KEFIR - who makes it, drinks it, and/or feeds it to their chickens?

[Erica]

You're welcome snowflake. Giving some grains once a week is a great idea. Apparently they're high in protein, and the birds fight over them they way they do over worms and other bugs.

Incidentally my son doesn't really like kefir on its own, but he adores them as banana or strawberry smoothies.

With the calcium-phosphorus issue dlecolst, it's probably only an issue if layers are given quite a lot of milk kefir over a long time.

Put basically, too much phosphorus inhibits calcium absorption. If you feed bone meal, for instance, you can often find over time that the layers will start laying soft eggshells, because they're having trouble absorbing enough calcium. Milk can have a similar effect on laying hens if the calcium isn't rebalanced.

If you back off the kefir when you see thinning eggshells, you'll be fine.

all the best,
Erica

 

[dlecolst]

Quote:
Erica,


Thank you for the input.

 

[marlene]

I'm in uk and have never heard of kefir but sounds great, what is it?

 

[siroiszoo]

I make water kefir... Does that count..
The grains are clearish.. They go in sugar water with the fruit of your choice.. (things like apples and raisins)..

the chickens eat the extra grains and the fruit after I strain and bottle it for us..

My birds also get Kombucha instead of AVC, also the extra mothers which are kind of tough and leather like. I cut them into little chunks and the chickens eat them like they are steak.. (they go nuts!)

I personally am convinced that Probiotics such as Milk Kefir, water kefir, kombucha and yogurt boost hens health and vigor.. thus boosting egg production..

I personally avoid chemicals, antibiotics and so forth... And only use the "anti's" as a very last resort... I am big on the PRO biotics...

ON

I've just come across this thread. I noticed you posted this a few years back. Have you continued to feed the probiotics, milk kefir, water kefir, & kombucha to your chickens? Have you experienced any unwanted side affects or health issues with your flock? Just curious, new to the kefir but am fermenting feed for my chickens. Knowing I will have plenty kefir left over from each batch, I would like to feed it to the birds instead of fermenting the feed. Can it be given every day?

 

[growyourbrew]

I did read through the whole thread. Do the kefir grains grow? Or does it remain the same amount after each culture session?

 

[Hinotori]

They grow. I usually give the extra to the dogs because they beg so bad when they see me dividing out some. You can eat them, too, if you like. They are very chewy.

 

[peepacheep]

The kefir grains grow and multiply. I started out with a table spoons worth about 2 years ago. I now have a cup and a half's worth in 2 quart jars that make close to 2 cups of kefir daily. Along the way many cups worth of extra grains have gone to the dogs and chickens. Do you have grains yet? Happy to mail you some, pm an address. Somewhere way back in this thread is a link to Dom's kefir website, lots of good info there.

 

[Barred Rock Caf]

I make kefir (milk) regularly. I also use the whey produced to ferment chicken feed and other grains. The whey can be used for many diffrent lacto-fermented products for you and your chickens.

Barred Rock Cafe

 

[Barred Rock Caf]

Raw. Pasturized will not give you a full kefir, as its a dead liquid, so nothing for the grains to really grow on.

Although kefir (pronouced ke-fear) grains that are bred in raw milk are in a better environment than those that are placed in pasteurized milk, it's the lactose, or milk sugar present that they feed and reproduce from. The raw milk, depending on the source of the milk (goat's milk, for instance, is said to be superior to cow's milk), has even more probiotic cultures in it than the kefir grains provide and is, therefore, more probiotic as a whole. Kefir is the end result of the fermetation process where the bacterial colonies have consumed the lactose (sugar) and converted it chemically to lactic acid. Theerefore, lactose-intolerant individuals can consume milk kefir without ill-effects.

Kefir originated in the Caucasus mountains centuries ago and was originally derived from the bacterial cultures (back then) from the sheep's intestinal tracts. It was used as a food "preservative" of sorts in that it was found to inhibit bad bacterial reproduction in areas of the land where no refrigeration was in existence.

Just like with any biological life in this day and age, kefir grains may be diluted genetically through placement in different media through the centuries. Heirloom grains would be the best to have cultured in raw goat's mile. ANY probiotic cultures introduced into your diet, including milk or water kefir (kefir= fermented milk or water), can only provide beneficial flora to an otherwise imbalanced human or animal intestinal tract.

An additional option for fermentation with milk kefir grains would be to substitute coconut milk for cow's milk. Cocnut milk is a super food. Has super fat in it.

Fermented food cultures chemically change food into useful by-products while perpetuating the life-cycle of the culture medium. Kefir whey can be used to culture: salsas, sauerkraut, lemon/lime-ade, vegetables of all sorts, coconut oil, etc.

Barred Rock Cafe

 

[Jon0286]

If you use pasteurized milk go with unhomagenized also known as cream top whole milk. It will also make a good kefir. You should do a second ferment before feeding to chickens from what I have read.