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Good vs Bad Silage, Chick Die-Off Timing, Horsetail Silica

May 4, 2025 · by Drake Weinert

Drake answers a question on silica sources (horsetail is the go-to, worm castings also help in tea) and recaps a Farmers Union trip to Maui, including Kaipo's fire-resilient farm and a new job opening on the FAM program. He also announces a 40-week research project testing KNF solutions on struggling fruit trees growing in grass, since trees and grass want different bacteria-to-fungus ratios.

The bulk of the episode reviews a Pure KNF poultry training video at Master Lee's farm in Muju. Good silage smells mildly sour; bad silage smells like butyric acid, usually from a mouse hole letting rainwater in and turning the ferment aerobic. Master Lee walks through the math on corn stalk silage: a 1.8m by 1.8m plot across five Hawaiʻi harvests can yield about 800kg a year, enough to feed 400 chickens daily. Banana stalks and sugar cane ensile even better than corn.

Silage is packed in 10cm, 400g layers dusted with IMO and misted with LAB, then stepped on to force out air so it ferments anaerobically instead of aerobically. The lactobacillus drops the pH below 2.4, and it takes about two weeks to ensile. Once done, it stays static rather than improving with age. Bad batches show a white, actinomycete-type growth instead of the dark color of good LAB fermentation.

On chicken feed, Drake found that feeding chicks only brown rice for the first 14 days caused heavy die-off, while adding boiled, grated egg and bamboo gave chicks much more strength. Most deaths happen in the first three days, with further risk windows at seven days and 21 days; after that, chicks are usually strong. A 5 to 10 percent death rate is normal, and hatchery-sourced chicks often run around 10 percent. The episode ends with a look at Master Lee's feed room, including his IMO sifter and a greenhouse roof that lets through about 40 percent sunlight.

Questions answered

  • 6:36 What's a good source of silica if you don't want to grow it as a crop? — Horsetail is the classic source; Drake shows photos of a thick, healthy horsetail patch from a friend's field.
  • 16:16 Can KNF replace chemical fertilizer for fruit trees growing in mowed grass? — Drake is starting a 40-week research project testing this, since trees want different fungus-to-bacteria ratios than grass does.
  • 19:52 What can be done for abandoned apple orchards on state land? — Document them with photos, spray KNF solutions, add microbes around the roots, and mulch with grass clippings to feed bacteria and fungus.
  • 20:36 How do you tell good silage from bad silage? — Good silage smells mildly sour; bad silage smells like butyric acid, a rotten buttery smell.
  • 23:40 What causes silage to go bad, like when a mouse makes a hole in the bag? — Water gets in through the hole and turns the ferment aerobic instead of anaerobic, ruining the batch.
  • 26:22 How much corn silage can you grow to feed chickens? — Master Lee figures a 1.8m by 1.8m plot can yield about 800kg a year across five Hawaiʻi harvests, enough for 400 chickens daily, though Drake is skeptical of the math.
  • 32:36 Can you make silage from something other than corn, like bananas or sugar cane? — Yes, bananas and sugar cane ensile even better than corn, though banana stalks are harder to chip.
  • 34:02 Why do you have to step on and compress silage while packing it? — Stepping forces out air so the pile ferments anaerobically with lactobacillus instead of spoiling aerobically.
  • 38:53 How long does silage take to be ready, and does it improve with age? — About two weeks to ensile, and after that it stays static rather than improving, since the low pH stops further biology.
  • 55:26 What do you feed baby chicks to cut down on early die-off? — Boiled, grated egg and bamboo gave chicks much more strength than feeding only brown rice, which caused heavy losses.
  • 56:43 When do chicks die most, and when are they in the clear? — Most deaths hit in the first three days, with more risk in the next seven days and the following 21 days; after that chicks are usually strong.
  • 58:09 Is some chick mortality normal? — Yes, 5 to 10 percent die-off is normal, and hatchery-sourced chicks often run around 10 percent.
  • 1:00:24 What equipment does Master Lee use to make his own feed? — Mixing machines and a sifter to pull rocks out of his IMO, plus a greenhouse roof that lets through about 40 percent sunlight.

Topics: silage, lab, imo, horsetail, silica, chicken feed, chick mortality, corn, banana, sugar cane, fruit trees, farmers union

KNF Office Hours is a free live Q&A every Sunday at 9 AM HST. Bring your question to pureknf.org/learn/questions or join live.

In this episode

  1. 0:00 Intro and I Ching reading
  2. 6:36 Silica question and horsetail
  3. 8:56 Maui Farmers Union trip, Kaipo's Farm
  4. 16:16 New 40-week fruit tree research project
  5. 18:25 Back to Master Lee's farm video
  6. 20:36 Good vs bad silage smell
  7. 23:40 Mouse holes, water, butyric acid
  8. 26:22 Corn stalk yield math for chickens
  9. 32:36 Banana and sugar cane silage
  10. 34:02 Stepping silage to remove air
  11. 38:53 How long silage takes, why it stays static
  12. 52:58 Chicken feed program results
  13. 55:26 Boiled egg and bamboo for chicks
  14. 56:43 Chick mortality timeline
  15. 58:09 Normal death rates, hatchery chicks
  16. 1:00:24 Master Lee's feed room and greenhouse
  17. 1:01:38 Wrap-up

Transcript

Auto-transcribed with Whisper. Click any timestamp to play from there.

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