Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Taniamax]

That's good to know. I'm a worrier about my flock. I just started using mother vinegar, but offer it as a choice next to their water. So far I haven't noticed any difference, but I think that the ferment will make a big difference and am excited to give it a try. My flock is not for meat, just eggs, but from what I am reading here, it sounds like the fermented feed is good for everyone.
Thanks again!

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know that chickens will ever sample vinegar in and of itself. They won't even drink the water if it has too much ACV in it, so I'm thinking straight ACV would be a little much for them. Maybe you could try it in their water and see how it affects their health and laying?

You might like the results. My egg customers really raved about the change in the taste of my eggs when I started using the vinegar full time in the water instead of just sporadically.

 

[Taniamax]

I'm going to move this info from the second thread over to this one....

This will not be the first time I've fed fermented feeds to my chickens...just the first time I fermented their grain-based feeds. In the past I've always kept unpasteurized ACV(with the mother intact) in their water and have also fed them fermented pumpkins in late winter/early spring.

This year, though, I happened to become curious about the health benefits of feeding them to the meaties in order to get more bang for my buck and also to keep them from having the smelly, diarrhea poops that are characteristic for these birds.

Here are some of the articles I found that were helpful...it is a lot of information through which to sift, but there are gold nuggets in that thar stream...

http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajb/article/viewFile/60378/48610

Do you happen to have an updated link for this first article? When I click on it, it sends me off in some other direction.
Interesting articles make me want to dig deeper! Thank you so much.
Tania

 

[Taniamax]

Making your own ACV is child's play. Of course you'll need a start of it by getting Braggs or similar. Or if you want to wait for 3-6 months you don't but... Best juice to use is frozen apple juice WITHOUT added calcium. It's ok if it has the "Added Vitamin C" but not the calcium. Just mix up the frozen juice, glugg in some Braggs, cover with coffee filter (held by a rubber band) and sit the whole works in the pantry for a month. Only use a glass or ceramic jar. You'll end up with a slimy layer on top that is tan to cream colored. That is the real "mother." You can taste it with a straw or with litmus paper to see if it's done yet.
Take out the slimy thing and plop it into the next batch instead of glugging in Braggs and you're off and running.
PS - there are more than one reason why the frozen juice is best, the main one for me being that it's only going to cost you $2 a gallon that way if you get the generic. But besides that, the frozen is not pasteurized and so the enzymes you need to make the ACV are still present.

I am going to make some today! It sounds very easy to make. I already make Kombucha, so I have an idea of what needs to be done. Does the temperature matter for this, though? I live in Washington State and it is starting to cool down a bit.
Thanks again for the directions!

 

[galanie]

Yes, temp does matter. It should be around 75 degrees. Mine is usually more like 80 but seems to do ok. Oh, and this batch I added 1/2 cup of sugar to see if I could get a more acid vinegar. It's still brewing but I"ll try to remember to keep you posted.

 

[Dianuzhka]

finally made it !! 129 pages

 

[chicken curious]

I make Kombucha too! I think you can just put some kombucha in the water and you'd get the same benefit as the acv: full of probiotics and alkaline forming plus the kombucha would also be full of b vitamins and other beneficial acids.

I'm not an expert, just makes sense to me. I always add kombucha to the fermenting feed and sometimes to the water to change up the probiotics instead of acv. Then again, it's my first set of layers and they're close to POL so I can't speak to flavor of the eggs yet.

 

[Jeanette56]

If it is the kind made up of mostly grain it can be a good addition especially if it's soaked for a couple days. My birds like it and they eat up nearly each kind of seed when they are soaked. I also have a few pigeons so when I'm short on something else I will use pigeon grain. Generally it is pretty high in protein.

anybody ever use pidgeon feed for chickens. it is very costly.i wonder if it worth adding to layer mash and ferment.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Question...but Background first:
The "core" feed I use is made to order, no soy, organic, with fertrel from a local feed mill. Since it is quite powdery (rather than pellets), I often soak my feed with water or whey and a little ACV. Usually this is just overnight or not more than about 24 hours total.

I also sprout various grains like wheat, barley, and sunflower seeds, but only to the short root stage (not to the "grass" stage). I am just starting a batch of the GRAIN to try to get a ferment going.


SO HERE'S THE QUESTION:
That being said - I'm wondering about fermenting the "core" feed from the mill. It has FISH in it. Can I ferment a feed that has animal protein?

 

[Lacy Blues]

I'm not positive, but I believe somebody (about a week or so ago) mentioned they use a pelleted feed that has fish meal in it and it ferments fine. Maybe someone else remembers better and can actually quote the post?