Fermented Feed... They seem like they are starving and then binging

[Mamatomany123]

Yeah, its 16% layer mash from a local mill, did throw a handful of scratch in the mix, but not much lol. How much do you feed per bird? Is 1/2 cup per day enough?

Are you measuring before fermenting or after? I feed about 1/2 cup but that measurement is before fermenting. The can I use I put in 3 cups of feed (1/2 the can) then fill with water. It then expand and fills the entire can once fermented so 1 can is 1 day of feed. I feed half in the morning and half about an hr-30 min before bed. I have 11 birds that are eating this feed right now. I dont measure after fermenting. I know its half the can.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

I just started a new batch of 7.5lbs of feed in a 5 gallon bucket, and another today (for rotation). The first one might be ready tommorrow to start a new test.

I have some large rubber pans i use to feed them the wet feed. Ill also leave their free choice dry feed in their runs while i start the FF ration again and see how much they actually consume. I can already see this is a very large amount compared to what I was initially measuring for them.

I am excited to see the outcome. If this fails tho, ill just go back to good ol fashioned dry feed since i dont see the cost savings here if they eat this whole 7.5 lbs (measured before ferment) plus dry. They will be just indulging at that point. I already do yogurt snacks and ACV in their water too, for gut health.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

If it's overly wet and too soupy it's hard for them to get a good bite to eat it. I always mix dry feed back in to get the consistency right.
For me, the FF bowl is always empty at the end of the day and the dry feeder always had something left.

I could do that. It was pretty thick by itself, but i understand it. Should i mix the dry back in and then measure it out? Like how much do you actually feed your ladies?

 

[ChookieG]

There can be a number of reasons for you birds acting hungry.
What is most likely happening is that the hens aren't getting enough calories from the fermented feed.
You see chicken eat to fill a caloric need (they don't eat because there "hungry") and if the calories in your fermented feed is too low then they need to eat more feed to try to meet there needs.

I myself don't ferment my feed but I do a 7 day "fermentation" of Whole Oats and then mix that with there Scratch Grain mix. To be honest the only reason I ferment the Oats is to breakdown the hard to digest husk of the oats.

If your wanting to help improve the gut health and over all health of your birds you could simply do a 7 day fermentation of whole oats in Apple Juice (100% pure Apple Juice) and feed daily or wet a days feeding with low sodium Bone Broth and offer it to them once or twice a week.

Note -- Use good Bone Broth (Organic works well) some of the cheaper "bone broth" is nothing more than water and bouillon cubes and does nothing of the gut and over all health.

I suspect that too as my birds seem to eat more when I include fermented scratch grains in their diet as they were still eating the same amount of crumbles that I also leave out for them. Regardless, I will still supplement their diet with FF as I noticed their eggs are really better and are also generally in better health.

One of my girls who doesn't lay consistently have also improved.. she normally takes 1-2 day/s off after her last egg goes pale but she hasn't done that since incorporating FF.... the egg still goes pale but she continues to lay after 24 - 26 hours later (if it's not in the late afternoon then logically it's the morning after).

 

[Dreamzchaser]

Morning! out of curiosity on this FF. My chicks are not laying yet but tired the FF and they will not eat it. They will try and leave it. I have a leghorn,a turken, an ISA, a RIR, an EE and 2 GLS. None will eat of it. I check for consistency and made changes and still not helping. I want them to be the benefits of FF. They will not even touch the dried mealworms. (I do not even touch them) They stay on the floor and my dog eats them. Any advise?

 

[PurpleCArTires]

I'm about a week into feeding fermented feed. At first it was a little watery and I noticed they were acting like they were starving. Yesterday and today I made it more of an oatmeal consistency and they seemed to fill up nicely. They didnt even finish it this morning. I also think they need to get used to the idea of eating just2x a day (or once, whatever you do) instead of all day. Are you giving them high quality feed?I know someone who thought fermented scratch was food enough and it definitely is not.

Yeah, its 16% layer mash from a local mill, did throw a handful of scratch in the mix, but not much lol. How much do you feed per bird? Is 1/2 cup per day enough?

 

[Dreamzchaser]

How long has this been going on?
Many animals will try just a little bit of new feed, then wait a while to see if it makes them sick, then eat a bit more the next day when they have decided it really is safe.
So you might just need to offer small amounts for several days, so they can learn it is good to eat.

You mention the benefits of fermented feed. You can get some of those by just serving the feed wet. (That keeps the chickens from scattering dry feed all over, so it reduces waste and saves you money. And many chickens like the wet food better than dry food.)

If you really want them eating fermented feed, maybe start by serving wet feed, and if they eat that you can serve wet feed that is a little bit fermented. If they eat that too, then serve them food that was fermented a little bit longer. Work up gradually, until you are serving it at the level of fermentation you want, and the chickens are used to it.

So it is ok to have the feed just damp? I have tried this just 2 days now. I did not offered anything else but thought of giving them their usual once done in computer. They do make a huge mess around their bowl. They do not scratch it but they peck it out, which I think is worse,