[pent565]

I’ve been fermenting my chicken feed, which increases the protein count and the availability of nutrients. I was wondering if this can be done with dry dog food, or if the meat ingredients would simply cause the undesirable kind of rot?
A link to the forum on Fermentation: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds

I mean, fish can be fermented, they do it in Iceland, right? It would be a good alternative for me to raw feeding, which I tried with ferrets some time back and found to be simply too much work and not cost effective. I can barely afford to buy meat for my family, much less my dog. Don’t get me wrong, she has a good quality food, it just in kibble form.

[Bongo Buddy]

What about pouring some raw goat milk or kefir over the dog food? Those are both fermented.

[pent565]

Its a good thought, but the thing is the point is to actually ferment the food itself, to break the nutrients down into more usable forms. In Chickens, they showed a marked increase in micro-villi in the gut; the part of the intestines that actually extracts nutrients. Less water is needed to drink, as the food contains water, and the base protein count can go up by 12%. They can use more of the food, so they poop less.

The FF is more filling and nutrient rich, so less needs to be given at each feeding. I’m more thinking, will it spoil?

[dogs4herding]

what I do:
I dont ferment the beef. I buy sojos dehydrated fruit and veg mix. I rehydrate and then ferment like I would sour kraut but I also add kefir whey. This is then added to meat. Send me a text message with ur email if u need details. 864-six zero seven- three zero nine four

[Anonymous]

I’d think dog stomachs to be more sensitive than a chickens. Heck, I’ve seen chickens eat broken glass. Even still, there are writeups based on the nutritional value for things like poultry @ http://www.alpa.org.ve/ojs/index.php/ojs_files/article/view/22 . The protein it adds is the yeast and I’ve seen more and more of this in many foods now a days as it’s dirt cheap and easy. I end up with with massive amounts of it a year with other hobbies so it’s never been an issue to me. Just remember, it has a strong laxative effect in quantity and that might not be something you want to give your dog. 😉

Another option might be some mold derivatives that break down the same substance without causing the alcohol byproduct (which is what the mother is added to eat) if you’re going to go this route. Perhaps Monascus purpureus (Red Rice Yeast) or Aspergillus Oryzae (White Koji) mold with a yeast kicker would be a better option to accomplish the above task as they would further break down the starches and minerals plus create more yeast byproduct. They could also be done with the protein present without hurting anything at least for short periods of time. Be careful of the Red Rice Yeast if you go that route though as large amounts can be hard/dangerous on the kidneys.

In any event, when brewing fermented beverages the PH and alcohol content helps to kill off the dangerous pathogens. Similar thing with things like Sauerkraut minus the alcohol. But open air fermenting for short periods of time will up the rate of mold growth too so you wouldn’t want to do very much and feed it IMMEDIATELY after a short “fermentation.” Also, depending on your locale, open fermentations can produce some nasty flavors. We keep some dried sourdough starter to activate for making bread every so often since the flavors of open air done sourdough here are just terrible.

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