# Home made Fermented feeds



## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

i feed my racing pigeon fermented feeds once a week.. its been 5 months since i started to feed them, great feathers, alertness and healthy.. 

I got this idea in chicken poultry.. and search the benefits of fermented feeds.. 

try it first on one bird only, and it give a good feedback.. 

Just wanna share it and i know its good for our birds.. 

I learn a lot in this Forum and its time to share.. 

Benefits 

Lacto-fermentation is an anaerobic process that preserves and enhances food. 
Lacto-fermented food contains live Lactobacillus.. 

Fermented feed has been found to increase egg weight, shell weight and shell thickness; boost the intestinal health by forming a natural barrier to acid-sensitive pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella; and lowered their consumption of feed (due to their bodies digesting the fermented feed more effectively), according to a British Poultry Science study from 2009. Another 2009 study by the African Journal of Biotechnology concurred that fermented feed reduces the level of anti-nutrients found in the grains and seeds, and greatly improves the bioavailability of vitamins and minerals during digestion.
Not only does fermentation preserve the vitamins in your grains, it also creates new vitamins, primarily B vitamins like folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and thiamin.

*You can search also before trying this*.. in my 5 months feeding my racing pigeon i find them good..


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

I have read many books on racing pigeons....Never has any book said to feed fermented seeds to racing pigeons....That doesn`t mean the seeds would harm the birds,but I`m not sure they are doing any good....Everything you said about your birds,is what my birds are like,and everyone else`s birds are like without fermented seeds...So the answer is the seeds has NO additional benefits....Unless proven by a DVM.....Alamo


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

What are the effects of fermented feed?

Reduction of pathogenic microorganisms

These studies found that the fermented feed led to a much healthier gastrointestinal tract. One study suggested that fermented feed should be called “fermbiotics” because it provides the same benefits as probiotics in the human diet.4 Primarily, fermented feed causes a reduction of pathogenic bacteria including salmonella and camphylobactor in the digestive tract, most particularly in the crop and gizzard. Because the crop often ruptures during slaughter, the decreased level of pathogens in this area in particular makes contamination of the meat less likely.3

Lactic acid is produced by the lactobacteria. These beneficial bacteria are present in the feces of birds given fermented feed. This demonstrates that they have traveled throughout the digestive system, and they may be killing off pathogens along the way.3 The lactic and acetic acid produced by the bacteria in fermented feed create an acidic environment with a pH of about 4. At this level of acidity, molecules of acid can enter the bacteria through their cell membranes, and the increased acidity within the cells interferes with enzymatic processes, killing the bacteria.3 Fermented feed is somewhat more effective against salmonella than camphylobactor because the lactobacillus also outcompetes the salmonella for nutrients in the feed itself.3 Still, birds fed fermented feed took longer to begin shedding camphylobactor bacteria in their feces after being exposed to the bacteria and were less susceptible than birds on a non-fermented diet.

Nutritional changes in the feed

Soaking and fermenting makes the phosphorus more available to the digestive tract. Sugar content decreased in the Engberg study by 77% and crude protein increased slightly, by 3%.1 The beneficial bacteria outcompeted moulds in the feed, reducing their prevalence.

A negative is that Engberg found 3% less amino acids in the fermented food because these were consumed by the bacteria, E. coli specifically. They recommended that inoculating with lactobacillus, such as found in natural apple cider vinegar, would allow the lactobacillus to outcompete the E. coli and leave more of the amino acids intact.


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

Alamo said:


> I have read many books on racing pigeons....Never has any book said to feed fermented seeds to racing pigeons....That doesn`t mean the seeds would harm the birds,but I`m not sure they are doing any good....Everything you said about your birds,is what my birds are like,and everyone else`s birds are like without fermented seeds...So the answer is the seeds has NO additional benefits....Unless proven by a DVM.....Alamo



Dont believe so much in Books about racing.. most of them are for advertisement only.. hehe.. You can buy and read all racing books but most you read cant make you win.. Same as grit, we know its the best for racing pigeon but theres no book or advertisement.. because theres no money in grits.. 

Believe if your birds are healthy, chances to win is big... lol


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

Jtronics...You wrote some good stuff above,and if true,I guess allot of us are going to see about Fermented seeds for racing pigeons...Would like to hear from a DVM about his thoughts on this matter....Anyone on PT here know of a DVM, with racing pigeon experience,and or is a pigeon racer himself ?? Alamo


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

i got this ideas when im searching about probiotics, in our place theres a guy who sell home made probiotics, im just curious on how to make those probiotics, and what is the benefits of it, as ive search i saw a link about poultry and the home made FERMBIOTICS.. 

Fermented feeds (fermbiotics) do the same as probiotics, they use it in chicken, theres a lot of benefits on chicken, last five months i started using it on one birds only, after 3 months feeding those fermented feeds i got good feedback, now its been 5 months since all of my birds feeding once or twice a week with this fermented feeds.. 

i never had any books to share that its good for our pigeon or racing pigeon.. it just comes into my mind that if its good for chicken it is good also to our birds beacause pigeon hav gizzard also..

Primarily, fermented feed causes a reduction of pathogenic bacteria including salmonella and camphylobactor in the digestive tract, most particularly in the crop and gizzard.

Theres a lot of study and research about the benefits of Fermented feeds (fermbiotics).

For me theres no top sectret if we want our birds to be healthy, lets search and share for the benefits of others,


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

The first day of soaking your grains greatly improves their digestibility by reducing the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors found in all grains, seeds and legumes. By the second day, lactic acid bacteria begins the process of fermentation by consuming the sugars in the grains and multiplying in great numbers, producing lactic acid. The lactic acid, in turn, makes the environment unsuitable for bad bacteria, leaving behind only beneficial microbes.


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## tick and twitch (Sep 26, 2012)

*?*

Doesn't lactic acid cause muscles to cramp?


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

Lactic acid is produced by the lactobacteria. These beneficial bacteria are present in the feces of birds given fermented feed. This demonstrates that they have traveled throughout the digestive system, and they may be killing off pathogens along the way.3 The lactic and acetic acid produced by the bacteria in fermented feed create an acidic environment with a pH of about 4. At this level of acidity, molecules of acid can enter the bacteria through their cell membranes, and the increased acidity within the cells interferes with enzymatic processes, killing the bacteria.3 Fermented feed is somewhat more effective against salmonella than camphylobactor because the lactobacillus also outcompetes the salmonella for nutrients in the feed itself.3 Still, birds fed fermented feed took longer to begin shedding camphylobactor bacteria in their feces after being exposed to the bacteria and were less susceptible than birds on a non-fermented diet


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

shorty2 said:


> What changes or differences did you observe between this test bird and your other control birds ?


First test on 3 months old and beggining to moult. Supple silky feather, alertness, healthy poo compare to same age.


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

shorty2 said:


> What changes or differences did you observe between this test bird and your other control birds ?


First test on 3 months old and beggining to moult. Supple silky feather, alertness, healthy poo compare to same age..

In breeders i never had obsreve. No eggs yet.. On study about fermbiotics there is a changes on chicken eggs. More healthy and good egg shell.


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

Seeing if seeds will sprout,will tell the loft mgr,if his feed is good or not...Many old timers did this..No secret,and no big deal in today`s world....Our feed is much better today,then in the 1940`s etc.....Alamo


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## aardenist (Apr 23, 2014)

Do you inoculate the feed with beneficial bacteria at all?


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## phoenixfarms (Feb 1, 2017)

Hey guys, so I'm new to pigeons but I have raised and bred chickens for a while. And I fed both chickens and chicks fermented feed all the time after feeding them all sorts of feed prior. At first I just fed bagged feed and then I sourced several organic and non gmo farms for a variety of different grains Then started fermenting my feed. 1st, they eat a lot less. Since the food's nutrients are more bioavailable due to fermenting the chickens ate about half the feed they used to and were healthier. But The biggest difference I noticed was in the chicks. So I never medicated any of my birds where "medication" and tried to use natural remedies. Egg customers would have a "stroke" if I medicated. But my chicks got fed the mashed up fermented feed and they were a lot healthier right from the get go, none of them ever got coccidiosis and grew very healthy, and I have had customers come back and buy chicks (even though my prices were slightly higher) instead of other chicks because mine were a lot healthier and stronger than other breeders.


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## White Homers (Sep 22, 2016)

Do you ferment all different types of seeds or do you just ferment a certain type of seed? Right now I have never given my birds any medication in 4 years just apple cider vinegar and probiotics once a week and clean feed.


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## phoenixfarms (Feb 1, 2017)

So i ferment all the feed. I would also add kelp, fish protien and calcium to the feed and would ferment it all. I've seen some chicken ppl that would throw kitchen scraps into the fermenting feed, I didn't do that, but all the grains and additives would get fermented. Granted it would smell horrible. And if you got it on your skin it was almost impossible to wash out the smell, so use a utensil that would let water out to scoop the feed.


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## Wicket (Jan 6, 2022)

Alamo said:


> Jtronics...You wrote some good stuff above,and if true,I guess allot of us are going to see about Fermented seeds for racing pigeons...Would like to hear from a DVM about his thoughts on this matter....Anyone on PT here know of a DVM, with racing pigeon experience,and or is a pigeon racer himself ?? Alamo


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## Wicket (Jan 6, 2022)

Alamo, just wondering if you don't put too much stock in DMV's. They are actually taugh very little about animal nutrition and what they are taught is only about prossessed commercial feed. Commercial feed company's donate money to Vet Colleges for this purpose. All the research on animal nutrition is done by those who sell commercial feed. Just suggesting that by limiting all knowledge to what DMV's promote may be a handicap.


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