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Chicken Health,  Chickens

How to Ferment Chicken Feed For Healthier Hens and Eggs

July 29, 2020 /
Jump to Recipe

Last Updated on April 20, 2025

Come learn how to ferment chicken feed, plus with why fermented feed is so great for your chickens’ health! It’s quick and easy to make, and can actually help save money. Then, you’ll reap the rewards with more nutritious eggs too!

We’ve been making fermented feed for our chickens for years, and I have yet to meet a bird that doesn’t prefer fermented grains to plain old dry food. Your flock will love it!

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looking down on a group of chickens standing in a circle with their heads hovering over a bucket of fermented chicken feed

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RELATED: If you’re new to raising backyard chickens, come learn what can chickens eat (and can’t eat) – including healthy treat ideas, boredom busters, our DIY flock block recipe, and toxic foods or plants to avoid.


What is fermented chicken feed?


Fermented chicken feed is simply regular chicken feed that has been allowed to ferment by soaking in water for a few days under the right conditions. During that time, beneficial lactobacillus bacteria naturally found in the environment (including on chicken feed) converts starch and sugar into lactic acid bacteria (LAB). This encourages the formation of gut-healthy probiotics while also lowering the pH to prevent growth of harmful bacteria – much like making homemade sauerkraut.

Fermented can be offered as a primary food source or as an occasional treat. When our chickens are molting or otherwise under the weather, we keep the fermented feed in ample supply! They need all the extra nutritional support they can get during those times. 


A close up image of a quart mason jar 3/4 full of fermented chicken food. The feed is still submerged in water by an inch or two and there are visible bubbles throughout the feed illustrating the fermentation that is occurring.
A small batch of fermented feed, bubbling away!


4 Benefits of Fermenting Chicken Feed


1) Improved Digestion and Nutrient Absorption


Fermented chicken feed is easier to digest and increases nutrient absorption. In addition to being soft and gentle on their digestive system, soaking grains reduces phytic acid, an “anti-nutrient” naturally present that can interfere with the absorption of nutrients and minerals. Fermentation has also been shown to enhance the content of certain vitamins in foods, such as Vitamin B.


2) Added Probiotics and Immune Health


The ample probiotics found in fermented chicken feed are stellar for digestion, immunity, and improved gut health – which is directly tied to total body health. Research show that animals who receive a steady intake of probiotics through fermented feed have a more robust immune system than those on a standard dry feed diet.

For instance, this study found that the lactic acid bacteria in fermented chicken feeds lowers the pH of chickens intestines enough to ward off acid-sensitive bacteria like E.Coli and Salmonella. Meaning, chickens consuming fermented feed are less likely to develop infections and other diseases, and live longer, less complicated lives. For you, that means less stress and vet bills, and healthier eggs!


a wire basket of colorful brown, tan, dark red, light green and blue eggs being held out in front of a chicken coop and sign that reads "fresh eggs"


3) Better Quality Eggs


You know the saying “you are what you eat“? When your chickens receive superior nourishment, the eggs they lay for you are supremely nutrient-dense in return.

According to a study published in the Journal of British Poultry science, chickens that were fed fermented chicken feed showed increased egg weight, shell thickness, and shell stiffness over chickens on dry food. When chickens have nice firm eggshells, they’re far less likely to have issues with laying soft-shell eggs or becoming egg-bound; both of which can be life-threatening.


4) Save Feed and Money


Last but not least, making fermented chicken feed makes their food (and your dollar) stretch further! As the feed soaks, it expands in volume so your birds get full faster. At the same time, they digest more nutrients than ever! So, fermenting chicken feed is an inexpensive way to improve the nutritional value of basic dry feed while also consuming less of it.  


a hand holding a metal scoop of dry chicken grains over a full 5-gallon bucket of the feed below
Our flock’s favorite whole grain organic layer feed by Scratch and Peck


Supplies Needed


  • A container to ferment chicken feed in, such as a large glass jar, bowl or bucket. It should be large enough to hold a day or two worth of feed for your flock, plus extra room for water, stirring, and expansion. A quart or half-gallon mason jar worked well when we had just a handful of chickens. Now we ferment chicken feed in a 2-gallon bucket for our flock of 13.

  • Chicken feed. You can ferment crumble, pellets, or whole grain chicken feed – including chick starter! We’ve found that whole grain feed holds up the best, as the others get more mushy as they expand. We use our long-time favorite organic layer feed from Scratch and Peck. You can even ferment scratch as a treat, though it shouldn’t replace their layer feed. 



DeannaCat is holding out a bowl of freshly fermented chicken feed. There are four chickens huddled around the bowl, one of them has their head inside the bowl for a closer inspection. There is trailing rosemary cascading over a raised stone border in the background.
Fermented feed is great for flocks large or small!


How to Ferment Chicken Feed


1) Mix Feed and Water


First, add enough dry chicken feed to the container for one or two daily servings for your flock. For reference, the average adult chicken will consume about 1/4 to 1/2 pound of food per day. For our Scratch and Peck mash grain feed, that equates to about 1/2 cup of food per chicken per day (weighed dry). We typically ferment enough to serve over the course of two days.

Next, pour water over the top so that the feed is fully submerged, plus a couple inches of room on top to expand.


How much feed should I ferment?


If you plan to offer fermented feed as their primary food source, do your best to estimate a day or two worth of feed for your flock size. To offer it regularly, you’ll need to start staggered batches every few days (date the containers) in order to have a finished batch available at all times. Or, to offer fermented feed as an occasional treat (with dry food still available), simply make one batch at a time; the amount doesn’t need to be exact.


A small green bucket filled with water and chicken feed to create fermented feed. Some bubbles are forming in the mixture.
Cloudy and bubbly by day 3 – time to feed!


2) Cover and Ferment


Cover the top of the container with a loose-fitting lid, plate, or other makeshift lid. It doesn’t need to be air tight! The goal is to prevent drifting mold spores from floating in, but allow fermentation gasses to escape.

Set the container in a location with moderate temperatures and out of direct sunlight for three to four days to ferment. Check and stir it each day. Add additional water if the feed has absorbed it all and is no longer submerged. Floating or exposed feed may mold!

By day or two or three, you should see small bubbles on the surface and/or within the feed mixture. It should smell slightly tangy, sour, and sweet – similar to yogurt or yeast. (Ours smells a tad fishy since the feed contains kelp meal.) The liquid will also get increasingly cloudy. If the fermented chicken feed develops mold or putrid odors, do not feed it to them!

While fermented chicken feed is safe to consume beyond day three or four, it gets increasingly sour and may become less palatable for your spoiled chicken’s taste buds.


A four way image collage of the process of fermented chicken feed, the first image is watermarked with a "0" in the lower right corner indicating that it's the initial start of the process. There is a quart mason jar halfway full of whole grain chicken feed. The remainder of the jar is full of water, leaving the feed submerged. The second image is watermarked with a "1" in the lower right corner. The feed has expanded some, the remaining water is slightly darker in color and there is about two inches of water above the feed. The third image is marked with a "2" in the lower right corner indicating that it is the 2nd day of fermentation. The feed has expanded even more and the water is slightly more cloudy. There is about an inch of water covering the feed. The fourth image is watermarked with a "3" showing that it's the third day of fermentation. The feed has expanded even more, leaving only about a half an inch of water covering the feed. The feed looks to be more melded together compared to the previous images.
From start to finish, a 3-day ferment


3) Drain


If the fermented chicken feed hasn’t absorbed all of the water by serving time, you can either drain off the excess or reserve the liquid to jump start a new batch. Soaking fresh feed in already-fermented brine will actually put the next batch about a day ahead of schedule! However, I wouldn’t continue to use the same brine more than a couple times or it will become too sour.

However, the feed will spoil faster when it’s no longer submerged in its liquid “bath”. So if you plan to feed over the course of two days, simply scoop out half on day three and then drain/use the rest on day four.


TIP: If you have a large flock and would like to regularly make fermented feed, consider making a DIY self-draining bucket system! Drill many small holes in the bottom of one 5-gallon bucket, nestle it inside another 5-gallon bucket, and then fill with food and water to ferment. Once it’s done, simply lift the top bucket and the liquid will drain away into the lower bucket.

A large slotted spoon holding a scoop of fermented chicken feed grains over a bucket of liquid, with five chickens peering to the bucket and trying to eat off the spoon
Since we usually make two days worth of fermented feed at a time, I simply use a large slotted spoon to scoop some out on day 3 then drain the rest of the liquid on day 4. They can hardly wait!


4) Feed


Now for the best part! Serve the fermented feed in a tray or dish that all of your chickens can eat from. For our current flock of 13, we usually spread it out between two wide shallow repurposed plant saucers so everyone has room to gather round and enjoy. I love listening to their happy little peck-peck-pecks on the tray!


Hens stand around a circular black tray that is partially full of fermented feed.


Simple, effective, and worthwhile!


In short, making fermented chicken feed is an easy and inexpensive way to give your girls a boost! It can lead to healthier chickens, better quality eggs, and potentially lower feed costs. What’s not to love about all that? I hope you found this article helpful and interesting. If so, please spread the love by leaving a review below! Above all, I hope your chickens enjoy their new feed!


You may enjoy these related articles:



looking down on a group of chickens standing in a circle with their heads hovering over a bucket of fermented chicken feed

How to Make Fermented Chicken Feed

Fermenting chicken feed is an easy and inexpensive way to improve the nutritional value of your chickens food, leading to overall better health – and quality of eggs! It takes very little supplies and time to do. Come learn how!
4.84 from 36 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Fermentation Time 3 days
Course Chicken Feed, Fermented Foods

Equipment

  • Large glass jar, mixing bowl, bucket, or other container (BPA-free preferred)

Ingredients
  

  • 1-2 servings chicken feed of choice (for the whole flock) including whole grain feed, pellets or crumbles

Instructions
 

  • Check the serving recommendations for your chicken feed (e.g. 1/4-1/2 cup per chicken per day). Then, choose a large enough container to fit one or two daily servings of feed for your flock, plus some extra room for water, expansion, and stirring.
  • Add enough chicken feed to the container for one or two days servings for your flock. We usually ferment enough to serve over two days.
  • Pour water over the top of the feed. Add enough so that the feed is fully submerged and has a couple inches of room to expand.
  • Cover the top of the container with a loose-fitting lid, plate, or other makeshift lid. It doesn’t need to be air tight.
  • Set the container in a location with moderate temperatures for three to four days to ferment (such as out on the counter, in the garage, etc).
  • Check and stir it each day. Add additional water if the feed has absorbed it all.
  • After 3 to 4 days (our chickens prefer day 3) give them the fermented feed. If it hasn’t absorbed all of the water, you can either drain it off and discard, or reserve the liquid to jump start a new batch of fermented feed.
  • However, the feed will spoil faster when it's no longer submerged in its liquid "bath". So if you plan to feed over the course of two days, simply scoop out half on day three and then drain/use the rest on day four.
  • Repeat as desired, and develop a schedule. Since it takes a few days to ferment, some folks start staggered batches every couple of days (date the containers) in order to have a finished batch of fermented feed available at all times.
Keyword fermented chicken feed, fermented feed, fermenting chicken feed
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!


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Deanna Talerico (aka DeannaCat) is a garden educator and writer with over 15 years experience in organic gardening. She is a retired Senior Environmental Health Specialist, and holds a M.A. in Environmental Studies and B.S. in Sustainability and Natural Resources.

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124 Comments

    • Dave

      December 31, 2020 at 4:23 pm Reply

      Hi…great article. Lots of good info! I’ve been feeding my flock fermented grains for a pretty good while now…they love it. I also give them some form of green every day. Late December in Virginia and still finding chick weed and other stuff. I’ve been wondering….could I offer a bit of the fermentation fluid to them to drink? Seems like it would be beneficial if I skim the foamy stuff off of the top.

      • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

        January 2, 2021 at 4:21 pm Reply

        Hello David, I don’t see how that would be a problem as long as their regular water is still available to them. You could always try and reuse the liquid to restart your next batch of fermented feed as well if you found yourself tossing out the remaining liquid. Hope that helps and good luck!

      • Dave Niques

        January 2, 2021 at 10:23 pm Reply

        4 stars
        Feeding them the fermentation fluid is a great idea… You know its a fermentation process so it tends to be a bit alcoholic and your chicks will have some corn beer, and dance for you while at it! Am definitely trying this! Cheers and happy new year from Nairobi, Kenya!

  • Vanessa

    December 1, 2020 at 10:13 am Reply

    5 stars
    First of all, thanks for all the super helpful info. I turn here first when I’m trying to figure out something garden/ferment/chicken related. Do you see any problem doubling the 2day recipe and refrigerating the second half instead of staggering batches?

    My 5 chickens are thanking you.

    • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

      December 1, 2020 at 2:41 pm Reply

      Hello Vanessa, Thank you so much for the kind words. Refrigerating the left over portion will work just fine. We often have some fermented feed left over after feeding and refrigerate the remainder until we feed them the following day. Good luck and your chickens should be thanking you!

      • Tammie J Canet

        December 17, 2020 at 10:30 am Reply

        Currently I’m only fermenting the layer pellets. But I add whole grains before feeding. Should I be fermenting them as well? Will they get soggy? My girls love the stuff, but I had an Aymi rooster that wouldn’t let his girls eat it. So weird

        • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

          December 18, 2020 at 7:13 am Reply

          Hello Tammie, whole grains can absolutely be fermented as well, our layer feed is mostly made up of whole grains and the chickens love it. Thanks for reading and good luck!

  • Elizabeth

    October 11, 2020 at 2:15 pm Reply

    My chickens don’t seem to like the fermented pellets. Should I take away their dry pellets so they will eat the fermented, until they get used to it? We usually have pellets in a hanging feeded available at all times.

    • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

      October 12, 2020 at 6:37 pm Reply

      Hi Elizabeth, I would not take away their regular unfermented feed only to force them to eat the fermented one. It may be something that takes them a little time to get used to. We found that our chickens prefer whole grain chicken feed whether it is fermented or not compared to the pellets. Hope that helps and good luck!

  • Pandora Fox

    October 4, 2020 at 12:39 pm Reply

    Hi there! Trying this for the first time. Day two and I have bubbles galore! Just one question: Is it normal that it smells like sour milk? Thanks for the great article and recipe!

    • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

      October 6, 2020 at 2:17 pm Reply

      Hi Pandora, not entirely surprising at all! The ferment will definitely have a slight aroma to it though it will vary depending on the type of feed that you give them. Good luck!

      • DeannaCat

        November 17, 2020 at 11:05 am Reply

        Hi Nick – We feed our girls organic “Scratch and Peck” brand, their naturally-free layer feed. We get it at a local farm supply store and it’s also available online. We haven’t ventured into making our own grain blend yet since there is this awesome option that hits all their nutritional needs already. Plus… too busy writing, haha! Thanks for reading!

  • Janet

    September 27, 2020 at 4:50 pm Reply

    I use my discard from sourdough and just plop food in, mix with water, leave overnight. Feed. Leave a little bit in container and do again, I refresh discard every week.
    Love all your hints on EVERYTHING. Thank you

    • DeannaCat

      August 11, 2020 at 8:55 am Reply

      Hi Meredith – No, not necessarily. It will continue to bubble for several days. It isn’t “wrong” to feed it to them on day 2, but there will be even more beneficial bacteria (probiotics) on day 3. Thanks for tuning in!

    • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

      August 7, 2020 at 8:04 am Reply

      I don’t see any issue with that and it should help kick start the fermentation process. Our chickens love it when we feed them pieces of SCOBY.

  • Kathleen W.

    August 3, 2020 at 9:14 am Reply

    I give my chickens kombucha pellicles as a treat and they LOVE it. Do you see any reason not to use the liquids from a pellicle hotel to start the feed fermentation?

    • DeannaCat

      August 3, 2020 at 6:49 am Reply

      Great question! Any age! I assume they’re not on layer feed yet, so you can ferment the grower/chick feed they’re on.

      • Kerri W.

        November 24, 2020 at 3:47 pm Reply

        Hi, thanks for the article. Great information. I’m going to give it a try. I feed mine Bar Ale ultimate layer. I believe it is similar to the scratch and peck. Lots of seeds and peas. Things like that. Would it be ok to ferment that kind of food? What type of feeder do you feed them in and do you give them their feed just once a day? I have 38 birds and feed twice a day. I also throw down a little scratch for the evening feed in the winter.

        • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

          November 24, 2020 at 3:59 pm Reply

          Hello Kerri, your feed of choice does sound very similar and should be just fine fermented! We leave out regular dry Scratch and Peck layer feed in their run and occasionally give them fermented feed in a separate container in addition to the free choice feed. For feeding a large flock fermented feed, it would be easiest to ferment the feed in a 5 gallon bucket and pour it into a few larger containers when it is time to feed the birds. Hope that helps and good luck!

          • Kerri w

            April 12, 2021 at 3:51 am

            Hello, I got started on my fermenting and I developed mold on the batch so I decided not to do it. I’m wanting to try again and I’m wondering what I did wrong. I used a large glass container with a lid that wasn’t tight but does sit flat. Any thoughts on how to prevent mold from forming?

          • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

            April 12, 2021 at 1:54 pm

            Hello Kerri, was the temperature of the room too hot? Be sure to shake or stir the feed everyday as that will help mix it all up and not leave the same portion of material exposed to the air. Three day ferment time works out the best for us and our chickens. Hope that helps and good luck!

    • Bonnie Barclay

      January 10, 2021 at 5:00 pm Reply

      I’m going to try this with my chickens
      Question#1: can you ferment layer mash or does it need to be grains, crumbles, or pellets?
      Question #2 Anyone ever give fermented feed to Guinea fowl? Could I use game bird feed pellets for them?
      Thanks

      • Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)

        January 11, 2021 at 1:55 pm Reply

        Hello Bonnie, you can absolutely ferment layer mash, just keep an eye out as the ferment times may not take as long as whole grain feed. Possibly only 24 to maybe 48 hours at most? I don’t have any experience with Guinea fowl or game bird pellets but I don’t see why you couldn’t ferment their feed as well. Start off with a small amount and see how your flock takes to the feed. Hope that helps and good luck!

4.84 from 36 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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