How to save money on chicken feed in the summer: weeds and feed fermentation

The reason most of us keep laying hens is to produce nutritious eggs at home with the hope of saving money. However, chicken feed prices are on the rise, so it's time to get smart, and summer is a great time to start.

Best Chicken Weeds

These ubiquitous weeds that keep coming back on their own are a great way to save on chicken feed. 

Clover. Protein plant for chickens with a high content of vitamins and nutrients such as calcium and niacin, potassium and iron. It is a detoxifier and helps support and stimulate the liver and digestive tract of chickens, and as an anticoagulant, promotes good respiratory and circulatory health .

Some say clover is dangerous to chickens because it contains coumarin, a blood-thinning compound, but this compound only becomes toxic when the clover becomes moldy. Give the chickens fresh clover and you'll be fine. 

Dandelion is an excellent source of calcium. It is desirable to feed the whole plant with the root, which contains a lot of iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and zinc. Vitamin leaves, flowers improves the brightness of the yolk. 

Stinging nettle is especially useful when young. Contains a large amount of vitamins A, C and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, manganese and calcium. 9-21% fiber and 21-23% protein. Adding nettle to the feed will increase chicken protein intake by 15-20%, and vitamin intake by 60-70%. Improves health, egg production and egg size, yolk brightness. Nettles can be soaked in hot water for about 10-20 minutes, and then chopped or mixed with other feeds, included in the diet. 

Chickweed or woodlouse, so named because of its preference for high humidity for growth, does not need any treatment. It is soft and perfectly absorbed even by the smallest chickens. The herb woodlice is rich in minerals and fats, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, silicon, and copper. Omega-6 fatty acid, a healthier/anti-inflammatory type of omega fatty acid, is also found in high amounts in starch. This type is found in leafy fats and is concentrated in the meat and eggs of starfish-eating animals. 

Duckweed is a common pond plant with a high protein content of 30-50%. If there is no desire to walk with buckets to the pond, then here is the good news - duckweed grows without it and in barrels on the site. An added bonus is that the duckweed will seal the water in the mosquito breeding barrel and produce nutrient water for watering the vegetables, since a little compost is added to the duckweed barrel in the form of fertilizer. You just need to get some duckweed plants and put them in the water. The colony will double in size every 2-6 days. 

Chicken feed fermentation

In warm weather, all fermentation processes, including fermentation, go faster. 

Why ferment chicken feed? Firstly, it makes it easier for the birds to absorb all the beneficial nutrients from the grain, secondly, feed consumption is reduced, and thirdly, fermentation increases the content of certain vitamins, such as vitamin B.

Simply put, chicken feed fermentation will help reduce the amount of grain needed to keep the flock fed, which will reduce costs, improve bird health and egg production. 

Fermentation occurs when beneficial bacteria (lactobacilli) that are naturally present in the environment (such as chicken feed grains) interact with food in a properly controlled environment. For chicken feed fermentation, this controlled environment is a large glass jar of water or a plastic bucket. Lactobacilli convert starch and sugar in food into lactic acid bacteria, which promotes the formation of natural probiotics. Beneficial yeasts are also present in moist grain mixes such as fermented chicken feed.

Some poultry farmers give chickens exclusively fermented feed in summer, while others partially replace compound feed. Try to start by making a batch at least once or twice a week and feeding fermented feed about three to four times a week at one quarter cup per bird. 

How to ferment chicken feed. Find a suitable container - the largest glass jar or bulky plastic bucket. The container should be large enough to hold your herd's feed for a day or two, as well as extra space for water, mixing and expansion. Place the container in the garden under a tree or in an awning shed where the sun is not too hot. 

Add to a container of chicken feed that is enough for one or two servings per day, usually two cups of feed. Then, pour dechlorinated or filtered water on top of the food so that the food is completely submerged in water and there is a little empty space in the jar when the food begins to swell. Chlorinated water can interfere with healthy fermentation: just leave a glass of tap water at room temperature overnight to let the chlorine evaporate. 

Cover the top of the container with a loose-fitting lid: the point is to prevent mold spores from entering, but also to allow fermentation gases to escape. Check and stir every day, adding water as needed to coat the feed. 

After a couple of days, you will see small bubbles on the surface or inside the feed mixture. This is the lactobacilli working hard, giving the product a slightly sour and sweet smell, like yogurt or yeast smells. At the same time, there should be no smell of rot or signs of mold.

While fermented chicken feed is effectively preserved (thanks to its low pH) and safe to consume after the third or fourth day, the longer it sits, the more sour it becomes. Consequently, it may become less palatable to chickens. 

If the feed has not absorbed all the water, then save the liquid to start a new batch. The lactic acid bacteria in the "brine" will be happy to feed on fresher grains, and will actually deliver the next batch about a day ahead of schedule.