Healthier hens, higher quality eggs, and lower feed costs??? Yep! This week, we’re going to talk with you about fermenting chicken feed!
Wait! I know that sounds hippie, granola, and unnecessary…. BUT read on to see how fermenting chicken feed can not only improve the health of your hens and the quality of your eggs but can drastically reduce your feed costs!
Did I mention that it is also simple?
Chicken Feed Sourcing
We’ve been keeping laying hens for nearly two decades, and we have always purchased our feed. We would love to be able to grow our own chicken feed for our flock, but it just isn’t really feasible on our 1.3 acre farm here in Costa Rica.
However, commercial feed here is locally produced and ground and largely takes the form of mash. This is the feed and form of feed we use for our laying hens.
Our hens love and thrive on the mash feed, but they will also largely scratch around through the feed and pick out the biggest chunks, tossing the little pieces out of the feeder and onto the ground. These tiny pieces are then consumed by ground doves and other birds… just not the hens. Now, I am all for feeding the other birds, but they have LOTS of other options for food around our homestead!
When it comes to chicken feed, we would much rather only be feeding the chickens!
Some people moisten their mash for their hens, reducing the amount of tiny pieces they can toss onto the ground. However, by fermenting our feed, we will be not only providing the hens with a moist feed, we will also be boosting the nutritional content of the feed and bioavailability of the nutrients for our hens!
With better nutrition comes better quality eggs!
Why should you be fermenting chicken feed?
Fermented foods provide gut-friendly microbes that help promote overall health and wellness, not only for humans but also for animals and pets as well! Hens are no exception!
These gut-friendly microbes, often referred to as probiotics when consumed, help with improved digestion and thus help the body absorb more nutrients out of the food. To put it simply, improved nutrient absorption = improved overall health.
A healthy gut can also assist them in staying healthy by helping them fight off infections.
When hens are healthier, so are their eggs!
Lower costs
Now, the general guidelines are that when you ferment your chicken feed, the chickens will reduce their consumption of feed by roughly 1/3 to 1/2.
That translates to a reduction of 1/3 to 1/2 on feed costs. Pretty impressive, right?
Well, in our hands, we have found the cost reduction to be even more dramatic… closer to an 80% reduction in feed costs!
Can we guarantee you the same reduction? It really depends on the type of feed and environment in which you are raising your hens.
Because the feed is fermented and moistened, the hens spill less on the ground and feel full much sooner, all while producing higher quality eggs.
We also continue to supplement our hens’ feed by having them free range during the day. We also provide them with high quality organic leaves and fruits daily, ranging from heliconia leaves (their favorite!!!) to banana leaves, water hyacinth, katuk, oregano, cas fruit, etc.
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Supplies for fermenting chicken feed
Now, these details are not specific to our tropical climate but also apply to those living in cooler northern climates as well.
Here is what you will need to get started with fermenting chicken feed:
- Chicken feed (use whatever feed you normally use, but crumbles may make it difficult to strain after fermentation)
- Non-chlorinated water
- Vessel with a lid (large enough for the volume of feed plus an additional 2 to 3 X the volume water)
- Long spoon (optional)
- Strainer (we use a 5 gallon straining bag, but you could use anything with small enough holes that will let you separate the feed from the liquid, such as a fine metal sieve, fine mesh kitchen strainer, or a nut milk bag)
Let’s get fermenting!
Day 1:
So, to begin, you will likely want to start with fermenting 1/2 the normal volume (or mass) of feed your hens typically eat. You can weigh out the feed if you prefer, but you can also just use half of whatever scoop(s) you normally use to feed your hens. Add this feed to your vessel.
Add sufficient water (2 to 3 times the volume) to maintain the feed submerged. Feed will also expand once it is well hydrated.
(We often add the water to our container first for convenience, but that is because we know the volume it will take to maintain the feed covered.)
Place a lid on top. DO NOT SEAL CONTAINER! Lid should be just loosely placed on top.
Ensure that your vessel is out of direct sunlight.
Check your container later in the day to confirm that the feed is still submerged. If not, add additional water.
Let’s call this container that we started on day 1… “Vessel 1”
Day 2:
Open up Vessel 1 and give it a good sniff. It probably smells sweet at this point and may have a faint hint of sourness.
Ensure that your fermenting feed is submerged. If not, add additional water.
Stir or agitate Vessel 1. Some people move Vessel 1 into a new container to agitate the ferment, but for the sake of simplicity we just stir Vessel 1. Replace the lid as before.
Repeat procedure from day 1 to start Vessel 2. Again, lid should just be placed on top (not sealed tightly), and the container should be out of the direct sunlight.
Day 3:
Check Vessel 1 and Vessel 2 as before and stir or agitate.
Repeat procedure as before to start Vessel 3.
Day 4 and beyond:
Vessel 1 should now be at ~72 hours (3 days). Your culture should smell nice and sour. We usually halt the fermentation here and use.
Continue as before, stirring your other vessels and restarting additional fermentation vessels as needed.
Fermentation for each vessel should be ~3 to 4 days. Ferment should smell pleasantly sour and should show no signs of mold. Do not feed your hens moldy feed!
A few additional tips to get you started fermenting chicken feed…
For those wondering, it is unnecessary to use a starter culture of a previously fermented food to start the fermentation of your chicken feed. We have started the fermentation with and without starter cultures, and we have found little difference between the two ferments. For the sake of simplicity, we simply start a fresh fermentation each day.
For point of comparison, our temperatures range from 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius) as a daily low to 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) as a daily high. If you live in a significantly cooler climate, you may need to ferment an extra day. In a warmer climate, you may only need to ferment 2 days.
If there are any signs of mold, discard the contents and do not feed to your hens!
Using your fermented feed
Strain and drain your fermented feed.
Once feed is no longer dripping excessively, add contents to their feeder. We typically feed our hens half in the early morning and half in the late morning.
Strained feed should be consumed ideally that day. Any unconsumed feed may be refrigerated for use the following day.
Do the hens like it?
They LOVE the fermented food, as you can tell from the video above!
What about the liquid?
We are currently experimenting with using the fermented liquid as a liquid fertilizer for plants and trees. Early reports are encouraging, but check back with us in the future for additional insights!
Ready to give fermenting chicken feed a try?
Have you tried fermenting chicken feed? Let us know how it goes!
Got any questions? Drop us a line and ask!
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