Stone Family Farmstead is an Amazon Associate and uses Amazon and other affiliate links to earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more.
by Kristi Stone16 Comments
For years, I have been interested in culturing and fermenting in some capacity. It pretty much started with kombucha, then I tried water kefir (I killed my grains, ugh). I also tried fermenting zucchini pickles and carrot sticks in salt brine, and those were good. Then I tried dilly beans and those were outstanding! I was pretty much hooked.
Within a few months of moving into our new place, I made a new friend, Stacey. She introduced me to making milk kefir. I had experienced kefir as a child and loved it. It wasn’t the homemade kind, but the store-bought already-flavored-with-fruit variety. I had also experienced making my own yogurt in years past but it was too labor intensive for me with the tools I had. So when Stacey shared kefir grains with me and how easy it was to make, I gave it a go.
I Made Milk Kefir, Now What Do I Do?
Making milk kefir was quite easy, even using pasteurized cow’s milk. I had no idea what to do with each batch. I ended up just mixing the whole quart with bird feed and feeding it to the chickens for a snack. Heck, I wasn’t losing anything by giving it to them, really, and I’d heard it was good for them. BUT….
And honestly, I don’t have any real scientific proof that it does help them to lay more, but on the weeks I fed milk kefir to my laying hens, they tended to lay roughly a third more eggs than when they didn’t have it. Like I said—no science, just my own mind blown.
But, I Did Research Milk Kefir for Good Measure
Here’s (in what I hope will be a nutshell) what I’ve learned from the research I have been doing on formulating my own chicken feed: laying hens need somewhere between 16 and 18 percent protein in their feed. According to Dr. Jacquie Jacob of the University of Kentucky, layers need a couple of percent more protein than pullets or any other non-laying chicken. At the time I started feeding them the milk kefir, I was already giving my girls a 16.2% protein feed, so my guess is that the extra protein boost was the reason for the boost in laying power.
Should You Feed Your Chickens Milk Kefir? You Decide.
Now here’s where I need to say to you: THIS IS ONLY WHAT WE DO. I don’t know enough to tell you that you should also do it this way, but this is working for us right now, and it’s just one way that I am supplementing the needed protein that doesn’t get into my homemade whole grain chicken feed. Since I haven’t been able to find out what percent protein milk kefir is (I’m sure it really depends on what type of milk is used amongst other factors), I can really only use it as a protein booster along with my 16% protein feed.
You don’t need to give them the full quart every time–that’s just what I do sometimes. If I were to give it consistently (or have kefir consistently–I don’t), I would do about a Tbsp per day per chicken. There’s no real rule that I know of. I have read around that many others give their chickens kefir to boost their nutrition from places like BackYardChickens.com and blogs that I’ve read, but there’s not really a hard and fast rule or “dosage” that I’ve been able to find.
People Use Milk Kefir in Other Ways, too
My friend Stacey of Mr. Joe’s Farm even treats her livestock with it when they have GI issues–she says it “fixes them right up”. I also ran across this article that talks about how kefir saved someone’s dog. I’m starting to look at my milk kefir as a medicine as well as a great food for myself and my livestock.
If you are interested in trying to make some kefir for yourself and your chickens, here’s how I make mine.
Fill clean mason jar with milk, leaving 1-inch headspace. Stir in kefir grains. Lay paper towel over the top of the jar and secure it to the jar with a canning ring or rubber band. Store jar at room temperature out of direct sunlight, allowing it to ferment until thickened. If it runs around 70 degrees in your house, your kefir should be done in 24 hours. If it’s hotter, it will ferment quicker; cooler, and it will ferment slower. Check it after 24 hours to get a feel for how kefir ferments in your house/in your kitchen. When it’s thickened to your liking, strain kefir into a glass jar, stirring gently in plastic strainer until just the grains remain. Refrigerate your kefir and use within 2 weeks (I keep mine longer, just FYI) and stir your grains into a new jar of milk to make more kefir.
It is concluded that kefir may be used in poultry feed with an inclusion rate of 7.5% without imposing any adverse effect on the measurements of body structures, weights of visceral organs, and gut morphology.
For most people, fermented foods like kefir are considered safe. But when you first take probiotics, you may experience digestive issues like increased gas, bloating, or diarrhea. These usually settle down after a few days as your body adjusts.
The easiest way to tell if they've died is to pop your kefir grains in some fresh milk, leave at room temperature and then check back in 24 hours. If the thin milk has not fermented and taken on the thicker texture of kefir, then they may be dead.
If you use too much milk, the milk can go off before the kefir grains have a chance to ferment it though, so be sure to understand how much it can do, and gradually increase from there. To get lots of kefir quickly with just a few grains simply keep adding milk without straining.
Chickens love fermented crumble, pellets, whole grains, and seeds, including chicken starter feed. Fermenting grains gives them a new flavor profile, like when you ferment cabbage to make sauerkraut. The best grains to ferment for chickens include whole oats, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds.
We do not recommend mixing maple syrup, agave, or honey with your kefir. Maple syrup and agave have a high GI rating, which disrupts your microbiome. Honey is a natural antibiotic, which interferes with the good probiotics in the kefir.
It appears to be generally safe to consume, as long as people make and store it safely. While people who are lactose intolerant may be able to drink some kefir without symptoms, they should be careful to avoid drinking too much. People with milk allergies should avoid kefir unless it contains nondairy milk.
Kefir can contain up to 50 live, active species and over 20 billion Colony Forming Units (CFUs). In comparison, yogurt typically has 1-5 live, active bacterial species and around 6 billion Colony Forming Units (CFUs).
Nutritionists and healthcare professionals suggest that regularly drinking kefir may improve health in 2-4 weeks. The several health benefits of kefir include improving heart, gut, kidney, liver, and skin health. Kefir also has anti-cancerous, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial effects.
Kefir generally takes 12 to 24 hours to form. The exact amount of time will vary depending on environmental factors, the most important of which is temperature. Cold temperatures slow the fermentation process (and it can be all but stopped by placing the grains in milk in the refrigerator).
If you see clear yellowish liquid and curds, it is over-fermented and has passed the thickening stage. It is now separating into whey and curds. Again, this is not bad - it's just a little more sour and may be less appealing.
You should also notice that the kefir smells a little sour/vinegary and possibly cheesy/yeasty. The milk will have thickened and it will no longer look like milk.
The 'fizz' in authentic kefir is caused by the naturally occurring yeasts which produce CO2 during the fermentation process. When we make our batches we watch the bubbles rise to the top of the tank once we've started stirring... it's alive!
People who have done kefir for years will generally say that they notice that their kefir is naturally thicker in the colder months and thinner in the summer. This is due to activity of the bacteria and yeast. Slow cool ferments tend to favor a more bacteria rich ferment which will result in a thicker ferment.
The most common probiotics for poultry include Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Streptococcus faecalis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus casei. These bacteria are chosen for their ability to survive the acidic environment of the stomach and their ability to adhere to the intestinal mucosa.
Because of their gelatinous texture you could combine them with a bit of sweetener or fruit juice and eat them like a gelatin candy. You can feed them to your compost pile, chickens, or pets.
What is kefir? Kefir is a type of fermented dairy product. People make it by adding bacteria and yeast cultures to milk. The cultures feed on natural sugars in the milk.
The results demonstrate that kefir possesses antibacterial, antifungal and antineoplastic activities, and provides credence to the folklorec use of kefir for a variety of infectious and neoplastic diseases.
Introduction: My name is Wyatt Volkman LLD, I am a handsome, rich, comfortable, lively, zealous, graceful, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
