Why ferment feed?

[Cooba]

The biggest downside for me would be the time it takes, not so much the 'add water' part, but the daily bowl cleaning. My birds have to manage somehow on fresh crumble in their feeders, and some extras outside.
I'm not interested in having any issues wilth mold, for example, if things aren't 'spiffy' enough.
mary

Ah Mary.....alas...I’m a retired R.N. with plenty of time....or more time than I used to have. But I know what you mean by having to wash stuff.....bit of a pain. I just want to make sure it is beneficial and not just here say. They do advise to be Leary of what you read on the net and in books I have found out. So research, research, research! Thxs.

 

[SueT]

The biggest downside for me would be the time it takes, not so much the 'add water' part, but the daily bowl cleaning. My birds have to manage somehow on fresh crumble in their feeders, and some extras outside.
I'm not interested in having any issues wilth mold, for example, if things aren't 'spiffy' enough.
Mary
PS: Is there actual research about fermenting their feed and improved nutrition? I've never looked for it myself.

Right, it takes time. When I go out of town, and leave hubby to care for the flock, I tell him just feed dry. I'm not asking him to clean the bowls or make up new batches.
I don't know the research, but I think fermented foods are beneficial for humans, so logically extend the idea to the flock. I make kombucha. and sourdough, have made pickles, kraut, yogurt, fermenting is like a hobby.
~~~~~~~~~~~

And, @Cooba ... if you find, like me, that chickens prefer it, then they are going to balk at their dry feed if you decide to go back to only feeding dry. I went back to only dry for a long time, and then, stopped free ranging abruptly after a hawk attack in December, and felt like offering fermented as a sort of consolation. On these freezing days, it seems like a hassle, as it freezes. That's another con.

 

[Cooba]

Right, it takes time. When I go out of town, and leave hubby to care for the flock, I tell him just feed dry. I'm not asking him to clean the bowls or make up new batches.
I don't know the research, but I think fermented foods are beneficial for humans, so logically extend the idea to the flock. I make kombucha. and sourdough, have made pickles, kraut, yogurt, fermenting is like a hobby.
~~~~~~~~~~~

And, @Cooba ... if you find, like me, that chickens prefer it, then they are going to balk at their dry feed if you decide to go back to only feeding dry. I went back to only dry for a long time, and then, stopped free ranging abruptly after a hawk attack in December, and felt like offering fermented as a sort of consolation. On these freezing days, it seems like a hassle, as it freezes. That's another con.

Great.....we have a pair of resident red tail hawks and a sharp shin that comes around my bird feeders. But I also have 4 dogs but won’t be allowed near the chickens. Don’t know if they will help. I can buy owls that my husband used to use at the vineyard to scare the birds away. I heard putting up a scare crow would help too. It’s all a crap shoot isn’t it lol

 

[Cooba]

Right, it takes time. When I go out of town, and leave hubby to care for the flock, I tell him just feed dry. I'm not asking him to clean the bowls or make up new batches.
I don't know the research, but I think fermented foods are beneficial for humans, so logically extend the idea to the flock. I make kombucha. and sourdough, have made pickles, kraut, yogurt, fermenting is like a hobby.
~~~~~~~~~~~

And, @Cooba ... if you find, like me, that chickens prefer it, then they are going to balk at their dry feed if you decide to go back to only feeding dry. I went back to only dry for a long time, and then, stopped free ranging abruptly after a hawk attack in December, and felt like offering fermented as a sort of consolation. On these freezing days, it seems like a hassle, as it freezes. That's another con.

Right, it takes time. When I go out of town, and leave hubby to care for the flock, I tell him just feed dry. I'm not asking him to clean the bowls or make up new batches.
I don't know the research, but I think fermented foods are beneficial for humans, so logically extend the idea to the flock. I make kombucha. and sourdough, have made pickles, kraut, yogurt, fermenting is like a hobby.
~~~~~~~~~~~

And, @Cooba ... if you find, like me, that chickens prefer it, then they are going to balk at their dry feed if you decide to go back to only feeding dry. I went back to only dry for a long time, and then, stopped free ranging abruptly after a hawk attack in December, and felt like offering fermented as a sort of consolation. On these freezing days, it seems like a hassle, as it freezes. That's another con.

Yes apparently fermented is excellent for us! And my husband wants nothing to do with the chickens as his lungs are bad....mine aren’t much better but I have a respirator to wear. Horse stalls were dusty lol. I’m sure chickens aren’t much better.

 

[Shadrach]

Yes apparently fermented is excellent for us! And my husband wants nothing to do with the chickens as his lungs are bad....mine aren’t much better but I have a respirator to wear. Horse stalls were dusty lol. I’m sure chickens aren’t much better.

I feed a wet mash rather than fully fermented.
This is how I got to that point.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...o-fermented-facts-myths-and-experience.74414/

 

[Folly's place]

I just located three actual journal articles on this topic, amidst many many 'how wonderful it is' stuff.
One was from 2009, about feeding broilers cheaper grains and taking some of their negative qualities out be fermenting. This was all on large scale production, using products and systems not anything like 'home done'. and results were a bit mixed. Also, not simple, or directly applicable.
The other was a few years ago, with commercial layers, an abstract, so no actual description of methods or materials used. It showed some improvement in feed utilization compared to feeding the layer mash as a dry product.
Nothing that made me feel that it's a perfect solution for feeding my flock!
Also, now at least some feeds have probiotics added, and I always buy fresh. There were no actual descriptions of the layer feed used, and commercial laying hens in confinement are not what I'm dealing with, or their commercial diet.
Mary

 

[NatJ]

What is the point of fermenting feed? The pros and cons? The WHY'S. New at this......not criticizing !

Pros:
--chickens don't throw it all over--but you can get the same effect by just serving the feed wet, without giving it time to ferment.
--Some people just like to do it (which can be a very strong reason indeed!)
--Some sources claim small benefits (like a better ratio of feed eaten to weight gained or eggs laid). These claims I often find believable.

Cons:
--it's more bother/time than serving the feed dry.
--whatever was carefully balanced in the feed has been changed (better or worse, but most folks agree it's different.)
--in below-freezing weather, it freezes into a hard lump the chickens cannot eat.
--I don't trust the people claiming GREAT benefits, because they say so many things that either don't make sense, or that I can prove to be wrong.

pro or con:
--some chickens like it better, some may object because it's different (so it depends on the chicken.)

I don't think it's bad, but I'm not convinced it's MUCH better than the alternatives. So I feel that people might as well do whichever they prefer.

My own personal preference is to serve dry feed free-choice, with wet (not fermented) feed as a treat. (As many "treats" as I like to serve, because it won't unbalance their diet the way corn or mealworms could.)

 

[Perris]

You may find this useful, especially if you contemplate feeding your flock grains rather than processed pellets or mash http://www.fao.org/3/x2184e/x2184e06.htm It is about grains as human food, but that ensures that higher standards were required than for studies of livestock fodder.
Fermented grains also don't suffer some of the cons mentioned above to do with cleaning or freezing. My flock thrives on it.

 

[Cooba]

I feed a wet mash rather than fully fermented.
This is how I got to that point.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...o-fermented-facts-myths-and-experience.74414/

Hilarious! Actually B vit's are water soluble and excreted out what isn’t used. A,D,E,K are fat soluble and stored and can O.D. On. From everything I’m reading I think I’ll pass lol. I’ll feed fresh as extra and let them forage. As they say....it’s 6 of one and 1/2 doz. of the other. If there’s no double blind research study it’s a crap shoot. Thanks

 

[Cooba]

You may find this useful, especially if you contemplate feeding your flock grains rather than processed pellets or mash http://www.fao.org/3/x2184e/x2184e06.htm It is about grains as human food, but that ensures that higher standards were required than for studies of livestock fodder.
Fermented grains also don't suffer some of the cons mentioned above to do with cleaning or freezing. My flock thrives on it.

Will read.....Thxs