FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

So NOW you are starting to see why the feed costs lessen when fermenting the feed. The nutrients in the feed are changed into something more available to the monogastric chicken, so instead of them excreting the unused nutrition in their feces, they are actually able to absorb it and utilize it more fully as amino acids. Therein lies the need for less feed than they are fed normally. More bang for each scoopful.

 

[chickluvinfreak]

@Jensownzoo Thanks for all the information and answering my questions. I will have to think about tryng it with chicks.

 

[Jensownzoo]

@Jensownzoo Thanks for all the information and answering my questions. I will have to think about tryng it with chicks.

You're welcome.

 

[Chris09]

So NOW you are starting to see why the feed costs lessen when fermenting the feed. The nutrients in the feed are changed into something more available to the monogastric chicken, so instead of them excreting the unused nutrition in their feces, they are actually able to absorb it and utilize it more fully as amino acids. Therein lies the need for less feed than they are fed normally. More bang for each scoopful.

No, I knew the reason why fermenting a feed cost less, (chicken eats less so less feed is used to feed chicken and it cost less to feed chicken).

What I want to know is WHY a chicken eats less..
One reason could be (and I believe) that fermenting a feed increases the caloric amount of the feed, much like in some other fermentations.

Anyone can hypothesize on the reason, how it benefits chickens, or what it increases but until someone freezes a feed sample and sends it to a lab and has the proper testing done to tell what is increased, decreased and the benefits we don't know and until then it is just a hypothesis.

 

[Beekissed]

That would be a great experiment for someone with your access to labs and your analytical mind, Chris. That is, if you have any interest in actually finding out why and how the feed is changed.

Maybe these guys have done the necessary lab work...they seem to be pretty impressed with the fermentation of their feeds in improving nutrition...

http://www.sweetpro.com/about-history.html

 

[Bridebeliever]

I'd thought I'd check back in with the results of my return to fermented feed! It's good news!

I went back to it for one simple reason...my egg production from my chickens was greatly reduced at a time of year when their production should be the highest! We have daylight from 6:30am-8pm now and bugs and forage are plentiful. Despite that my 8 hens were giving me a 2-4 eggs per day!! 4 eggs and I was doing the happy dance!

I haven't finished my first bucket (3 gallon size) and my egg production is now 6-8 eggs per day!

I've been feeding them this way for what...a week and a half? Maybe two weeks, but that is as long as it's been! That my friends is all the proof I need to keep this up! So thrilled!!

 

[Leigti]

I fermented feed once after reading all the health benefits. But my hens flat out refused to eat it. It was dissapointing becaue it seemed like such a good idea. I buy probiotics and mix it in their layer feed for similar benefits but it's not as cheap as just fermenting. I don't understand how often it's supposed to be fed to them though. Doesn't it go bad alot quicker than dry feed and need thrown out? I guess it works best with chickens who aren't picky and eat it quickly.

At first my chickens wouldn't eat it either. So I started over with just mixing some water in with their feed every day. After about a week of that then I started fermenting it. I use the one bucket method, because quite frankly I'm lazy and it is the easiest way in my opinion, so it wasn't fermented on the first or second day but by the third day it was beginning to have that sour pickle he smell. They've eaten it ever since without a problem.
For the adults are usually just throw it out onto the ground. For the chicks I have put it in a bowl. When I put it on the ground they just looked at it.

 

[Tikkijane]

No, I knew the reason why fermenting a feed cost less, (chicken eats less so less feed is used to feed chicken and it cost less to feed chicken).

What I want to know is WHY a chicken eats less..
 One reason could be (and I believe) that fermenting a feed increases the caloric amount of the feed, much like in some other fermentations.

Anyone can hypothesize on the reason, how it benefits chickens, or what it increases but until someone freezes a feed sample and sends it to a lab and has the proper testing done to tell what is increased, decreased and the benefits we don't know and until then it is just a hypothesis. 

Have you ever eaten really dense food and been full after a few mouthfuls? Imo, it's the same concept.

I can say that with my own flock, they ate FF like crazy for a few weeks at first. As time has gone on, they've eaten less and less. I really do think it's because they are getting such dense nutrition that they need considerably less of it to meet their nutritional needs because those needs have been balanced/met. I know Bee {and others} have observed the same thing.

I am not sure how one would conduct am ongoing study, especially one that doesn't involve routine necropsy at the end....

 

[COChix]

@Beekissed I just was reading about the Gnarly Bunch and it prompted me to jump in since they are older birds. We moved birds in with my BF birds, her birds are three-year-old's and they hadn't laid in at least 6 months, one maybe a year. Anyway, got my bucket going about two months ago and now the other day we had 14 eggs from 14 layers. I attribute the fact that all three of her three-year-olds are now laying again to fermented feed.Glad to have my bucket going. Also upon reading the discussion between Chris09 and others on feed, I notice a huge difference in how the birds act, when we do not have fermented feed. They act starving all the time! With ferment they are definitely more satisfied. All of our birds love FF and chicks are started with it after a few days.

 

[NellieFed]

I'm sure this has been asked already, and I hope I'm in the right place. Just started feeding my chickens fermented feed, they were laying 20 eggs per day and I haven't seen an egg now in 5 days. I panicked and switched them back to normal feed. Can they be fixed?