anybody raise sprouts to feed the chickens?

[ChickenCanoe]

I took it back immediately.
It is a shame that they are only 5 minutes from the house and the next closest feed stores are over a half hour away.

I once went in there to buy some vitamins and electrolytes. Checking the label I discovered the product had expired 3 years earlier. I told them about it.
2 years hence, the stuff is still on the shelf.

They keep chicken feed till it sells. Layer is usually fresh but since people around here only have chicks in the spring, buying starter/grower in fall and winter yields old feed which I won't buy.

++++++++++++++++++++

I asked they why they were carrying barley after so many years of not doing so.
They said they had gotten it for a guy to make beer but he never bought it.

When I returned it, I said it shouldn't be used for beer either. He said that was what they bought it for.
No wonder the guy reneged on the deal.

 

[lazy gardener]

Read the seed labels.
I went to my local feed store to see if they had anything to sprout. I start growing fodder this time of year and my source of barley dried up.
I asked what the largest bag of oat groats they had (usually it is 5 lbs.) they said 50 lbs. I said I'll take a bag (they were out though)
I asked if they had barley (they had never carried it before) and they said they had 50 lb. bags.
I said I'd take one if it was feed grade. They said it was untreated seed so should be OK.
Just before I opened the bag when I got home, I turned it over and it said NOT FOR FEED - contains one or more of the following. There was a list of pesticides and fungicides.
They tried to poison my chickens.

Never trust an employee at a feed store!!! Do your homework!!! Good catch, CC.

 

[lazy gardener]

I took it back immediately.
It is a shame that they are only 5 minutes from the house and the next closest feed stores are over a half hour away.

I once went in there to buy some vitamins and electrolytes. Checking the label I discovered the product had expired 3 years earlier. I told them about it.
2 years hence, the stuff is still on the shelf.

They keep chicken feed till it sells. Layer is usually fresh but since people around here only have chicks in the spring, buying starter/grower in fall and winter yields old feed which I won't buy.

++++++++++++++++++++

I asked they why they were carrying barley after so many years of not doing so.
They said they had gotten it for a guy to make beer but he never bought it.

When I returned it, I said it shouldn't be used for beer either. He said that was what they bought it for.
No wonder the guy reneged on the deal.

Wow! There are stores like that in my area. I have to paw through piles of feed bags to find one that's not over a month old. I now have no shame of flipping my way to the bottom of the pile to get a fresher bag. Of course, each of those bags weighs 50#. Who needs a gym membership???? I have been stocking up on feed when they have the % off sales, b/c they have a big turnover then, so the feed is fresher. I've seen packets of V and E that are well past exp date also. It seems that there is no pride in product any more.

 

[Lacy Blues]

The pride in a product only happens at the feed manufacturer, not the retailer.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Right. Once it is on the truck from the manufacturer it is out of their hands.

 

[KrisCVT]

After reading many posts on this thread- I sprouted some BOSS in my little 2 tier sprouter…I let them get little green leaves. So excited to give them to my 2 ducks and 5 chickens today. They were not as excited as I was. Weird because they go CRAZY for greens of any kind. Might sprout a little bird seed I have and see what happens.

 

[BBQJOE]

After reading many posts on this thread- I sprouted some BOSS in my little 2 tier sprouter…I let them get little green leaves. So excited to give them to my 2 ducks and 5 chickens today. They were not as excited as I was. Weird because they go CRAZY for greens of any kind. Might sprout a little bird seed I have and see what happens.

I've sprouted a bunch of different things for my birds.
I'm thinking they just don't like sprouts.

 

[Lacy Blues]

They're just not used to them. Give them some time, keep sprouting... maybe reduce their other feed a bit so that they're hungry enough to try them. After that, it won't be an issue. Maybe throw some sprouts to them first thing in the morning when they are really hungry and then feed them their regular feed 30 minutes to an hour later. I'll bet they try them.

 

[BBQJOE]

They're just not used to them. Give them some time, keep sprouting... maybe reduce their other feed a bit so that they're hungry enough to try them. After that, it won't be an issue. Maybe throw some sprouts to them first thing in the morning when they are really hungry and then feed them their regular feed 30 minutes to an hour later. I'll bet they try them.

I'm done sprouting for the season, as it's getting too cold. I may try again in the spring, but I'm hardly seeing the point.
They just don't care for them as much as a can of corn.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

This is the only time of year when I do sprouts or fodder for chickens. It is because of the cold and nothing growing in the form of forage (i.e. greenery).
I grow the flats of fodder indoors and when the ground is covered with snow or barren, I put a mat of fodder in each pen each day.