yeast for chicken feed?

Okay, I don't know anything about chicken feed, but hoping someone on here does. I have family that raises chickens, and would like to add brewer's yeast to the feed. I'm not sure of the reasoning, perhaps all the B vitamins?

Anyways, I could always give them the yeast cake after a batch of beer, but I was wondering if there is a simple/cheap way for them to make their own yeast.

If you add yeast to a simple sugar water mixture (let's say to around 1.040 SG), would the resulting production of yeast lack their nutritional value because the sugar and water has no real value when compared to wort?

Would using something else like applejuice provide anything better, or it still too simple?

I read something about this awhile back so going from my faulty memory here....

Brewers yeast when used as a supplement is 'stabilized/killed' during what we would consider high krausen. The yeast start gobbling up all the beneficial stuff they produced as by products by the time our fermentations are complete. Your yeast cake and trub will not be nearly the same thing.

Ya most brewers yeast that is bought for nutritional value is deactivated, so you probably could not grow a culture out of them. But I give my grain to a buddy at work for his chickens, he said they love it and from what I have read it is good for them. Just a thought if you brew AG....

Edit: Ok so I think I misunderstood post at first, ignore me.....

theschrick - While you can produce Brewer's yeast at home (that is just what our yeast cakes are), you will not be able to compete on price.

The Brewer's Yeast that you see for sale is actually originally from large-scale commercial breweries. Their excess yeast is a highly nutritional component, and is sold off to food processors. Since it is just a by-product for the breweries, the price is actually quite reasonable.

I spoke to the family members, and they are actually using the yeast to ferment the chicken feed. I just googled "fermented chicken feed", and apparently it's an actual thing. Since it is an active process (keep adding grains as you remove so, to keep the fermentation going), I think once it is started they are good to go.

fermenting chicken feed?

sounds like corn squeezins and someone is doing something they need to go to New Zealand for it to be legal

"fermenting chicken feed?

sounds like corn squeezins and someone is doing something they need to go to New Zealand for it to be legal"


I know this is an old thread, but I have a similar question .... can I feed the yeast cake and trub to our chickens without it being too rich and killing them? BTW, they DO love the spent grains - what my wife doesn't use for flour in baking, we feed to the chikens. BUT, we've never fed the yeast cake/trub to the chickens because we were not sure if we should dry it and mix with feed, or if we could feed it to them directly. I'm going to the city today, so I'll see if the county extension has an opinion on it. Anyone have any experiences using the yeast cake for chickens? Feel free to pipe up!