How to Ferment Chicken Feed For Healthier Hens and Eggs
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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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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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:
- Sprouted Seeds: A Health Treat for Backyard Chickens
- Top 10 Chicken Coop Supplies That Will Make Your Life Easier
- 10 Ways to Keep Chickens Cool During Hot Summer Weather or Heat Waves
- Tips on Caring for Chickens During Cold Winter Weather
- Feeding Chickens Eggshells or Oyster Shells for Essential Calcium
- Best Practices for Storing & Washing Fresh Backyard Chicken Eggs
- When Do Chickens Start Laying Eggs? 5 Telltale Signs It’s Soon!
- Top 18 Chicken Breeds for Your Backyard Flock
How to Make Fermented Chicken Feed
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.
Deanna Talerico
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.
124 Comments
Howard Budd
really enjoy your articles want to start fermenting their feed as there is too many fines in the crumbles Howard
Barb
Just gave my hens their first batch! They love it! I have what’s left in the fridge ( made two jars). Will give tomorrow. Starting another batch. How long can you leave it out for them to snack on? I put in two plastic shallow bowls. Thank you!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Barb, so glad to hear your hens enjoyed the fermented feed! We try and give them just enough feed so they can eat it all within that day. Hope that helps and good luck!
Terr
I’m trying fermentation for the first time and looking at your pictures the liquid is above food, mine however is below the feed. Is something wrong?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Terr, what type of feed are you using? Another type of feed, especially so if they are pellets may float more so than the feed we use. In the end, it doesn’t really matter as long as you stir the mixture once or twice a day which should prevent any mold from forming. As the feed ferments, it soaks up more water and the mixture starts to combine more. Hope that helps and good luck!
Stephanie
I started soaking grains this summer for my hens and have just taken it a step further to fully ferment them. I have 13 hens that love to eat it, but only if it is drained and rinsed. They don’t like the slightly sliminess of the liquid that coats the grains if it’s just drained. Does it still retain it’s fermented benefits if I lightly rinse it?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Stephanie, straining it off is fine but I wouldn’t rinse the feed as there is still beneficial bacteria and good things to be found in the liquid. Although, chances are the grains themselves should still have some of the fermented goodness within each grain, so if that works for you and your hens, that’s great.
Gail
You said I could ferment layer feed or crumbles they seem to float to the top continuously:/ o don’t have scratch or grain to add is that the problem?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Gail, it’s not a big deal if some of the feed floats to the top, especially when you are mixing the contents on a daily basis. As the feed starts to absorb water, it will become a more homogenous mix. Hope that helps and good luck!
Brad Bolton
I’ve been doing something similar for almost 5 years now. I use a 1/2 gallon mason jar and various mixed grains. Rolled (horse) oats, generic scratch grains, mixed wild bird food, cracked corn and even some rye and buckwheat. To up the protein I add cracked sunflower hearts and nutrisaff. I’ve even started adding a small handful of alfalfa pellets. During molt I add some flax seed.
I started my first batch just as you discribed… but saved a small amount of grains from bottom and liquids to jump start the next day’s batch. I top off with dechlorinated water. I’ve never had to restart.
You can also add some fruits and veggie scraps to fermenter. Potatoes peels (or bruised portions) sweet potato peels, carrot tips, heart of cabbage…. they LOVE them. When it gets stinky… just add an apple core chopped up for a couple days… then smells like apple cider vinegar.
One problem with wet feed is that it freezes. A nice little heated fog water bowl solved that problem.
I mix up a 30 gallon trash can at a time so to keep weevils out I put a 1/2 cup of DE powder to coat grains. I mix in a bit of layer pellets to the ration every morning. My 5 girls get 2 1/2 cups of grains and 2 cup of pellets each day. I even start introducing this to my pullets at about 2 months slowly increasing the amount they get so they get used to it and benefit from its qualities.
mtek
Thank you for your input! your information helps me on this new feed journey for our 1Roo & 12 fiesty girls. I had wondered about the need to feed Tommy something other than layer feed/scraps and sure enough, read last week that standard layer feeds lead to kidney problems in the boys. The girls are brats and he lets them get all the goodies I toss around. Thanks much
Kristie
Thank you for your excellent article. I am wondering how you serve your chickens the fermented food so that they all have access to it at the same time. How do you know that they are all getting some and the boss hen isn’t crowding others out.
We currently use a feeder with multiple openings so our hens eat when they want to, but I love the fermenting idea. Also, do you keep dry food available when feeding the fermented food?
Thanks so much.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Kristie, we typically ferment their feed as something extra while still letting them have access to their dry feed as well. We only have 3 hens right now and the boss hen is 8 years old so she is becoming less “bossy”. You could always split the fermented feed up into a couple dishes to spread the hens out more while they are eating. Hope that helps and good luck!
Carrie
I periodically ferment feed for my chickens. My best girl just recovered from a case of sour crop. Do you think I should have her avoid fermented feed for a while?
Thanks!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Carrie, I may avoid fermented feed for awhile just to play it safe while your hen recovers from her bout with sour crop. Good luck!
Violet
Hello,
Thank you for your wonderful articles. What do you do with the leftover fermented chicken feed
brine?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Violet, we usually strain off some of the brine from the top if there is separation but a lot of the times it all becomes a combined oatmeal like feed. With this, we typically just pour the whole serving out for them and it is usually all gone by the time they are done with it. Hope that helps and good luck!
Katie
I love all of your homestead content! Thank you for all that you do to help us all feel more confident in our pursuits! We just got baby chickens so naturally I was up until midnight reading your articles. Would you recommend fermenting grains for young chicks too? Ours have probiotics in their water which is a good start but it’s logical to me that these grains would be easier for them to digest and give them a healthy start. Thank you!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Katie, congratulations on getting some chicks and it’s good to hear you are reading all of the related chicken articles. Fermenting feed for baby chicks is just fine, I would offer it in addition to their dry feed which should be available at all times for them just in case they prefer the dry feed to start. Hope that helps and good luck!
Lisa
I was wondering why they can eat/drink the fermented water.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Lisa, the chickens can most likely drink the fermented liquid left over but it should not be their sole option for water either. We find using the excess liquid to start up another batch of fermented feed is most useful as the feed itself can offer a lot of nutrition for your flock on its own.
Kay
Can you add DE to fermented feed? If so, when do you add it? Also, my grains seem to mild very quickly when I’m trying to ferment, might there be a reason? I use filtered well water, oats, barley, sunflower seeds.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Kay, we aren’t sure about DE but we would likely avoid feeding it to the chickens. We use it below their shavings in the coop but that is about it, it also turns into a clay like substance when wet. If your feed molds quickly, be sure that it is totally submerged in water as anything that is in contact with the air can mold. Also be sure to stir your ferment at least once a day during the ferment process, we typically let our ferments go about 3 days. Hope that helps and good luck!