The big question for the day is, “can I feed my chickens dairy products?” I believe this information applies to ducks as well.
Can Chickens Eat Dairy?
A Chicken’s 5 Senses
If you tend to equate the 5 senses of an animal to those of people, you can get things totally wrong. Animal’s senses vary a great deal depending on what type of animal they are. A predator who has to hunt for his meals will generally have a highly developed sense of smell, much more so than humans. For instance, a dog’s sense of smell is fascinating! They can literally break a scent down into individual components. A prey animal might have a more developed sense of sight, being quite adept at detecting motion in extended ranges. Chickens are considered prey animals. Let’s take a look at the development of their 5 senses.
Can I Feed Eggs To My Chickens?
The answer to that question is a resounding YES! Eggs are an excellent source of protein and make a great treat for chickens. The egg white contains more than half of the egg’s protein and none of the fat. The yolk contains all of the fat and most of the egg’s vitamins. In fact the egg yolk is one of the few foods which naturally contains vitamin D. Eggs are not fortified with vitamin D as is milk and some brands of yogurt and orange juice. The egg is also considered a complete protein food because it has all of the essential amino acids, and it’s tasty. So, yes, it’s not only o.k. to feed eggs to your chickens, but eggs are a healthy supplement which your birds will thoroughly enjoy!
Can Chickens Eat Rice?
I remember going to weddings when I was younger, one of the best parts was getting one of those cute little netted bags that was tied with a pretty silky ribbon and contained rice. Throwing rice over the bride and groom as they ran to their waiting “Just Married” car was a much anticipated tradition at weddings. Apparently this tradition dates back to the ancient Romans. Tossing rice at the end of the wedding reception is meant to symbolize rain, which is said to be a sign of prosperity, fertility and good fortune. In more recent years, bird seed has replaced rice because some folks believed that rice was bad for birds, that if consumed the rice would mix with moisture in the birds stomach and expand and cause problems. In fact, you can still find evidence of this myth circulating on the internet today.
Fermenting Feeds
Fermenting animal feed is not really a new thing. Come to find out, farmers have been fermenting feed for a lot of years. It seems like recently though, fermenting feed has been gaining popularity, probably due to the the increased number of urban chicken farmers and hobby farmers. I have had chickens and goats for a long time, and I think I must be one of the last chicken farmers to hop on the feed fermenting wagon. I am not one to do things just because everybody else does them. I probably should have done my fermenting research years ago, but, I guess that life got in the way. My husband would likely tell you that the chickens eat better than he does anyway, so why mess with a good thing. The last few months have been filled with “ahah” moments, and understanding the practice and benefits of fermentation has been one of those. I am just beginning the feed fermentation practice with all my animals, not just chickens, and I don’t have all of the final results in, like who finds it tasty and who doesn’t and how much money I will save, but I would like to share some of the things that I have learned.
All grains, seeds and legumes contain phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. These protect the grains and seeds, and act kind of like preservatives. That is why grains, like wheat, have a long storage life and why seeds stay viable in the dirt through the winter until conditions are good for growing. Phytic acid is referred to as an anti-nutrient because it inhibits the absorption of iron, zinc and calcium. It only inhibits the absorption of these nutrients during the meal that phytic acid is being consumed. If you eat a food containing phytic acid during lunch, than it will inhibit the absorption of specific nutrients only during that meal. It will not affect future meals where foods with phytic acid are not consumed. In some countries where grains and legumes are eaten frequently, cases of malnutrition can occur. People who eat well-balanced meals are generally not affected. But, if our animals eat grains, seeds and legumes at every meal, it leaves me to wonder just how their diets and especially their nutritional needs are being impacted.
Avoiding foods that contain phytic acid is not necessarily the right thing to do as these foods offer a variety of valuable nutrients, and it is thought that phytic acid might actually be beneficial as a protection against kidney stones and some cancers. Fortunately, there are methods of preparation that will reduce the phytic acid in grains, seeds and legumes. Soaking these foods in water overnight will reduce their phytate content. Sprouting grains, seeds and legumes will further degrade it’s content, and fermentation is the third option for reducing phytic acid. Using a combination of all three methods can significantly reduce the phytate content of grains, seeds and legumes. I hope that wasn’t too confusing. In a nut shell, phytic acid does offer nutritional benefits and should be consumed, but if eaten every day at every meal, it can negatively affect the absorption of other important nutrients.
I presently sprout lentils, a legume, for my birds. I know that they love them and I did it initially as an inexpensive way provide my hens with greens during the winter months. I knew that they had added health benefits, but I didn’t exactly understand how. Now that I have a basic understanding of the workings of phytic acid, the benefits of sprouting makes a little more sense.
Fermentation takes the nutritional benefits of sprouting one step further. Fermented feed aids in digestion, strengthens the immune system, improves food conversion, increases the bioavailability of vitamins and minerals, forms kind of a natural barrier to pathogens like E. coli and salmonella, and has been known to increase egg weight. In addition, because fermented food is easier to digest and nutrients are absorbed more readily, animals do not have to eat as much and as such, they poop less too!
How does fermenting work? Fermentation is a chemical process by which molecules are broken down without air. The fermentation process begins by taking your grains, seeds and/or legumes and covering them with water. They will expand as they absorb the water, general doubling in size. Lactobacillus, a good bacteria is what actually starts the fermenting by consuming the sugars making lactic acid. The lactic acid creates an environment that is inhospitable to bad bacteria. It’s kind of the same principle that works with sourdough starter, if you have ever worked with that. As long as your grains are submerged in the water, they will be preserved and won’t spoil or mold. The fermentation process can take 24 to 72 hours depending on the temperature of the environment you are fermenting in. You can let your feed ferment longer, but the sour taste will get stronger the longer it ferments. You can tell that the process is working when you see bubbles forming, a sign of gasses being released, and by a slight sour smell, again a process similar to that which takes place with sourdough starter.
I tested out the fermenting process on a small scale, I didn’t want to ruin a lot of feed if I goofed. I filled a quart jar halfway full of dry feed mix and then filled it full of tap water. I covered it loosely and let it sit. Pretty simple. (You can make your batch as large or as small as will work for you and your animals.) The feed absorbed the water quickly and expanded. Within about 12 hours I noticed bubbles forming. I checked on the mix occasionally throughout the process to make sure the grains remained submerged. The sunflower seeds in my mix rose to the top and floated, so I will probably add them in at the end of the fermentation process in future batches, just to prevent the chance of any spoilage. After 72 hours, my mix had some good bubbles, and a slight sour smell. The first batch I fed to the chickens and they gobbled it right up. It was a small sampling, so they also had their dry mix. With some hens, the fermented feed seemed to be their first choice, while others, they enjoyed their dry mix and then sampled the fermented feed. In any case, it didn’t stay around long. The second batch I tried out on the ducks. They weren’t quite as excited about it, but ended up eating it all. Because it’s kind of soupy, I thought the ducks would love it! I read where some farmers drained most of the water off their fermented feed to obtain a drier texture, but I figure if the grains are good for my animals, then why wouldn’t the water be good as well. It all depends on what my animals like and will eat. You can also add some of the fermented water to future batches of grain to jump start the fermenting process.
I also decided that if eating fermented food was good for people and chickens, why not the rest of the farm animals. So, today I started three different batches of fermenting feed: one for the chickens and ducks, one for the goats and one for the rabbits. (Note: for the rabbits, I am fermenting grains, not processed rabbit food pellets.) I am anxious to see if the health benefits are readily noticeable, and to see if cost savings are evident. With the cost of everything increasing, it would be nice to be able to provide my animals with a healthier diet for less money!
Resources:
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Biological_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Biological_Chemistry)/Metabolism/Catabolism/Fermentation
https://naturalfactors.com/en-us/articles/fermented-foods-for-better-nutrition/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/phytic-acid-101#section5
https://permaculturenews.org
http:// https://www.gardenbetty.com/why-and-how-to-ferment-your-chicken-feed/
http:// https://homesteadingfamily.com/raising-healthy-chickens-make-your-own-fermented-chicken-feed-in-6-easy-steps/
Chicken Treats
If you are like me, one of the things you really enjoy doing is spoiling your chickens…with treats! It’s fun to watch the enthusiasm in my chickens when they greet me thinking I have yummy stuff just for them, and it’s fun to watch my roosters as they call all of their lady friends over when they think they have a special snack to share. Treat time appears to be an exciting time for my chickens and I’m sure it is for your birds too! What are some things we should know about treats for our birds?
Roses Are Safe for Farm Animals
I really enjoy spring. It signals not only the end of cold weather and snow, but also new life. It’s the time of year when we see animals come out of hibernation, bees and butterflies make their appearance once again and all sorts of baby farm animals take to the stage! There is not much that is cuter than a baby anything with their pure innocence and clumsy antics. Spring is also the time for planting and realizing new growth on our perennial plants. I always get excited when I see new shoots on my rose bushes. There are so many varieties, colors and smells of roses and they are a plant with many benefits, even for our chickens and other farm animals.
Did You Know: Chicken Eggs
I am always interested in learning new things and figure that knowledge is the key to…well a lot of things…success, understanding, accomplishing goals, being better equipped to care for my animals. The list can go on. As long as I have been raising chickens, I did not know the entire process of egg formation, so I set out to learn. And learn I did…some very interesting facts, which I’m going to share with you.
A female chicken is born, or should I say hatched, with a fully formed, functioning ovary that contains several thousand tiny ova. Two ovaries develop in the chicken embryo, but the right one stops developing and only the left ovary and oviduct mature. The chick grows and somewhere around 6 months of age she begins to reach sexual maturity. That’s when these tiny ova start to develop into yolks, a few at a time. Once a yolk is developed, it is released from the ovary into the oviduct. Occasionally two yolks will be released at the same time. This results in the double yolk eggs we see from time to time in our frying pans. This is also the stage where a blood spot on the yolk might occur, not due to fertilization, just an accident of nature as the yolk is released from the ovary. Once the yolk enters the oviduct, the egg can be fertilized if a rooster has mated with the hen. The hen can store sperm from the rooster for upwards of two to three weeks. After fertilization, a membrane is put around the yolk to basically hold it together. The yolk then passes into the a part of the oviduct called the magnum where the albumen or egg white is put on. Then on to the isthmus where a thin membrane is added, surrounding the entire egg. The final process is when the egg enters the uterus and the outer shell, shell color and the protective coating called bloom are deposited over the egg. This final process of shell making takes about 20 hours. When this is completed, the hen will lay her egg.
Some interesting facts about eggs and egg laying:
- The entire egg laying process from start to finish takes between 24-26 hours.
- 30 minutes after a hen lays an egg, she will again ovulate and start the process over again.
- A hen can store a rooster’s sperm for 2-3 weeks.
- A hen will take a break from egg laying when the days shorten. She may stop laying completely or just significantly reduce the number of eggs she lays. A hen requires 14-16 hours of daylight for high egg production. [Editor’s note: this means that you can artificially increase egg production with UV lamps or other light sources.]
- The oviduct, which the egg passes through during formation is 25-27 inches long. The egg initially passes through the oviduct small end first. Just before laying, the egg will turn and enter the world large end first.
- The color of the egg yolk is dependent upon the hen’s diet. If she eats a lot of foods with yellow-orange pigments, her eggs will be a darker yellow or almost orange color.
- An egg that has been fertilized and laid, can remain in a state of suspension, under proper conditions, for approximately 7 days and still remain viable to incubate and hatch. After day 7 the hatch-ability begins to decline. This gives a hen time to accumulate her clutch of eggs, then incubate them so they will all hatch at approximately the same time…within a day or two of one another..
- The average incubation time for a baby chick is 21 days. During this incubation time, a broody hen will only leave her nest once, maybe twice a day for short periods of time to eat and relieve herself. She will eat about 80% less while setting on her eggs.
- A hen will quit laying eggs when she begins incubating her clutch of eggs and will not resume laying again until the chicks are about 5 weeks old. This is also about the time she will begin distancing herself from her brood.
- A hen will lay an average of 265 eggs in a productive year. The first two years are the most productive, with laying tapering off as she gets older. A well cared for hen can provide farm fresh eggs for 5 – 7 years.
Sources:
https://www.incredibleegg.org/eggcyclopedia/c/color/
https://the-chicken-chick.com/hatch-along-with-chicken-chick-part-3/
https://extension.psu.edu/hen-reproduction
Keeping Roosters
Keeping a rooster with your flock of hens is something that requires serious consideration before doing so. Many cities, and even some rural towns, do not allow farm animals to be kept in residential neighborhoods. It appears that zoning laws have become more lenient in recent years with regards to keeping backyard hens, but it is important to check the animal zoning laws before acquiring any chickens. Roosters are often not allowed in many urban locations because they are considered a nuisance with all their boisterous crowing. I, for one, love nature and farm life and all the sounds that go with it! But, before you decide that letting a rooster hang out with your girls is a good thing, check your town or city’s animal zoning laws.
Helping Our Hens Be Better Egg Layers
Winter is waning and spring is on the horizon. The days are getting longer and eggs are once again beginning to appear in nesting boxes. Such a welcome sight! What are some of the things that we, as chicken farmers, can do to help our hens be the best layers that they can be?
