Fermented feed: interesting development

[Orpingtons Mom]

So I work on Saturdays in a feed store that produces their own special formula of feed for horses and chickens. Because they have a special formula they are also eager to keep up with the feed market, or should I say the animal feed market. So today I’m working, and I noticed in the latest issue of Feed Strategy, there is a poultry feed and nutrition survey for 2021.

This is obviously for commercial poultry growers. But I was very interested to read an article that begins on page 30 about fermented feed! The complete title of the article is fermented feed: improve animal performance, ingredients.

Plus, and I quote, “Backyard poultry producers have advocated fermenting feed.”

They (the article) also advocate using fermented feed for pigs.

“There have been many studies feeding fermented feed to laying hens. Results include increases in egg weight and eggshell thickness, as well as improved disease resistance. “

Looks like I’m going to try again.

 

[Rangergord]

This year I am going to try a drier oatmeal texture instead of the submerged back slope method. I find straining out the excess water is tedious. I noticed a lot of comments about yoghurt cultures in this thread. Nothing wrong with yoghurt for chickens but it’s NOT the right culture for fermented feed.
Why? Yoghurt is a thermophylic culture that needs a temperature higher than human body temp. 103 degrees F plus. Unless you use an incubation chamber this temperature is just too high. The correct temperature is Room temperature 73- 75 degrees F. Using a buttermilk culture. Buttermilk or probiotic supplement pills can be used as a starter inoculant or just keep the feed at room temp until a natural culture develops on its own. These cultures are termed mesothermic below human body temperature. This culture will produce Lactic Acid Bacteria LAB, result in a low pH reading that inhibits disease in the chickens and contamination by other organisms in the feed. Temperatures lower than room temp tend to produce cultures in which yeasts predominate. I tried using an apple cider yeast culture for a while and my hens went nuts for the resulting fermented alcoholic feed. They became very aggressive, like a mean drunk. I learned that this is also not the right culture to provide the probiotic benefits of fermented feed even if drunk chickens are a bit entertaining.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There have been many studies feeding fermented feed to laying hens.

Did they give a link to one or more of those studies? I like to read the studies for context.
Thanks

 

[rosemarythyme]

if your fermented feed is more than 3 days old, is it still safe to feed as long as the feed is underwater? please advise. thank you in advance.

Doesn't need to be under water. I feed anywhere from 1 to around 6 days old, depending on how big of a batch I make.

 

[therandomhatcher]

I've never personally tried it, but what I have heard was that you should only ferment enough to feed your flock for 1-2 days or it will go bad. I would try it.

 

[Orpingtons Mom]

I think it’s interesting that they are recommending it for commercial poultry production. That’s an eye opener! Oh and they also noted a cost reduction!

 

[Orpingtons Mom]

No, but I’ll check once I’m off work.

 

[ChickenHillFarm2021]

I tried fermented feed. But my hens would not eat it. I tried it at 1 day, 2 days and 3 days. They would not touch it. Is there a type of feed that ferments better than others?

 

[AntiqueB]

I tried fermented feed. But my hens would not eat it. I tried it at 1 day, 2 days and 3 days. They would not touch it. Is there a type of feed that ferments better than others?

Mine don't really like it, either. I tried for a couple weeks, a couple times, and they never got into it. They'd wait for the final feeding of the day (fresh, dry feed), and gorge themselves. I've given up -- all the benefits in the world won't help if they don't eat it!

 

[The Kooky Kiwi]

I don't make fermented feed specifically for my chickens.. but at this time of year I regularly steal a bucket of fermented maize from the stack that we make for our dairy cows.

When making our fermented feed, the success or failure of the final feed quality is very much influenced by the quality and age of the grains you start with. And yes it's quite common for your animals to love some feeds and refuse to eat others.

So my advice is to first research and use the grains that give the desired nutritional values.
Then ensure that your grains are the correct level of dry vs wet content.
Then consider your fermentation method - putting inoculants in can be more expensive but often result in a higher quality product (consider using yoghurt type cultures and/or probiotics for additional health qualities).
Ensure that your fermented product is either fed immediately or stored correctly to maximise preservation of the nutritional values and avoid spoilage.

As an additional mention - we specifically use green maize and silaged maize for adding body condition to our cows (they tend to convert the feed to weight and condition gains rather than towards producing more milk). I have noticed that it has the same effect in my chickens so I feed it only for that purpose and only when needed. It needs to be said that this is not a feed option that should be overfed..