignores those odd tacked on bits like the crop and the ceca glands, there is one major difference that stands out like a bag of stones...and that's because that's what it is. Granted, it's very strong bag. Give it time it will crush a whole corn and fire it out as a paste. Some pictures of what goes in at one end of the gizzard and what comes out at the other are instructive, or even a look next time one does a necropsy or butchers a bird to eat.

It makes the digestive process and quicker and more effective,

Then there is this.
It was found in studies (a few linked to in my article) that commercial feed which even in pelleted form traveled through a chickens digestive system faster than any other offered feeds. One suggested reason for this was the gizzard was doing a pass through rather than a grinding process. Now that's efficient, but it isn't very good for the chicken. Their gizzard muscles get weak, the digestive enzymes don't get enough time before the gizzard to do their chemical breakdown. It's a point I've mentioned in the past to people who have taken in Ex Battery hens, feed them commercial feed on arrival and gradually introduce whole grains, seeds etc.
I could draw a parallel between the current nutrition drive in the UK health system for humans, where it seems we are not eating nearly enough fiber in our diets because we're eating a lot of processed slop. It gives rise to numerous gut health related problems apparently.
Same for the chickens. They need strong gizzards and left to grind down dry whole grains and seeds that's what they develop.

As the commercial feed manufacturers have discovered, if you can get a bird to eat more they'll grow faster. Similar for egg production, there are ratios of nutrients that effect the number of eggs a hen will lay,

So, efficiency; is this a good thing or a bad thing for the chicken when it comes to their digestion. Fine I suppose if the bird is never going to eat anything else, but if stuff like this goes on for long enough generation to generation it seems possible that we will have breeds of chickens that can no longer digest natural food.

Also often over looked in some of the more enthusiastic advocates of fermented feed is the chemical changes from fermentation do increase some nutrients but they decrease others. How does one work out what nutrients from one particular grain or seed one wants to boost or reduce for a chicken? Seems a bit like throwing darts blindfold.

If keepers want to ferment wholefoods for the birds I think it's fine. I've done it myself and may do it again. What I would suggest is as wide a variety of components as one can manage. It's a bit of a learning process and the keepers I know who feed wholefoods, dry or fermented, find themselves adjusting the components over time; one can even make seasonal adjustments.