Why ferment feed?

[Cooba]

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.)

Think I’ll do the same. And about the meal worms. I hear it’s a good protein source.....would you feed as a treat? 8 was considering it.

 

[Cooba]

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

Ya....I’ll have 15 chickens only. Think I’ll stick with possibly organic feed with probiotics and feed fresh treats too. I have 4 dogs and 5 cats that I baby.....that’s enuf lol that being said I am planning on planting a garden that caters to the chickens and dogs....kale, watermelon, squash, herbs etc......if that isn’t babying

 

[NatJ]

And about the meal worms. I hear it’s a good protein source.....would you feed as a treat? 8 was considering it.

Personally, I would not feed mealworms as a treat unless I was raising them myself, just because they're so very expensive! If I wanted to add protein, I'd start with any excess eggs; table scraps (meat, eggs, fish, cooked beans); and access to a compost pile (bugs! worms!)

If I was going to buy a protein supplement, I'd look first at Gamebird starter or Turkey starter (unmedicated only), then at cat food or kitten food (kitten food has higher protein than stuff meant for adult cats.)

My reasons mostly have to do with cost and convenience. Table scraps, extra eggs, and compost are things I don't have to specifically buy (saves money, saves time and effort). The gamebird starter is intended to be fed to a similar kind of birds, is often around 24% protein (which is more than most chickens need), and is far cheaper than the other things I could purchase. The kitten food costs several times as much, and runs about 40% protein. The mealworms (dried) cost more than FIVE TIMES as much as the kitten food, and are 50-something percent protein. So the mealworms just look like a rip-off to me.

 

[Cooba]

Personally, I would not feed mealworms as a treat unless I was raising them myself, just because they're so very expensive! If I wanted to add protein, I'd start with any excess eggs; table scraps (meat, eggs, fish, cooked beans); and access to a compost pile (bugs! worms!)

If I was going to buy a protein supplement, I'd look first at Gamebird starter or Turkey starter (unmedicated only), then at cat food or kitten food (kitten food has higher protein than stuff meant for adult cats.)

My reasons mostly have to do with cost and convenience. Table scraps, extra eggs, and compost are things I don't have to specifically buy (saves money, saves time and effort). The gamebird starter is intended to be fed to a similar kind of birds, is often around 24% protein (which is more than most chickens need), and is far cheaper than the other things I could purchase. The kitten food costs several times as much, and runs about 40% protein. The mealworms (dried) cost more than FIVE TIMES as much as the kitten food, and are 50-something percent protein. So the mealworms just look like a rip-off to me.

I will take that into consideration. I usually only buy on sale.....cheap, cheap, cheap lol

 

[NatJ]

I usually only buy on sale.....cheap, cheap, cheap lol

Good point!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I offer both. They finish off the fermented, and then eat the dry.

I do the same, mine get a few bowls of fermented in the morning and have dry pellets available rest of the day. I'm less about the "magical" health benefits of fermenting and more about making sure the chickens eat everything in the feed (as I ferment a whole grain mash, so vitamins and proteins come as powdery "fines" in the mix) and reducing waste.

The chickens are very good about polishing off the fermented feed as they seem to enjoy it, thus leaving very little waste. With that same feed, fed dry, I was seeing 5-10% waste as they ate around the fines and often left behind or scratched out grains they didn't like as much. Fermented, everything in the mix sticks together like oatmeal and so the chickens have to eat everything instead of picking out what they want.

In the same vein I also take leftover dust from the bottom of the dry pellet feeder and mix in some water to make a wet mash. That's not fermented, but once again it's taking wasted food that would otherwise not be eaten and turning it into something the chickens really enjoy.

 

[Cooba]

I do the same, mine get a few bowls of fermented in the morning and have dry pellets available rest of the day. I'm less about the "magical" health benefits of fermenting and more about making sure the chickens eat everything in the feed (as I ferment a whole grain mash, so vitamins and proteins come as powdery "fines" in the mix) and reducing waste.

The chickens are very good about polishing off the fermented feed as they seem to enjoy it, thus leaving very little waste. With that same feed, fed dry, I was seeing 5-10% waste as they ate around the fines and often left behind or scratched out grains they didn't like as much. Fermented, everything in the mix sticks together like oatmeal and so the chickens have to eat everything instead of picking out what they want.

In the same vein I also take leftover dust from the bottom of the dry pellet feeder and mix in some water to make a wet mash. That's not fermented, but once again it's taking wasted food that would otherwise not be eaten and turning it into something the chickens really enjoy.

Yes good idea. Waste not, want not!

 

[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.

So Perris....I haven’t read the whole article yet but it mentions what I thought....like beer fermentation and wine fermentation you make the addition of yeast....to start the fermentation process and it will work off of the sugars in the ie..grapes...more sugar more fermentation but in this case all they add is water to the chicken feed?? Makes no sense to me. Then you opened up another can of worms for me feeding a grain mix rather than pellets....I forgot about that from my previous research into getting chickens. I’ve only come across feeding pellets so far in my books. I find my Caique when given a mix picks out what he likes and with pellets he has no choice. Now more research is necessary. But first I have to finish your article.....VERY informative! Thxs

 

[Cooba]

So Perris....I haven’t read the whole article yet but it mentions what I thought....like beer fermentation and wine fermentation you make the addition of yeast....to start the fermentation process and it will work off of the sugars in the ie..grapes...more sugar more fermentation but in this case all they add is water to the chicken feed?? Makes no sense to me. Then you opened up another can of worms for me feeding a grain mix rather than pellets....I forgot about that from my previous research into getting chickens. I’ve only come across feeding pellets so far in my books. I find my Caique when given a mix picks out what he likes and with pellets he has no choice. Now more research is necessary. But first I have to finish your article.....VERY informative! Thxs

So my book Backyard Chickens...A practical Handbook says....add water, a little apple cider vinegar and around 1/4 tsp yeast and let sit 3-4 days. Says only experienced chicken raisers should attempt this lol....leaves me out. I wonder how it would taste if I add my husbands beer yeast

 

[SueT]

So my book Backyard Chickens...A practical Handbook says....add water, a little apple cider vinegar and around 1/4 tsp yeast and let sit 3-4 days. Says only experienced chicken raisers should attempt this lol....leaves me out. I wonder how it would taste if I add my husbands beer yeast

The yeast is in the air or on the grains. You don't have to add it. I started sourdough starter just by adding water to flour.