Fermented Chicken Feed

So I'm trying something new with the chickens - fermented feed.

I've been wanting to try it for awhile now, ever since I heard about it. But as always, it takes awhile before I get around to trying it out :D Well, I finally started it a couple of weeks ago and so far so good! I was warned they may not like it to begin with but would eventually warm up to it and start gobbling it down. So I started out with just a little bit cause I didn't want to waste any. Well, the girls took to it like they were starving!!

I had been told they would eat less food due to the nutritive value of the fermented feed (among other truly positive health changes including glossier feathers and better eggs). I wasn't so sure about that but it turns out that it is indeed true.  I always throw in some greens I pick along the way to the coop, then come in and refresh the water and add to the food bucket before gathering eggs.  Well, I still throw in 9 handfuls of greens (one handful for each hen) when I first go in (this also keeps them busy while I'm trying to come in with my hands full and securing the door all the while). They still attack it like it is manna. Well, I've learned that after I throw in the greens to go about other business first before pouring the fermented feed into the bowl used for it, otherwise they leave the greens and attack the fermented feed. They don't even take a second look at the regular layer crumbles any more... well, technically I guess they do because some is always gone but not devoured as in the past.

I still give kitchen scraps as well for them to turn into wonderful compost for me :)

So my routine is now, throw in the greens, bring all my stuff through the door, secure the door, add the kitchen scraps to the greens if I have any, refresh the water, gather the eggs into the water bucket, refresh the crumbles, then dump the fermented feed in its bowl. At this point I can even take my time getting my things back out the door and getting the door closed because they will stay gathered around the feed bowl lol
No really, they do take turns between the greens and fermented food as long as I throw the greens in first. If I fermented feed out first they will eat it all gone before taking an interest in the greens or scraps.

I'm hoping to report on positive health changes here soon!!

Now how to make this feed you ask? Well, here's how I do it. You can make changes depending on the size of your container (smaller, larger). I'll even give a couple of notes at the end.

I use gallon vinegar containers.
1) fill half full with grain feed
2) add a glug or two of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar
3) fill the container the rest of the way with water
4) I half close the top so that there is the equivalent to a couple of holes drilled in a five gallon bucket lid
5) leave it on a shelf in the garage
6) that night close the lid and shake it up, making sure to the get the air bubble all through the feed. It makes an anaerobic atmosphere if you don't make sure to get air throughout the feed every so often. This will cause spoilage and stank if you don't do this - gross.
7) open lid back up and let sit over night
8) next morning, close lid and shake again - you will notice the feed getting thicker - this is what you want, ultimately being the consistency of oatmeal-ish
9) open the lid and sit it back on shelf.
10) repeat 6, 7, and 8
11) but instead of opening lid and putting it back on the shelf, you will pour out a cup of the liquid into another container, then go feed half the feed to your chickies!
12) then come back and repeat steps 1 and 3 with the second container - yes we skipped two because you used the 1 cup of liquid from the first container!
Now just keep repeating the process each day so that you are feeding half a bottle to the chickies each day.
There are some things to watch for to know whether to adjust the amount of fermented feed you are feeding daily. You can find these things in a thread here: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/645057/fermented-feeds-anyone-using-them
I have a feeling that I will eventually be backing off on how much I feed them because I have 9 chickens and feed about a quart per day. Others have 12-15 chickens and feed 2 - 2 1/2 cups per day in summer and 4 - 4 1/2 cups in winter. It's definitely spring here now so I might need to watch it carefully. I'll update as I have something to update!!