Fermented Feed & Sprouting Questions (NEWBIE)

[SaCollins]

Don't!! sprout sorghum (milo--the brown-ish/red bigger round seeds in wild bird seeds and scratch) and let it grow leaves hardly at all. The young plants develop a poison... hydrocyanic, or prussic acid fairly early on in the green leaves. That's about the same stuff in the leaves of the common wild cherry trees. You can stick the leaves in a big bunch and make silage (let it ferment) after 2-3 weeks like the farmers do and feed it though....not so desirable after fermenting in the smell department..
If the millet in the mix is a true millet, it can be used for green forage cuz it has very low levels if any of the prussic acid content.
The sorghum/milo warning is not an old wives tale. Every cattleman/milker/feedlot that grows their own feed or makes silage from milo knows this and every Agriculture College in the world posts warnings about it.
Sorghum seed sprouts with short white roots are good........but NO GREEN leaves showing!

This is the wild bird seed...is that milo/sorghum seeds?

 

[SaCollins]

I've never tried sprouting. For some reason I am a bit daunted by the prospect although i have a bag of wild bird seed that is just sitting there. I've read countless threads about it. Do they really like the sprouted greens then? I do like the idea of growing a little patch of seedlings for them. Excuse my ignorance but what do you mean about it fermenting?

Can I sprout most any grain then? (Again, forgive my ignorance i am only 5 months into chicken keeping!) Have a couple of small bags of BOSS sitting around as well.

Thanks

Not ignorance!! We all start somewhere

I'm new too...only had my chickens for about 2 months now...

Fermented Feed is their regular feed simply mixed with water...stirred a few times a day...and allowed to sit for about 24 hours-3 days (depending on your location and temperatures)...it's basically like mush but is better for them because it's already broken down and they can absorb the nutrients easier

Now you can make this fermented food ALL kinds of ways...adding ALL sorts of things...I wanted to go the simple route and make sure I was doing it right, I'll think about adding in other items later on, maybe

I posted some pictures of my wild bird seed sprouting in this thread, check it out if you want to! It's super easy too...let the seeds soak for a few hours (overnight is what I do...) dump out water...rinse and stir 1-2x a day...2-3 days later BAM sprouts and ready to feed to the flock!! I haven't tried fodder yet (it's the grassy product you get after sprouts...different process though)...but again, sprouting is healthier for the flock because it unlocks nutrients for them...and again is more easily digestible

EDITED to add...from my understanding you can sprout just about ANYthing...still new, so not positive!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Fodder and sprouts are optional. Like scratch grains, they are treats and can throw off the balance of the diet, which is more a concern for growing birds, so should be used very sparingly. I think if birds can forage, and you're not having a drought, that birds can find a lot of that stuff on their own. Or toss some weeds into their area if they're confined. So both fodder and sprouts are things one can easily cut out of a tight budget. I am considering doing some sprouts during our dry summers and dormant winters.

I do ferment a portion of the feed the birds get. I think it's great for keeping their guts healthy. BUT ... I don't believe it should be 100% of their diet. There are lots of reasons for this ... from the loss of water soluble vitamins to the potential for mycotoxins ... and many people doing fermented feed will disagree quite strongly with my opinion on this.

It's not that easy to formulate a properly balanced poultry ration, and not usually a money saver.

 

[SaCollins]

@LeslieDJoyce I can't free range, not with the predator load we have here...BUT I'm already saving a TON of money on feed just by fermenting...and I give sprouts usually once per day, a small quantity as a treat...usually at night since it's getting cooler...and I know seeds help them produce heat, so on the hot days I don't give it to them at all...I also scored on my seed, which is why I have it...80lbs for $12!

 

[stevethack]

@SaCollins the rounder med-tan/brown are Milo/Sorghum. Lighter yellowish round are Millet. You can sprout the Milo, but do not let "leaves" grow green if you are caring about your birds. I have Milo/Sorghum sprouted with 1/2" or slightly longer roots showing, but no leaves. That's why I prefer the drainable metal cans and covering up the open end of the can (opposite the screened end) with a dark lid to shut out the light.
No greens from Milo for my chickens.. Wheat yes...Millet yes.. Rye yes for short green leaves up to maybe 4" tall. Clover works...Alfalfa works great!

 

[Ra_]

Don't!! sprout sorghum (milo--the brown-ish/red bigger round seeds in wild bird seeds and scratch) and let it grow leaves hardly at all. The young plants develop a poison..
Sorghum seed sprouts with short white roots are good........but NO GREEN leaves showing!

Thanks for the warning.

 

[julia305]

Not ignorance!! We all start somewhere

I'm new too...only had my chickens for about 2 months now...

Fermented Feed is their regular feed simply mixed with water...stirred a few times a day...and allowed to sit for about 24 hours-3 days (depending on your location and temperatures)...it's basically like mush but is better for them because it's already broken down and they can absorb the nutrients easier

Now you can make this fermented food ALL kinds of ways...adding ALL sorts of things...I wanted to go the simple route and make sure I was doing it right, I'll think about adding in other items later on, maybe

I posted some pictures of my wild bird seed sprouting in this thread, check it out if you want to! It's super easy too...let the seeds soak for a few hours (overnight is what I do...) dump out water...rinse and stir 1-2x a day...2-3 days later BAM sprouts and ready to feed to the flock!! I haven't tried fodder yet (it's the grassy product you get after sprouts...different process though)...but again, sprouting is healthier for the flock because it unlocks nutrients for them...and again is more easily digestible

EDITED to add...from my understanding you can sprout just about ANYthing...still new, so not positive!

Thank you I live in the UK so our weather is never very extreme. Do you cover the pellets with water? Do you put your sprouts into those trays with holes in it? I'm wary of doing the wild bird seed now due to the warning about sorghum but I might give it a go with scratch grain. Thank you for the pics it really helped

Regarding the sprouted grains - do they have to be dried? We dont have feed stores in London. I get my chicken feed from the pet store which doesnt have a great range - they do chicken scratch, chick crumb, layer pellet and wild bird seed. I can get (obviously) dried pulses from the supermarket. So I was thinking to sprout some chicken scratch as well as try fermenting it. Is this OK do you think? I've heard of sprouting oats so could i get some quaker porridge oats and have a go (I'm laughing as i write this it sounds so dumb). I've just spent 30 minutes reading up on it and i'm still none the wiser lol. Duuuuh

 

[Ra_]

What is in your chicken scratch? I think the scratch here contains Milo/Sorghum?

 

[julia305]

You know what Ra - I dont actually know what's in it. How bad is that!! I feel like a bad chicken mummy now lol. I just looked it up on the website it's the Gra Mix that they have at the moment rather than pet shop scratch I mistakenly thought it was a mixed flock food and bought it as i only have one layer and she's not even laying at the moment lol. I have one bantam that i found out today might be a rooster and one duck which I just recently found out is a male!! Sadly I lost the other half of my flock (one drake 2 female chickens) to a fox about 3 weeks ago. Anyway i digress, it does have sorghum in it which a pain. I think i'll fermet that into some of their layers pellets and i'll just try and sprout some lentils, chick peas, oats and maybe by some of that dried stew mix at the supermarket that has all sorts of dried peas and whatnot in it.

 

[SaCollins]

@julia305 Yes, you just put in a little food (pellets, scratch, whatever you feed) pour the water over the top and stir...check it in about an hour to make sure you have the water level OVER the food (about an 1 inch is perfect!)...if not add a little...keep the water level over the food so to discourage mold growth...I keep a paper towel over the mixture (which is ready in 2-3 days here)...DO NOT cover tightly or you'll get an explosion

P.S. you can still sprout the seed, just don't let it grow longer than 4-5 days

My sprouts have NEVER gotten any leaves because I only sprout...I haven't done fodder which is letting it grow until it grows into green grass/leaves...and I don't let it sprout long enough to get any leaves...I only do a little at a time...

@stevethack Thanks for that info!! I WILL NOT try fodder with this mixture then, I truly appreciate that advice...I would SO UPSET if something happened to my girls...and really bad if I was the one who caused it! I only let my seeds sprout for about 4-5 days max (usually 4) and then feed it to them...maybe in the future I'll try some other things like alfalfa and wheat and such...I just got this at a great price and wanted it to be healthy as possible for my girls

so I sprout them...