Ferment chicken feed with leaf mold or IMO2?
If you don´t have IMO4, would it be possible to ferment chicken feed with leaf mold instead? Or is it better to at least make IMO2 and if so how much IMO2 would I use when I ferment feed?
Top answer
If you have a solid IMO2 collection then I don't see much of an issue with using a small finger full of that into the amount of water you are adding to the feed especially if you are adding Cleanser(vinegar), Medicine(OHN), Food(FPJ) and Protectors(LAB). If you want to be cautious then add Cleanser, Medicine Food and Protectors to the water and moisten your feed for now while you head towards IMO4.
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
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Sep 2026
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5 sources
The library gives no IMO2 amount for fermenting feed and does not say leaf mold can stand in for IMO4.
Drake says you can make IMO3 and IMO4 straight from leaf mold. You then miss the specific microbes each stage selects for. (Office Hours Ep. 104, 33:47)
Cho's Solutions calls IMO2 the stable storage stage. It says a tea generally uses IMO3 or IMO4. (Cho's Solutions, p. 11)
For a leaf mold solution, Drake crumbles the leaf mold straight into water. He calls it DMS, the Drake Microbe Solution. (Office Hours Ep. 138, 55:44)
On the pen floor, Cho spreads IMO with rice straw and soil. (Cho, Theory, p. 141) Drake says a light sprinkling over the whole floor is a one-time setup. (Office Hours Ep. 152, 56:11)
Sources
- 56:11 Office Hours Ep. 152 (Dec 2024) — Frozen FPJ, Chicken Feed Ratios, Toxic Tire Mulch · “Yes, a light sprinkling over the whole floor, but it's a one-time setup, not something redone every feeding.”
- 55:44 Office Hours Ep. 138 (Aug 2024) — JADAM Microbial Solution, IMO Grading, No-Smell Pig Pens · “Drake blends the potato and crumbles the leaf mold straight into the water, calling it DMS, the Drake Microbe Solution.”
- 33:47 Office Hours Ep. 104 (Dec 2023) — Skipping IMO#1, Seed IMO Naming, and Moisture Ratios · “You can, but skipping the collection step means missing the specific microbes each stage selects for on the way.”
- p. 11 Cho's Solutions · “IMO2 Stable Storage High School”
- p. 141 Cho, Theory · “Rice straw, soil, and Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) are spread across at the ground level of a poultry house.”
Also discussed on Office Hours
Chicken Nesting Box Design, IMO Dust Baths, Dry LAB for Feed
- 26:21 …the feeder, the pictures of the feeder, the chickens eating from the feeder. Look at these…
- 53:50 …believe this is their feed being fermented so look how fermented their feed is i believe that's what…
- 54:41 …equals, you know, everything. And then you can feed the plant, feed the chickens, better food,…
