How much Kelp?

[Dephora]

Hello all,

I have recently been feeding my chicks fermented organic chick starter 21%. I just ferment it with water in a glass jar, don't add anything fancy. As they are only chicks I am fermenting two cups of crumble a day on a 3 day rotation. Basically I have 3 jars.

My question is about kelp meal. Some people swear by it and I wanted to add it to the feed. I am wondering if anyone knew if I can just toss the meal in with the fermenting crumble? And then what should be the kelp to crumble ratio? I assume very low.

Thanks!

 

[Dephora]

Okay! So I went ahead and researched it. Seems anything more than 2-3% may just be wasteful though I have read some studies that went as high as 6% for egg layers and 10% to increase meat gain for meat birds quickly, though, 10% over a long period of time would not be a recommendation. If anyone has heard different than 2-3% I would love to know why!

I am basically now adding a teaspoon of kelp to 1 cup of crumble during the fermentation process. I was adding a teaspoon of kelp as a garnish when I serviced the fermented feed, but I will be interested to see if the kelp fermenting seems to do anything for the gals.

So far they go crazy for the garnish of kelp meal over the fermenting feed.

 

[casportpony]

What does kelp do for them? Are you still feeding it?

 

[Dephora]

What does kelp do for them? Are you still feeding it?

I am, it can help add nutrients to a chickens diet that they may not be getting because they don't free range. I keep track of the number of eggs I get so I am hoping to see a lack of reduction in laying around winter, I had heard that some people see no reduction because they feed kelp meal. I won't know if it helps for some months. Also decided to only feed one flock for added experiment fun. Then I will really tell if there is a difference.

 

[Kiraeh]

I bet you will see a difference, kelp is fantastic nutritionally. I know a lot of people who swear by it for their horses too.
It sounds like you found some good resources for it, mind sharing them? My chickens have been getting seaweed, but everyone in the household does- my mom is a seaweed scientist and is always chuffed to see folks appreciating it.

 

[Dephora]

Oh wow, so much haha. Basically if you go to the NCBI website for scientific papers and type in chicken and kelp you will find so many studies saying things.

Many studies will show in broilers, supplementing with kelp has increased weight gain, and lower mortality. They often find a link to increased immunity.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4093169/

As for laying hens, never really liked doing broilers, I'm in it for the eggs! They often find it improved plumage, egg laying, weight of egg, decreases salmonella, decreases e.coli and increases good bacteria.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5385333/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25352682/

Those are a few of the free articles out there and some of the reading that motivated me to try it for myself. Knowing I may not get the same results because I have a different species of kelp easily available.

edit: I forgot to add that every study usually tests kelp as .5, 2.0 , or 4.0 ratio. So that was why I originally was asking what worked best for most people.

 

[Sequel]

Oh wow, so much haha. Basically if you go to the NCBI website for scientific papers and type in chicken and kelp you will find so many studies saying things.

Many studies will show in broilers, supplementing with kelp has increased weight gain, and lower mortality. They often find a link to increased immunity.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4093169/

As for laying hens, never really liked doing broilers, I'm in it for the eggs! They often find it improved plumage, egg laying, weight of egg, decreases salmonella, decreases e.coli and increases good bacteria.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5385333/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25352682/

Those are a few of the free articles out there and some of the reading that motivated me to try it for myself. Knowing I may not get the same results because I have a different species of kelp easily available.

edit: I forgot to add that every study usually tests kelp as .5, 2.0 , or 4.0 ratio. So that was why I originally was asking what worked best for most people.

I hope you keep us posted on your project! I love the wasabi flavored kelp snacks at Trader Joe’s. I haven’t read a lot about it lately.

 

[Dephora]

I hope you keep us posted on your project! I love the wasabi flavored kelp snacks at Trader Joe’s. I haven’t read a lot about it lately.

I am a kelp chip eater myself. Maybe that is contributing to my weight gain?

I guess I will have to do some human trials where I eat more of them. The work never ends.

 

[Kiraeh]

Nice! Afaik most kelps are pretty similar nutritionally but there are lots of species, are you getting a feed mix or harvesting locally? The product I'm familiar with is http://naorganics.com/en/prod_catalogue_driedseaweed_cdn.asp. It's a pity they only tested it for a handful of things, kelp has way more to offer than that.
If you are in Atlantic Canada and wanted a mix more like the ones in the study, chrondus crispus is easy to harvest off the beach.

My mom likes to harvest the tender young kelp off the beach and layer it into lasagna, but the best seaweed recipe I have is with Irish moss(chrondus crispsus), cook it with milk and it cools to a lovely, almost cheesecake-y jelly. Delicious with vanilla and berries in a pie shell.

 

[Dephora]

I am in Southern Oregon, 3 hours from the coast. I am using a brown kelp species Ascophyllum nodosum . Most the research on that species of kelp is for pigs. D:

Pretty pricey at 49.99 for a 50 pound bag. But I also don't have to go far to get it. I found better pricing but it also involved me driving a good distance or paying 30 dollars shipping. I use such small amounts the bag will last me the whole year. Good tip thought about harvesting my own, we have many beaches along our cold coast!

Also your recipe both sounds horrible and appealing all at the same time. I will have to do my research on what is along my coast.