Moving Forward with the Silage Experiment for Chicken & Duck Feed

a blend of corn/sorghum/wheat silage mixed with grain, vitamins, and minerals

Back in February, there was a post about an idea I had about making silage for chickens. Well, this post will show the result of that idea! 

Throughout the summer, I have been making hay out of wheat (cut before maturity), and now that the sweet corn has run its course, I had a few hundred pounds of corn stalks, as well as the runt-ears of corn. Also, a separate crop that I had growing was sorghum, which got chopped up (whole plant) and combined with the corn stalks. I used a wood chipper to cut the stalks and grain up, then I packed all of that product into two garbage bags by shoveling the stalks into the bags, then packing it by stepping on on the shredded stalks. Garbage bags are great for small amounts, and they don't allow any air to get into the bag (as long as most of the air can get pushed out of the bag). When there is air present during the ensile period, not only will mold grow, but bad bacteria will grow, causing the silage to become toxic. 

It's not very common for any kind of poultry to be fed silage. The main reason is because they are non-ruminants (e.g cows, goats), and chickens use small rocks to grind their food up. Ruminants rely heavily on gut bacteria to digest their food and clean their stomachs, and one way to get those beneficial bacteria is via fermentation. Essentially, when the "broken" plant matter is compressed and sealed, anaerobic bacteria start the fermentation process; making the value of the plant even greater had it not been fermented. The minimum time for silage fermentation is 5 days, and usually at 30 days, it is completely finished. As long as the silage stays sealed, it can last over a year! It does not have to be used all at once though. Silage can be easily distinguished by it's smell. It's characterized by a sweet and sour smell (more sour than sweet, due to the bacteria). 

Silage can be a very nutrient and energy dense feed (which is why it is used primarily for cattle), but for my intents and purposes, I am more concerned about having something to feed during the winter or just as a periodic feed supplement (fermented feed is good for chickens too!). Could there be benefits to growing corn who's sole purpose is for silage (there are corn varieties that are meant just for silage)? Probably, yes! However, since chickens don't have any teeth, they can't fully utilize the whole plant, even when it is chopped up. I blend the chickens' grain feed with some silage, then add water to make everything stick, which bonds the grain to the silage; that way the chickens can pick through the grain and eat the silage that is stuck to the grain. 

Ducks on the other hand, eat more plants than chickens. Part of this is because of what their primary habitat consists of, and they have a bigger mouth, as well as little teeth. A duck's teeth help mash up plants into edible proportions, and in all honesty, the ducks will probably benefit the most from eating the grain/silage mix more than the chickens. It is also in my favor that ducks are more clumsy in their eating (because of their big mouth;), which makes them ingest more than the one piece of corn they were intending to eat, for example. Chickens are very accurate and precise in how they eat. Given the chance, a chicken will pick out everything desirable in her feed until all that's left is the "undesirable" stuff, to which she will eventually eat, but you know, the rule of "dessert first" applies here. Unless a chicken is starving, they generally don't start shoveling food into their mouths like ducks do. 

Silage can be made out of just about anything that is green. I will be making more silage later this fall out of oats (called oatlage), and possibly out of fresh grass clippings. That's important to note: silage can't be made out of dried plants because bacteria need moisture to survive. 

The possibilities are many, and even if you own a few chickens, you can make silage out of excess grass clippings to feed during the winter, or even as a year round supplement. In other words, don't be afraid to experiment!