In Pastured Poultry Talk episode 110, farmer Matt Steinman discussed how he used fermented feed as a solution to waste and fines. While fermentation can be a viable solution for some people, it’s not the only way to deal with fines.

The problem with fines accumulating in your feeders instead of the birds is that that the chickens miss key nutrients, and they waste feed. The lack of nutrients cause behavioral problems and reduced production. The feed waste costs you money. Soy-free feeds tend to contain more powder and compound the issues with fines.

In this episode I detail a few approaches to dealing with the wasteful fine feed dilemma, which essentially comes down to not adding old feed on top of new feed and avoiding using a bulk feeder. When you use a bulk feeder, you trade convenience for management, and it can compound the problem with feed waste, fines, and overeating (which I don’t cover in this episode).