Fermenting Chicken Feed: A Straightforward Method

Sorry for this late reply, I haven't been active on BYC lately!

I have not tried adding insects. I'd love to hear how this goes for you!

When I do my daily FF routine I take roughly half to 3/4s of the food in the bucket and add fresh food to the remaining quarter or half. There is always old going out and new coming in so it's not just sitting and fermenting itself crazy.

You're right in saying that if it fermented too long it could go bad. That is why it is important to adjust your container size and amount of food to your flock's consumption speed. Though I have not tested it, I can see how having a full bucket and taking only a scoop or two away a day could ruin the balance. Again, I typically take away at least half every day.

I have not done a lot of fermenting for humans, but it seems to me that if you have a container of sour kraut and you consumed and replaced a large portion of it every day there wouldn't be a problem with leaving it out, so long as you watch for mold. But if you go through the sour kraut slowly it would be a good idea to refrigerate it to slow the ferment.

Does this answer you questions? Can I clarify anything more/else?

Ah, great idea! I'll have to give that a shot!

I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I use the Big D Ranch Non-GMO Broiler feed, and according to their feed tags the grains are corn, roasted beans, peas, soybean meal, and wheat. Yes, I think the green things were split peas.

Hey, the way I learned was by experience too! High five!

It is my personal belief that whole grains are healthier overall for the chickens, and there is a rumor that extra nutrients are released from grains by fermenting. But pellets and crumble will also ferment and create probiotics. The most noticeable difference is that the pellets/crumble turns to mush, and the grains swell up. I find the grains easier to handle because of this. The point is, both work, but grains tend to be easier to handle and are rumored to be healthier.

Have fun on your adventure!

I've never used mash myself, but I imagine it would be similar to pellets. Once they soak in the water, pellets turn to mush. I'm pretty sure the fermentation would work. Check for the bubbles on day 2-3. If you don't see any and are pretty sure it's not fermenting, maybe give pellets a shot.
Have fun!

Thank you for the tip! I'll add it next time I update!

Yay! I'm excited for you to try!
That's Enna, my (Spangled) Old English Game Bantam hen. Very sweet girl! Game bantams are very small, Enna is roughly the size of a normal 2 month old chick. Because they are rather uncommon, I'd guess you probably have another breed of chicken, maybe Speckled Sussex, that has similar coloring. I'm not an ID expert, but if I could see a couple pictures of her I might be able to tell.

I've never had to deal with rats, but I'm wishing you luck! Maybe make a post in the Pest and Predators forum of BYC.
Do you mean ACV? It stands for Apple Cider Vinegar. But I don't know a lot about it yet. You hear mixed results. I recommend asking others for their opinions and researching it, then decide what you think is best. Sounds like @NHChickengirl uses it with good results.