Fodder for the girls

This is a great read thanks for posting.

ok, so i started growing fodder on a tiny scale...2 rubbermaid containers 6 inches sq. grew it in the garage, but it was possibly too warm or humid, and it started to mold. Any ideas on how to keep it from doing it again? I live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, so it is by no means overly warm or humid per se...however this has been a hot one. Couldn't feed the chooks moldy roots, so I "mowed the grass" so to speak and they love it.

Hi, mold gets created primarily from dark and dampness. If you properly drilled drain holes in your rubbermaids and have them sitting in a manor the water could fully drain than the most likely culprit was lake lack of natural lighting in your garage. Here in MN were getting down in the 40-50s at night already at that is getting to cool to grow outside. I have found fodder grows best at a consistant 68-72 degrees. Really high humidity (over 70%) also has an effect but really low humidity is worse. I was growing a run last week outside and it was just fine even in the cooler nights until I came home last Friday and my goats were up on the deck on the table just finishing the last of 8 trays. Another reason for indoor growth. If you put your tubs in the house near a window that gets natural sunlight coming thru your fodder should grow like crazy. Assuming of course your not starting out with bunk grains. If your using wheat soak for 20-24 hours and barley and lighter grains 14-18 hours. If your holes are drilled properly you can't over water but the non the less only water twice a day. You want the grains to have a chance to dry up a bit between waterings to expedite optimal sprouting. Hope this helps.

It's weird, the trays are super small, because I don't want to invest a lot of money til I kinda figure it out plus I only have 6 chickens (so far). Trays seem to be draining and they grow quickly. I keep them in front of the window, but I noticed on day 4, there is a little spot of mold. The garage does stay above 70 all day and mostly through the night. The trays are not full of water and the seed seems to be drying out properly. I eventually plan to move trays to a little greenhouse idea, but only if I figure it out... Thanks for the advice, I'll keep reading and adjusting.

What type of grain are you using? Can you attach a picture of an empty tray so I can see the drainage holes. If your getting plenty of natural light your seed must be staying to wet.

Preacherbabe said:

It's weird, the trays are super small, because I don't want to invest a lot of money til I kinda figure it out plus I only have 6 chickens (so far). Trays seem to be draining and they grow quickly. I keep them in front of the window, but I noticed on day 4, there is a little spot of mold. The garage does stay above 70 all day and mostly through the night. The trays are not full of water and the seed seems to be drying out properly. I eventually plan to move trays to a little greenhouse idea, but only if I figure it out... Thanks for the advice, I'll keep reading and adjusting.

Click to expand...

I agree with usedhobarts. I had some smaller trays, with lots of 3/32" drainage holes drilled.
But there was a tiny valley all around the edge. I had trouble until I drained holes all along this too.
The seeds have to be fresh, and drain REALLY well. That might even be more important in your climate.

Another idea is that you could add a capful of either bleach, hydrogen perioxide, or vinegar to the soaking solution.

I love your info on the fodder system you are creating. I too, have 24 chickens to feed and have been too "chicken" to try it. I did buy some barley, but Im not sure what I did wrong or if I bought the wrong kind, because it never would sprout. I soak it for 3 days now and then feed it to the chickens so there isn't any waste, but I want to grow the fodder. Keep up the good work! You make it look easy and makes me want to give it another try.

Thanks!

This has helped me so much. We built a system with barley with the angled trays and we were only getting a 50% sprout rate with it only really growing on the side with the holes. After reading your experience we are redoing our whole system!