Just a thought. Just to speed up the ferment process or enhance the ferment process you can take the liquid from the the bucket of feed you are feeding that day and use that to help jump start your fresh new bucket for fermenting. It's the same concept when fermenting human food or for making vinegar.
I have 125 meat chicks coming in Sept and I am definitely going to be fermenting their feed. Not only does it save money on feed, it essentially makes for a healthier bird and helps them digest the feed more easily. Meat birds have a way of not digesting everything they eat if it isnt fermented. Who knew 🤷♀️
@@ozarkshomesteadandfarm as long as it's not furry fuzzy very colorful stuff, it's ok. If it's a white type of growth a lot of times that's a wild yeast that forms on top. Can usually just scoop that off of wanted. Sometimes happens when fermenting veggies.
Feed here in Hawaii has nearly doubled in price over the last year or so. I am researching this to try it out. Thanks so much for the videos, they really helped me!
I hope it helps…….do you have soldier flys in Hawaii?? You can make a trap and the chickens can eat the larva……also it’s a little gross but maggots are great foe chickens as well, just suspend some rotting stuff and the maggots will fall down and the chickens will get em. On an unrelated note I worked for Aloha airlines and have been to Oahu a few times……love Hawaii! Thanks for watching my video.
@ozarkshomesteadandfarm Yes! We have soldier Flys, and I'm about to build a set up to try and raise them! And how I wish Aloha Airlines was still in operation! They've been gone for a while, so it seems it's time for you to come back for a vacation! No Oahu, though, come to the Big Island! Way less city. Way nicer people!
The one bucket method is so much easier. Start out with a 5 gallon food grade bucket if you have a lot of chickens. Get it fermented, takes about three days. Feed it to your chickens, when the bucket starts getting low add in your feed and your water again, and it will ferment overnight because it already has the fermented stuff there to give it a kickstart. Then just keep doing that. You can keep a bucket going for months on end. Couple times a year I completely empty out the bucket rinse it out and start over but you can keep it going basically forever if you want to. You don’t need three buckets. This is a huge waste of time and effort. The one bucket method is the way to go. I’ve been doing it for years. The main thing is to stir it well once a day.
Hi, thanks so much for this very, very clear, and easy to follow explanation!! But please help me figure out how many buckets you would suggest for feeding this fermented feed for 7 chickens, daily? Thanks.
- How many days before the fermented feed will be ready for use? - how to calculate how much feed they eat in a day and how to determine the quantity to ferment daily? - can I can feed my day old with fermented feed? - Can start using fermented feed from 2weeks?
@@ozarkshomesteadandfarm I bet. Everytime I wear my hat with the socialism distancing slogan I get tons of comments. Especially being out in California
By the way, great video. I appreciate the info. We are looking to finally bring chickens into our urban food forest I've built. With all the inflation across the board, I'm trying to find the best way to cut back on costs with bringing in Chickens to our life.
I still live in Cali but am a resident of Nevada. I’m so disappointed to see what has happened to California since I moved here. We needed to cut costs so we bought property in Nevada and decided to switch everything over to Nevada. Our cali house will eventually become a rental but we’ll see. We’re still looking at a long term homestead. Montana has been high on the list.
thanks for sharing brother. and thanks for those with experience on comments. i also wish i was in the Ozarks . somehow i ended up in the Philippines and can not get my beloved kids back. but what the heck we will make the best of it. i have tried some fermenting grain for pigs ( same method ) and have been doing well using same tech. i am getting ready to start chickens soon at least for myself and if i can for commercial sales and need to save all the money i can . on ss disability supporting many people. very limited budget but working on a house for black solider fly larva production. then will add azolla, along with fermented grain. i think i can safly go with just corn as a grain and they will get balanced diet but might add some moringa to the grain and possibly madre de agua.. they big 3 theory greens , grain , and protein. i hope it will work. my dream is to buy land for growing the corn. maybe if i get good results and experience i can make a vid and share. i might add LABS since i have been making some so why not, maybe jump start it i like your suggestion to use a plate to keep submerged. i have seen how important that can be in fermenting when fermenting things like garlic. but now i use a honey ferment for my garlic. it taste much better. thanks bro
I think those are 2 gallon buckets, I can’t remember if they were full or my number were off. It’s just for reference but the main thing is to make sure the feed is completely submerged. Thanks for commenting!
I have a few concerns with this. Commercial food contains a lot of mold spores ians mycotoxins. So adding water to that would just grow mold. Do you not use a starter culture? How do you guarantee that you’re growing healthy bacteria and yeast versus just more of the toxic mold? And you also didn’t mention if your water was filtered. The concern there is with the chlorine but beneficial bacterial growth as well as harmful bacteria and pathogens that are commonly present in municipal water.
If you have city water you can let the water sit in an open container by itself for 24 hrs and the chlorine will evaporate. Then add food you want to ferment. I have been doing this for kombucha for 2 yrs, other foods and now chicken food without any problems.
I’ve never had very good luck with fermenting commercial feeds. I get grains and corn from a local mill (basically what’s swept up off the floor). The birds do much better with the whole grains.
If you have city water the chlorine kills the good bacteria that makes it ferment. You can let the water sit by itself for 24 hrs and the chlorine will evaporate. Then add grains.
if this is any help, i have heard some commercial feed, in the process of making it they kill the bacteria that you need to ferment, so you will have to add something to give it the LAB i make my own LAB if you try that perhaps your store bought stuff will ferment then , lots of vides out there how to make LAB i love the Viking guy
I think it was 30 chickens and 12 turkeys oh and 3 ducks….. but I was rotating feed and only feeding half of the flock a day and free ranging the other half which did not get fed that day.
Throwing away the excess water is throwing away nutrients and probiotics. Just throw the excess water in another bucket of grains. Don't di more than once or twice otherwise it will go off. As a treat, you can toss it into cooled cooked rice or pasta. Or, simply, leave it in. I understand that you don't realise it, but you are losing a lot of nutrients and probiotics by throwing away the water, defeating the whole point of this process. Just put in less water.
@@user-cs7vs1xq4w Yes they do! i give my girls that too but I have had 3 girls with crop issues lately so I am not going to ferment anymore. I'll stick to dry food and then add yogurt separately. :) Bless you.
why are you so complicated ..!,fill bucket with feed -ferment for 3days ,next day another and so on for 7days then you set ... why not ferment 2 buckets a day for morning feeding and one for afternoon feeding gee bet that would be a scientific video
Just a thought. Just to speed up the ferment process or enhance the ferment process you can take the liquid from the the bucket of feed you are feeding that day and use that to help jump start your fresh new bucket for fermenting. It's the same concept when fermenting human food or for making vinegar.
I have 125 meat chicks coming in Sept and I am definitely going to be fermenting their feed. Not only does it save money on feed, it essentially makes for a healthier bird and helps them digest the feed more easily. Meat birds have a way of not digesting everything they eat if it isnt fermented. Who knew 🤷♀️
Yeah, I knew about that but was hesitant due to mold…..occasionally I get that spider web looking stuff on top of the water.
@@kateliza1000 shoot dang….125!!! Wow
@@ozarkshomesteadandfarm as long as it's not furry fuzzy very colorful stuff, it's ok. If it's a white type of growth a lot of times that's a wild yeast that forms on top. Can usually just scoop that off of wanted. Sometimes happens when fermenting veggies.
@@kateliza1000 your just full of knowledge…..thanks again
Feed here in Hawaii has nearly doubled in price over the last year or so. I am researching this to try it out. Thanks so much for the videos, they really helped me!
I hope it helps…….do you have soldier flys in Hawaii?? You can make a trap and the chickens can eat the larva……also it’s a little gross but maggots are great foe chickens as well, just suspend some rotting stuff and the maggots will fall down and the chickens will get em. On an unrelated note I worked for Aloha airlines and have been to Oahu a few times……love Hawaii! Thanks for watching my video.
@ozarkshomesteadandfarm Yes! We have soldier Flys, and I'm about to build a set up to try and raise them! And how I wish Aloha Airlines was still in operation! They've been gone for a while, so it seems it's time for you to come back for a vacation! No Oahu, though, come to the Big Island! Way less city. Way nicer people!
In Nigeria feed costs have tripled in the last 1 year. If this saves cost, it would be a great innovation. I will try it out.
Thanks for the content, Rick Grimes!
The one bucket method is so much easier. Start out with a 5 gallon food grade bucket if you have a lot of chickens. Get it fermented, takes about three days. Feed it to your chickens, when the bucket starts getting low add in your feed and your water again, and it will ferment overnight because it already has the fermented stuff there to give it a kickstart. Then just keep doing that. You can keep a bucket going for months on end. Couple times a year I completely empty out the bucket rinse it out and start over but you can keep it going basically forever if you want to. You don’t need three buckets. This is a huge waste of time and effort. The one bucket method is the way to go. I’ve been doing it for years. The main thing is to stir it well once a day.
thank you for sharing this! from philippines w/love!
Nice, Philippines, thanks for watching and commenting!
I save the string that closes the bag of feed for stringing my beans up at end of garden year, & any other needs that arise needing string.
Thanks for sharing
You'll save more money, more nutrition, and way less mess if you buy bulk grains and ferment it.
New chicken mom. I’m going to try this on a much smaller scale. Thank you!
Hi, thanks so much for this very, very clear, and easy to follow explanation!! But please help me figure out how many buckets you would suggest for feeding this fermented feed for 7 chickens, daily?
Thanks.
I have 24 Cornish cross chicks that I feed soaked/fermented feed. I keep a dish of dry feed in their brooder, and they won't touch it.
- How many days before the fermented feed will be ready for use?
- how to calculate how much feed they eat in a day and how to determine the quantity to ferment daily?
- can I can feed my day old with fermented feed?
- Can start using fermented feed from 2weeks?
3 days, temperature dependent
I addressed this in a video, check out my vids.
Yes
Yes
Great Hodge twins shirt
My favorite, I get so many comments on it……shame I can’t find them no more
@@ozarkshomesteadandfarm I bet. Everytime I wear my hat with the socialism distancing slogan I get tons of comments. Especially being out in California
By the way, great video. I appreciate the info. We are looking to finally bring chickens into our urban food forest I've built. With all the inflation across the board, I'm trying to find the best way to cut back on costs with bringing in Chickens to our life.
@@patewok3649 you know we moved from CA a year ago!
I still live in Cali but am a resident of Nevada. I’m so disappointed to see what has happened to California since I moved here. We needed to cut costs so we bought property in Nevada and decided to switch everything over to Nevada. Our cali house will eventually become a rental but we’ll see. We’re still looking at a long term homestead. Montana has been high on the list.
Thank you for the great video!
Thank you for watching and commenting!
“ I don’t do my makeup for these videos.”😂😂😂 same!!!
thanks for sharing brother. and thanks for those with experience on comments. i also wish i was in the Ozarks . somehow i ended up in the Philippines and can not get my beloved kids back. but what the heck we will make the best of it. i have tried some fermenting grain for pigs ( same method ) and have been doing well using same tech. i am getting ready to start chickens soon at least for myself and if i can for commercial sales and need to save all the money i can . on ss disability supporting many people. very limited budget but working on a house for black solider fly larva production. then will add azolla, along with fermented grain. i think i can safly go with just corn as a grain and they will get balanced diet but might add some moringa to the grain and possibly madre de agua.. they big 3 theory greens , grain , and protein. i hope it will work. my dream is to buy land for growing the corn. maybe if i get good results and experience i can make a vid and share.
i might add LABS since i have been making some so why not, maybe jump start it
i like your suggestion to use a plate to keep submerged. i have seen how important that can be in fermenting when fermenting things like garlic. but now i use a honey ferment for my garlic. it taste much better. thanks bro
You are doing a lot, do what you need to do to provide. Good luck brother. Thanks for watching from the Philippines
Thank you! This was VERY Helpful!!!
Thanks for the vid. @ 4:25 you say 2 buckets or 12 qts. Isn't that an 8 quart bucket? If so, that would be 16 qts.
I think those are 2 gallon buckets, I can’t remember if they were full or my number were off. It’s just for reference but the main thing is to make sure the feed is completely submerged. Thanks for commenting!
I plan to raise Quail and Pheasant. Just a few for my enjoyment, will the same feeding with fermentation work as well.
Yes
I have a few concerns with this. Commercial food contains a lot of mold spores ians mycotoxins. So adding water to that would just grow mold. Do you not use a starter culture? How do you guarantee that you’re growing healthy bacteria and yeast versus just more of the toxic mold? And you also didn’t mention if your water was filtered. The concern there is with the chlorine but beneficial bacterial growth as well as harmful bacteria and pathogens that are commonly present in municipal water.
Proof of toxic mold well……they are not dead……I’m on well water.
If you have city water you can let the water sit in an open container by itself for 24 hrs and the chlorine will evaporate. Then add food you want to ferment. I have been doing this for kombucha for 2 yrs, other foods and now chicken food without any problems.
Would it be beneficial to save the excess water and have a separate watering dish for them to drink that?
Good thought, possibly
Mostly it used to start the next batch
Just a question does chicks or chickens dont get sour crop
I have not had that issue yet……however my birds get free ranged so they get other food besides the fermented feed.
I’ve never had very good luck with fermenting commercial feeds. I get grains and corn from a local mill (basically what’s swept up off the floor). The birds do much better with the whole grains.
I agree, I can’t find bulk whole grains to buy😞
If you have city water the chlorine kills the good bacteria that makes it ferment. You can let the water sit by itself for 24 hrs and the chlorine will evaporate. Then add grains.
You can also ferment the whole grains, which I agree is way better than the processed food.
if this is any help, i have heard some commercial feed, in the process of making it they kill the bacteria that you need to ferment, so you will have to add something to give it the LAB i make my own LAB if you try that perhaps your store bought stuff will ferment then , lots of vides out there how to make LAB i love the Viking guy
@@dennisseeker36 I use kombucha for starter.
Have you tried taking out a days worth and adding new feed to replace what you took out? The ferment would carry on?
I have not……a little nervous about the timing.
Great! How many chickens?
About 30
you may have mentioned in this video or another video but how many birds are you feeding?
I think it was 30 chickens and 12 turkeys oh and 3 ducks….. but I was rotating feed and only feeding half of the flock a day and free ranging the other half which did not get fed that day.
Throwing away the excess water is throwing away nutrients and probiotics. Just throw the excess water in another bucket of grains. Don't di more than once or twice otherwise it will go off. As a treat, you can toss it into cooled cooked rice or pasta. Or, simply, leave it in. I understand that you don't realise it, but you are losing a lot of nutrients and probiotics by throwing away the water, defeating the whole point of this process. Just put in less water.
Yogurt works great. Water causes crop bound
Tell us more please. :)
@@eloise6197 they love yogurt💯% coconut milk/water has lots of real natural benefits for chickens. You can feed wet food but can get crop bound.
@@user-cs7vs1xq4w Yes they do! i give my girls that too but I have had 3 girls with crop issues lately so I am not going to ferment anymore. I'll stick to dry food and then add yogurt separately. :) Bless you.
Wouldn’t good access to grit prevent any compacted crop?
@@WheretheJones the mash I buy has grit in it so it is supposed to help 🤷🏼♀️
Why do you remove the water? Chickens need water, so can't you just leave it in the feed?
I suppose you can…… a thicker consistency makes it easier to eat though.
Bead is good for man
How many chickens do you feed with the 6qts feed?
About 40 mixed flock
Strain out some more of the water.. it should be a little thicker
How many birds are feeling with one bad for 7 days.
How birds can one bag feed..
I feed my flock of approximately 30 birds for five days with one 50 pound bag of feed
@@ozarkshomesteadandfarm
Please don't do it
why are you so complicated ..!,fill bucket with feed -ferment for 3days ,next day another and so on for 7days then you set ... why not ferment 2 buckets a day for morning feeding and one for afternoon feeding gee bet that would be a scientific video