Soaked and/or fermented grain

[Winter Creek Coop]

Who is soaking? Why? How? And what?

Who is fermenting? Why? How? And what?

We free range and feed mostly scratch grains soaked overnight and drained supplemented with some other things. I don’t intentionally ferment it usually but if its warm it starts to smell like mash. When we soak their feed they eat all of it rather than picking and leaving some for the chickadees and such. Our scratch is a mix of milo, wheat, cracked corn, sunflower seeds, and sometimes oats and barley.

What are you grain soakers doing and why?

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

Oh also I soak mine in water that starts out warm.

 

[PioneerChicks]

I do this: Fermenting Chicken Feed: A Straightforward Method

Fermenting is a bit different from just soaking water, and I highly recommend it!

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

I do this: Fermenting Chicken Feed: A Straightforward Method

Fermenting is a bit different from just soaking water, and I highly recommend it!

Great article. I have done true ferments but for the winter I have been soaking 24 hrs and occasionally adding some yogurt.

Thanks again. Great info.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I ferment since I feed a whole grain mash, so it ensures the chickens eat everything from various grains to the vitamin and protein rich fines. But I do a super simple ferment where I just toss feed and water in a jar, wait 24 hrs, and start serving.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

When the weather warms up, I plan to start soaking seeds (boss, wheat, whatever else is readily available inexpensively) and tossing into the chicken compost pile.

I figure the flock will eat some, but some will mix into the pile and sprout...giving the flock a tasty and healthy motivation to scratch up the pile.

 

[Ametrina]

I fermenting whole oats for few days at home . Later I am adding them to the scratch and fermenting over night chicken feed with it( before my chickens did not like they regular feed, but now it is all gone in 5 min)