Why ferment feed?

[Cooba]

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.

Interesting.....

 

[SueT]

It's wild yeast. Part of the difference between sourdough bread and ordinary bread.
When I make kombucha, a white rubbery 'scoby ' forms on the surface. This is an acronym for simbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Some people report scoby's forming on their fermented feed as well.
I'm not a microbiologist, just experimenting with fermented foods....

 

[Folly's place]

And I know too much about microbiology, and I'm a wimp (risk adverse) so home fermenting is not on my radar for the chickens. I feed what's in the bag, fresh from the mill.
Mary

 

[ErnieBerley]

what about fermenting the grains in Whey from organic milk? i make my own greek yogurt, i.e. you have to strain the whey out of regular yogurt. Can chickens tolerate milk sugars?

 

[Cooba]

And I know too much about microbiology, and I'm a wimp (risk adverse) so home fermenting is not on my radar for the chickens. I feed what's in the bag, fresh from the mill.
Mary

Actually the thought that entered my mind is....is the feed really going bad as it smells "sour", to me that means going bad? What do you think?

 

[Cooba]

what about fermenting the grains in Whey from organic milk? i make my own greek yogurt, i.e. you have to strain the whey out of regular yogurt. Can chickens tolerate milk sugars?

Interesting lol so many options.

 

[Folly's place]

It's probably okay, but then again, who tests it to be sure? I also don't make kimchee, or sourkraut, or pickles in the open crock method, as traditional as it all is, just because.
Mary

 

[SueT]

You can definitely end up with undesirable microorganisms as well. Molds, for example. Spoilage bacteria. Maybe even worse. Feed is perishable. I always check mill date before buying feed. But then I ferment some of it, ironically. This thread has me questioning my sanity, for sure. It certainly is a LOT easier feeding dry feed.

 

[Cooba]

You can definitely end up with undesirable microorganisms as well. Molds, for example. Spoilage bacteria. Maybe even worse. Feed is perishable. I always check mill date before buying feed. But then I ferment some of it, ironically. This thread has me questioning my sanity, for sure. It certainly is a LOT easier feeding dry feed.

Too funny.....yes much simpler.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The main reason I ferment is that it seems to save on feed. The chickens don't waste any, plus the nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids) added at milling are added as powders.
Fermenting, or just wetting the feed binds up those nutrients so they aren't lost as powders in the bottom of the feeder. The result of that is a higher nutritional intake.
If you are adding any other supplement, whether that be more vitamins, fishmeal, herbal wormers, etc., they can be mixed into the feed better than just mixing with dry feed.

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.

It is time consuming and why I don't always do it.
As others do, I have dry feed available all the time and only provide an amount of fermented or just wetted feed that they will clean up by the end of the day. I use black rubber feed bowls. I'm always surprised at how completely they clean the bowl. I just need to hit it with a hose and it is clean.
The cellulose fibers in plant materials can't be digested by vertebrates without microbes. Just like with the microbes in the rumen/hindgut of some animals help to break down and digest
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/herbivores/ferment.htmlWhen microbes digest the cellulose the nutrition can pass on and be absorbed by the host animal.

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

I don't think the fat soluble vitamins are enhanced by fermentation. Just the B vitamins. And some proteins become more bioavailable with fermentation.
I've been tracking the fat soluble vitamin levels in all the feeds I buy and in more than half the cases, they are too low for good hatchability and are marginal for healthy chicks.

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

The downside with buying on sale is that those products are often older and at the end of useful life.