FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[BY Chicken Lady]

I didn't have time to read through all of the posts. Since the suggestion is to use fermented grains, can spent grains left over from making beer at a brewery be used for chickens? I have a bunch of little breweries in my area and was hoping they would like me to take some of their spent grains off their hands...maybe free?

I don't know about fermenting it, but a local brewery offered to trade me their spent grains for fresh eggs, lol. They said several of their customers pick up the spent grains to feed their chickens, but they still have too much left over. I might take them up on the offer.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Hey CC, How are you? Have you ever had a chicken do the "goose-step"? Yesterday my little silkie-frizzle cross began walking by lifting her feet real high in front of her like a Nazi marching . Of course I thought, "She's got dingle berries stuck between her toes!" Nope, all 5 toes good and all the feathers on her feet were as well. She's eating good but laying down to eat most of the time. There is no apparent swelling in either leg. I can't figure it out. I had to separate her because a bigger chick sat on her and was pecking her. She had one eye glued shut so I fixed that and it hasn't gummed up again. Any clues?? Thanks! : (

I'm sorry I haven't been on this thread for a while. I also don't know what may be up with your bird. How is it doing now? Any changes?

Quote:

I'd have to give them a double serving to cover their morning and evening amounts, and there's no way they could eat all that in one go. At least not without exploding their crops. If it's cold enough I'd also worry about the feed freezing since it's wet and they couldn't eat it all.

You may have to return to dry feed once winter comes on hard.

Geez i wish mine acted like they love it but i think they eat it ok, i think it would be better if it was pellets fermented instead of organic seeds and fines as the seeds stay intact but it seems they are eating it ok

Been feeding FF for almost 3 weeks and honestly don't see a jump in health or esp body weight or glossy feathers, i think they've been going through a mild molt though.

Also, anyone weigh in but i think i may need a bigger bucket for FF. I have 4 hens and i do it now in a plastic rectangle bin and i have to add new feed about every 3 days which i think is too soon? Probably be better if it was larger and once a week so it ferments well??

Also i have never seen white or brown stuff or bubbles or ANYTHING like that..i stir well at least twice daily and keep it covered w/newspaper, all i can tell if it's fermented is it has a sour smell to it. Probably going to get an actual bucket today and try things like that.

Also it seems like they like it on the drier side, like dry oatmeal cookie dough, hope that's ok

Wish i could see a "beautifying" in my hens like everyone else seems to and especially wish they would go nuts over it like everyone else seems to experience But they do eat it..... (they also free range and get worms and BOSS)

I don't see a difference in mine either, nor is feces any different. I do it because I use so much less feed.

Hi! I'm new to fermenting feed and was wondering if you can use a 5 gallon bucket with an air tight seal. I wanted to get a gamma lid for ease of use. Also wondering if I should have more then one bucket. Right now I feed some in the morning then refil then feed more in the evening then refill. Does it get a chance to ferment in that amount of time or should I use from one bucket refill at night then use another bucket the next day giving the first bucket 24 hours to ferment.

Don't use a tight seal on anything fermenting. It has to gas off and it expands. I use multiple buckets depending on how many chickens. In the spring I had five 5 gallon buckets going. Right now I have one for adults and one for chicks but I like to let one bucket work for a while (like 3 days) before I start to use it so I'll probably temporarily add another adult bucket and another chick bucket. I have 65 chicks ranging from a couple days to 6 weeks and they're starting to use a lot.

Mine are 5 gallon pickle buckets. If I put a thin cloth across the top and set the lid on loosely it allows it to expand but keeps fruit flies and house flies out.

FF cannot be overstirred.

{there are folks using cement mixers without issue, and electric drills, much like one would use for big buckets of grout or thinset, for example. ...}

Water on top is NOT necessary.

It's better NOT to refresh as you go.

Certainly, everyone is welcome to feed however they desire. I like things easy and not sloppy.

Good points. I start a bucket covered with water but as it absorbs it's no longer covered. I usually have to add water later.

Absolutely right. Breed make a big difference in weight and overall size {think dual purpose breeds}.

Heavier birds, like orpingtons, cochins, wyandottes, brahmas, even rocks, are going to weigh more than slighter breeds, like lakenvelders, hamburgs, etc.

EEs have no rhyme or reason, since they are essentially mutts. One of my heaviest is an EE, although she looks smaller than my BOs.

That's one of the reasons there's such a range in feeding.

X2
All birds weren't created equal. It's OK being new but I think new people think there are hard and fast rules, especially how much a chicken will eat. A large fowl Jersey Giant will eat way more than a sebright. A POL meat breed will eat 4 times what a layer breed will.
So the question of how many cups of feed for a flock can't really be answered unless one knows the breeds, ages and numbers.

"Aerobic fermentation actually is a misnomer, fermentation by definition is anaerobic. In the presence of Oxygen (aerobic) “cellular respiration,” not fermentation, occurs. The bacteria involved in fermentation actually prefer to use Oxygen, because it is more energy efficient. However, “cellular respiration” does NOTproduce lactic-acid, the goal of lacto-fermentation."

Darn it. My reply got eaten. Since I'm having a hard time seeing, this will be brief. That's the point, up there. Our fermentation takes place in an aerobic environment to gas off {yes, glass can explode from the gas pressure, as folks have shared on this thread} and to grab some wild teadts, etc but that does not mean it's aerobic fermentation. I have a link that explains a lot of this.

X2
A lot depends on the precise species of bacteria or yeast being cultured. And poultry feed fermentation isn't precise, at least not for me. There's a range of bacteria and yeasts and they don't all have the same oxygen requirements.

...
People read stuff and think they are doing something much more sophisticated because they use big words.

. Some of us like to break it down so folks can understand it. Your feed ferments the same way mine does, lol.

I don't begrudge folks who have 3 buckets for straining and use $$$$ starters and have 50 precisely measured ingredients. They are welcome to make it as complicated and as pricey as they want .

Still doesn't mean "the other" way is inferior {as you implied} ir qrong or less fermented goodness.

But ya, I'm not ruffled at all.

. I do apologixe for typos. I'm on my phone and can't see worth a darn right now.

I always use starters because the process is much faster but they're not expensive because I use so little. I use a glug of plain kefir (with 12 live active cultures), that costs me about $2 or less a week. I also sprinkle in some gro2max probiotic powder formulated for chickens, it has several fermentation yeasts and bacteria. A 100 gram package goes much farther by using it as a ferment culture than in the feed or water that is recommended. That's probably another 50 cents or a dollar a week. I consider that pretty cheap since the results are so fast. I use less if I have more buckets going but more if I'm starting a new bucket and need it faster.

Can you raise the feeder up higher? If you can get it up to about back level they are less likely to kick it out. Of course, if you have different sizes and ages that might not work for you.

I have all my feeders up about shoulder high. If there are multiple sizes of birds I'll put a concrete block in front of part of it. But I find even small chicks can hop up and they stand in the feed to eat.

I didn't have time to read through all of the posts. Since the suggestion is to use fermented grains, can spent grains left over from making beer at a brewery be used for chickens? I have a bunch of little breweries in my area and was hoping they would like me to take some of their spent grains off their hands...maybe free?

I know you can feed it, I would do some research on the nutrient density so you know what nutrients are high and which are deficient so you know what else they need. Most grains are missing some amino acids (hence the need to add legumes to poultry feed). I don't know how the fermentation process affects the vitamin and amino acid content of the resultant spent grains but since it's common to feed them, there should be lots of research on the subject.

 

[Yellowcoop1]

Hi all, what's your opinions on fermenting feed in the winter. I mean how do you do it in the cold. I don't add starters to my ferment. Will it still ferment with the cold weather as I know to start yeast for baking you need warmth. I don't wanna lug it to the house for the winter, what should I do???

Thanks

 

[ak rain]

Yellowcoop how cold us it were you are.
Range is from slow ferment all the way to freeze/stop ferment.
Me I ferment in my garage (heated)
Ak rain

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Hi all, what's your opinions on fermenting feed in the winter. I mean how do you do it in the cold. I don't add starters to my ferment. Will it still ferment with the cold weather as I know to start yeast for baking you need warmth. I don't wanna lug it to the house for the winter, what should I do???

Thanks

I ferment on a small scale so I do it indoors, in my kitchen.

 

[kpgoldstar]

I ferment on a small scale so I do it indoors, in my kitchen.

X2, Plus it rarely freezes where I live.

 

[LindaB220]

i NEED to do something, i have 4 hens but i think Thelma gets aced out and she needs to put on weight and i've been putting out 2 plates for them, want to try 2 sections of gutter but how do i keep them for trying to knock it over? They like to try to stand in it and kick food out and i put out an acrylic tub with 4-5" sides and they kicked that over!!

Plus i want to be able to clean it out, they don't eat every single morsel

Why not do like Leslie does and stand up a cement block on each end. For smaller birds put it in the bottom, larger in the top. It works well for her. She doesn't tend to move hers around a lot.

 

[kpgoldstar]

Hi all, what's your opinions on fermenting feed in the winter. I mean how do you do it in the cold. I don't add starters to my ferment. Will it still ferment with the cold weather as I know to start yeast for baking you need warmth. I don't wanna lug it to the house for the winter, what should I do???

Thanks

Some people use a cooler in the coop/run/shed and the insulation keeps it from slowing down or freezing.

 

[LindaB220]

Some people use a cooler in the coop/run/shed and the insulation keeps it from slowing down or freezing.

Beekissed did that and it worked for a while. She eventually had to move it inside to get it to ferment. She just brought it out per serving once a day. My area doesn't get that cold in north La. I'll keep mine in the storeroom on the very cold times. Otherwise it's going to be okay outdoors.

 

[n3kms]

i NEED to do something, i have 4 hens but i think Thelma gets aced out and she needs to put on weight and i've been putting out 2 plates for them, want to try 2 sections of gutter but how do i keep them for trying to knock it over? They like to try to stand in it and kick food out and i put out an acrylic tub with 4-5" sides and they kicked that over!!

Plus i want to be able to clean it out, they don't eat every single morsel

This is the way I did mine. They can't stand in it. They can't knock it over and they pretty nearly eat every single morsel. Ever so often I hose it out. I've been pretty pleased with it. Some times I drop some trying to spoon it in but they eat that too. When I fill it in the morning they are still in the coop and that is easy. In the afternoon they are all over the place trying to get at it. So funny. Sometimes I hold out the spoon and they eat off the spoon. That used to be helpful for the younger ones.