Backyard Chickens: Save Money by Soaking Your Chickens’ Feed
Did you know you can save money just by soaking your chickens’ feed?
Simply soaking their feed overnight makes the nutrients more digestible, reduces waste and actually stretches your feed farther because your chickens don’t need to eat as much.
Soaking Feed
To soak feed, simply fill a bucket half way with grain, cover with water and let sit overnight. In the morning, dump the whole bucket into a shallow pan for your birds. Don’t soak more feed than they can eat in 1 hour.
This is also a good way to feed whole field peas, a cheap source of protein that is also easy to grow at home.
Fermenting Feed
If you want to take it a step farther, fermenting, or more specifically, lacto-fermentation, gives your hens a whole host of additional benefits.
In addition to making the feed more digestible, it adds probiotics, promoting gut health and giving your chickens extra protection against harmful bacteria like e-coli and salmonella.
Studies have shown that a fermented diet increases egg production and also aids the weight gain of meat birds.
Lacto fermentation not only makes the vitamins in the feed more digestible to the bird, but it has actually been shown to increase the vitamin content in the feed. That means healthier hens, and more nutritious eggs!
Fermenting significantly increases the digestible protein in the feed.
To ferment your feed, fill a non-metal container 1/3 – 1/2 way with feed. Fill with non-chlorinated water almost to the top of the container. Add a lid and let the feed sit till it starts to look bubbly, which can take 1-4 days. Stir once a day. Like soaked feed, you should only give as much feed as your birds will consume in 1 hour or less.
Due to the increased nutrients, chickens eat significantly less fermented feed than they would dry. Plus, there is less waste since the feed is stuck together and the chickens can’t peck through it. Even the small fines that would normally end up on the ground will get eaten when your feed is fermented.
Both methods work best with whole or cracked grains, as opposed to pellets that are typically highly processed.
I like to leave dry feed in my chickens’ pen so they always have something to nibble at when they are contained. I give a bucket of soaked feed in the morning and a variety of garden produce and table scraps in the evening. My flock is up to around 50 birds right now, so this has really helped me save on feed! As a bonus, my hens are super happy and laying like crazy!
-Kait
PS: Mama hen and one of her new babies modeled for the top pictured on this post. Aren’t they just adorable?
8 Comments
Nanny B
How many times can you use the fermented water before throwing it out
Kait
Personally I just use enough water that the feed soaks up most of it. The entire bucket is dumped into the chickens’ feed pan. I’ve seen other chicken keepers use extra water for soaking, and discard the extra to wash impurities out of the feed. Hope that helps!
Lori
Giving fermentation of Barley for our poultry a try!
3 days in lidded buckets in 30C temps = a volcanic bubbling.
I make a fresh batch daily, per your measurements.
It was suggested that I should rinse the soaked grain as it is stinky and could be toxic.
Not sure if this is throwing away the beneficial ‘pro-biotics’ of fermentation?
OR could it harm the birds?
Thanks for your input.
PS: don’t put your bare hands into the fermented liquid as the smell is awful and persistent.
Kait
I normally just soak the feed for 12-48 hours (the lesser time in the winter because I have to bring the bucket in the house). I don’t do a full scale fermentation like you are trying to do. Raising Happy Chickens has a lot more information about that, so I’d recommend checking out their article on the subject!
Janet Hope
Do you feed this to them just one time a day?
Kait
Yes, I feed once a day, mainly for simplicity. I adjust the amount so it’s enough to last them 20-22 hours so they are running out shortly before I feed them again.
bonnie ciomek
How much feed per chicken do you give when soaking overnite method please?
Kait
I would start with 1/4lb of dry food (weighed before soaking) per bird per day. Adjust the amount if they are eating it too fast or not finishing it before the next feeding. If you are feeding once a a day in the morning, it should all be gone by evening so they get fresh food the next morning. Hope that helps!