Growing fodder for chickens

[kada6305]

How do I keep fodder from getting some mold

I had mold problems beginning of day 2. we are end of day 3 and no mold. good air flow, temp and light. is what I've been doing. I've added a small fan, and a florescent light.

 

[lko67]

What temp and fan all the time? Sorry for the questions just started a week ago and seems to get moldy until I water then good till next day then starts showing mold again

 

[kada6305]

I noticed bold beginning of day 2 so I scooped off the top layer, checked for any more mold. Added a small fan and run it on low for 2 hours after watering then all through the night. Temp I keep around 65- 70 the best I can. I have the house temp set at 70 anyway so its not that far off. The florescent light I have on all the time. I use a gallon jug to do my watering and will add a cap full of bleach to the jug. I also mix up the seeds after watering. I haven't found any mold since starting this system.

 

[CATRYNA]

How do I keep fodder from getting some mold

You can try soaking your grain in a mixture of chlorine and water or H2O2 and water. You can also spray your trays and grain with straight H2O2 when you pour the grain into the trays after soaking. Mae sure you have plenty of drainage holes in your container. Proper drainage is very important. You can spray your grain and fodder after rinsing, if need be, to inhibit mold.

 

[tillyita]

I harvested my first fodder biscuit (this is my third time starting from scratch). Just like last time, it looked really healthy, with white thick roots, and no fuzziness. And it smelled super fresh. Then I started pulling it apart and really inspecting it. Still there is mold hiding throughout.

I incorporated a lot of the suggestions here -- used a fan, used hydrogen peroxide, etc. And of course I've been keeping the equipment sterile, rinsing with fresh water twice a day, and controlling the climate (in fact, the avg. temp was cooler than the last attempt... about 60 or 65 f). Oh and I presoak for 12 hours in water with a dash of bleach (no longer than that because I watched Sherry's experiment where the shorter soaking times resulted in quicker growth... thanks for sharing that, Sherry!).

So I'm wondering if I'm just looking too closely. Could you also have mold and not know it because the fodder looks just fine from the outside? Ever pulled your fodder apart like this?

Here are the most common types of mold I'm getting, pink and black (the white stuff is not mold, it's just the gooey, starchy insides of the seed):

The pink stuff is usually algae.

On the rare occasion I get mold I actually increase the amount I water - but use chlorinated water. This usually fixes it. Most of the mold you're describing won't hurt your animals the stuff you need to be really careful not to feed is blue in color. It looks like the mold that you get on bread.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Thanks for the reply.
How did you learn this?

 

[tillyita]

Thanks for the reply.
How did you learn this?

when we (my friend and I) first started growing fodder we had a whole heap of "unusual" looking stuff tested by the vet. The pink stuff was algae, the black and white spider web type stuff is a mold that is found naturally in pasture, the blue stuff is a penicillin type mold that can cause lots of trouble. As we feed to the horses (and horses are more susceptible to irregularities in feed) we were told that the pink stuff's ok. If there's large amounts of the spider web type stuff (ie if it has gone through the base) than sit it in the sun for a day - then wet down before feeding and if there is blue mold - put it in the compost heap. I've had blue mold once in 3+ years of growing fodder. It occurred when I had a batch of seed with lots of broken pieces rather than whole seed. Everything on the property gets fed the fodder from the smallest animals (chickens) to the largest (horses) and everything in between.

 

[missbecky]

I've been reading up on this sprouting, and I read that to prevent molding you need to sterilize your equipment and clean your seeds well before sprouting.... maybe even water with bleach (like a tsp 1/2 to a quart of water) rinse before sprouting. Then most importantly... spread your seeds thinly. They should not be smothering each other. Rinse seeds up to 5 times daily. Hope that helps.

 

[CATRYNA]

when we (my friend and I) first started growing fodder we had a whole heap of "unusual" looking stuff tested by the vet. The pink stuff was algae, the black and white spider web type stuff is a mold that is found naturally in pasture, the blue stuff is a penicillin type mold that can cause lots of trouble. As we feed to the horses (and horses are more susceptible to irregularities in feed) we were told that the pink stuff's ok. If there's large amounts of the spider web type stuff (ie if it has gone through the base) than sit it in the sun for a day - then wet down before feeding and if there is blue mold - put it in the compost heap. I've had blue mold once in 3+ years of growing fodder. It occurred when I had a batch of seed with lots of broken pieces rather than whole seed. Everything on the property gets fed the fodder from the smallest animals (chickens) to the largest (horses) and everything in between.

Great info. I appreciate this, too. Thank you so much.

 

[kada6305]

never knew the white mold was okay for them, thats the mold that keep growing on mine, I added a fan, water with a cap full of bleach to a gallon of water. and also add some peroxide after and yet iI still get mold. Added more drainage holes. Started a smaller batch lastnight, probobally about half the size of the ones that keep getting mold. as of right now just sitting on my kitchen counter and just watering with tap water. No mold. so maybe I just had too much. The first batch I started is going good, sprouting and should be ready to feed in another 2-3 days. got some green.