Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Sally Sunshine]

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As long as there is bubbling, it is good to go.

We also do the FF for our dog. She loves it. We did have to move the buckets to our greenhouse. The weather had been too cold to get the fermenting going. It's nice and warm in the greenhouse.
I should do this, I already wet feed them after realizing how bad dry food is on the urinary systems....

 

[3 NH reds]

MY fermented feed has the smell of sour dough/ vinegar. It was out in the open all summer so it got all kinds of wild yeast but it works great. 3 weeks of the eglgayers back on it and I am pulling eggs again, they stopped for their molt..

I am wondering if I should add acv and let it sit longer... I only waited 2 days????

As long as there is bubbling, it is good to go.

We also do the FF for our dog. She loves it. We did have to move the buckets to our greenhouse. The weather had been too cold to get the fermenting going. It's nice and warm in the greenhouse.

I should do this, I already wet feed them after realizing how bad dry food is on the urinary systems....

When I said my fermented grain was out all summer I really am saying that the buckets were always out and open all summer. I use the 2 bucket method and used the juice from an old batch to start a new batch or I back slopped and added new grains to an old batch. I would love to have a greenhouse to ferment feed in I am stuck with a cold 50* basement.When the night temps go under 10*F I sometimes fire up the coal stove and use this as a good time to start fresh batches of fermented grain and fermented do food. We had a Lab we had to put down at 10 years due to kidney problems so we feed dry in the morning and fermented at night.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

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[Toast n Jelly]

Does anyone have more general info on feeding dogs home fermented kibble? I googled it but came up with nothing that has info on home fermenting.
I have 2 senior dogs that can't really chew bones to clean their teeth and they don't bother with the ones from the pet stores so I imagine that the wet food will deteriorate whatever teeth that they have left. I would like to do it if there is truly improvement healthwise.

I'd have no problem with my younger GSD which I feed raw meaty bones to in the morning and kibble at night as far as tooth health but do wonder if there would be a good reason to feed the FF for health reasons.

 

[countrygirl74]

Does anyone have more general info on feeding dogs home fermented kibble? I googled it but came up with nothing that has info on home fermenting.
I have 2 senior dogs that can't really chew bones to clean their teeth and they don't bother with the ones from the pet stores so I imagine that the wet food will deteriorate whatever teeth that they have left. I would like to do it if there is truly improvement healthwise.

I'd have no problem with my younger GSD which I feed raw meaty bones to in the morning and kibble at night as far as tooth health but do wonder if there would be a good reason to feed the FF for health reasons.

x2 - I also would like some more information. My dogs are used to free-feeding dry food. We do not feed organic, but it is a natural, wheat-free, corn-free feed.

 

[blessedchick]

I start them on FF from day 1.

It usually takes them a couple of days to start eating it like it's the best thing in the world.

Thank you, Aoxa! I put some in with my chickies tonight...they were terrified of it at first, but soon figured out that it was edible and they finished it off in a flash! I also just put 4 little newbies that hatched early this morning into the brooder and put the ff in next to the crumbles. TAA DAA! They are gobbling up both varieties with gusto!

 

[aoxa]

Thank you, Aoxa! I put some in with my chickies tonight...they were terrified of it at first, but soon figured out that it was edible and they finished it off in a flash! I also just put 4 little newbies that hatched early this morning into the brooder and put the ff in next to the crumbles. TAA DAA! They are gobbling up both varieties with gusto!

Great to hear!!

My chicks can't get enough of the stuff. They are growing like little weeds. Feathering out like I've never seen chicks feather out. Doing them a world of difference!

 

[delisha]

Lactic Acid Fermentation

Vegetables are important to canine health, and although advocates of home-prepared diets debate the quantity of vegetable matter dogs should consume, all agree that vegetables contain essential nutrients that are not provided by other foods. Cats do not require vegetables for optimum health, as Dr. Pottenger proved, but many breeders report good results from adding small amounts of raw vegetables to their food.
One way to help dogs and cats digest vegetables is to puree them. Blenders and food processors make this task easy, and pureed root vegetables like carrots and parsnips, leafy herbs such as parsley, and grasses like wheat grass or barley grass can be added to every meal with good results.
Another way to improve the digestibility of vegetables is with lactic-acid fermentation, and a growing body of research indicates that this method both prevents and helps cure cancer and other serious illnesses. According to William J. Fischer in How to Fight Cancer and Win,15 lactic acid fermentation produces vitamin C, B vitamins, enzymes that support metabolic activity, choline which balances and nourishes the blood, and acetylcholine which tones the nerves, calms the mind and improves sleep patterns. Lactic acid is also a chemical repressor that fights cancer cells without harming healthy cells. Lactic-acid fermentation imitates the digestion of plant foods in the stomachs of small animals that dogs and cats in the wild would eat.
As with any new food, introduce fermented vegetables gently and in small quantities. For dogs and cats that are slow to accept new foods, this can be as little as a fraction of a teaspoon mixed with the animal's regular food, increasing the amount a little each day. Whatever vegetables a canine or feline menu plan recommends can be replaced with a slightly smaller quantity, such as 10 to 15 percent less by volume, of lacto-fermented fare. Fermentation and pressing condense the vegetables and concentrate their nutrients. The resulting liquid, which looks like water but is really the vegetables' juice, is a rich source of lactic acid and other nutrients. It can be added in small amounts, such as 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, to a pet's food and drinking water.
For more detailed instructions, see The Cultured Cabbage: Rediscovering the Art of Making Sauerkraut by Klaus Kaufmann and Annelies Schoeneck21 or Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.23 Lacto-fermented vegetables are sold in some health food stores.22



I can post more if more is needed. Many books and articles done by health professionals all over the world. This is strictly about dogs and cats and vegetables.

http://sagepetfoods.com/2012/02/benefits-of-fermentation/

 

[maryhysong]

I am wondering if I should add acv and let it sit longer... I only waited 2 days????

If it's bubbling and/or smelling like vinegar or dough (or other fermented food) then it's good to go; just feed it out and then add more feed to the bucket with as much water as needed. I use warm water with the colder weather, so it ferments ok even tho the kitchen is a little cool. You shouldn't need more ACV unless you have to start over for some reason.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

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