Growing fodder for chickens

[yodercountrygirl2]

This is probably already answered but I didn't have time to go through the whole thread, how much fodder per chicken per day? Im going to have about 20 chickens and I wanted to sprout fodder, so how many pounds would I give them a day? also is there anything else I would need to give them besides oyster shell and grit? They will also get scraps and free range part time. Thanks! 

I am experimenting with my 30 birds. I have been sprouting 1 cup of wheat which seems not enough. But 2 cups is too much.I don't know how many pounds that equals out to! Hope that helps.

 

[Loc20chick]

I'm going to try this as I've been toying with the idea for sometime now, Just read the first few pages and bought my wheat seeds from ebay to arrive on Thursday, I hope it works, my chickens will need the green during winter. Great info here.

 

[Baby Chick Farm]

@Chick-magnet64

I laughed a lot too! But I've heard that this is true!

 

[Cinder38]

The only local feed store that sells Barley carries the brand "Kruse's" and the bag reads "recleaned barley." I'm having trouble figuring out if this is ok for my hens. Had great luck sprouting barley from seeds a friend gave me but her bag wasn't purchased locally. Wondering if recleaned involves any type of wash process I need to be concerned with. Using the fodder as a treat not for a meal.

 

[lazy gardener]

You'll need to find out if the barley is heat treated, or treated with any chemicals. Is it being sold for feed or for planting. If for feed, your only concern would be the heat treating. The store manager should be able to find out if it is heat treated, or you can go to the company web site.

 

[Cinder38]

Thanks, I emailed the company this morning. If I don't hear back soon there is also a number to call so I will do that. The barley is being sold for feed according to the store clerk.

 

[AngelaKern]

How do you get started growing the fodder?

 

[NotAFarm]

How do you get started growing the fodder?

There are as many ways to grow fodder as there are people doing it. There are so many variables for each individual that no single way will work for everyone in the same way.
My system is only used in the winter when the green turns to brown outside and my flock can't find greens from themselves.
They are free range all year but when the snow cover is down, they venture out only in the shoveled paths.
I have a flock of around 15 - 20 throughout winter and feed a shoe box sized "block" to them each day.
I keep my set-up in my house which is heated with gas forced air and a wood burning fireplace occasionally.
I rinse the seeds (do a really good job of winnowing http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/winnow
and then rinsing if you use grains that have not been cleaned well) and then soak them overnight. I use the strainer below and add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of grains at a time.

I rinse the grains the next morning and put them in a clear plastic shoe box that has holes drilled in the bottom as in the pic below.
I have seven of these containers. They cost $1 apiece and came with lids that I don't use.
I will put a damp paper towel over the seeds and put a second box (with a bit of weight in it) on top of the paper towel for the first 24 hours.
I remove the box the next day, moving it to the next box I start. I rinse the seeds and replace the damp paper towel.
I remove the paper towel on the third morning after soak.
I rinse the seeds morning and evening, not letting them get dry between times, but not letting them sit in water either.


Here are some black oil sunflower seeds (bird seed purchased at Tractor Supply) at day five.
I like to feed them when the leaf starts to show. The root will show first, the leaf a day or so later.


Here is a small "greenhouse" purchased for $15 that I use. This picture is from when I first started, it is using kamut grain that I had for our use. The green blades are too long in the two boxes on the second shelf for my chickens. I used scissors to cut the blades to 1 inch or less and then fed the pieces and roots to the chickens. I don't let the blades get that long now. I just feed when the green blades/leaves start to show like in the last picture.
You can see the progression from bottom left to top right, box with weighted box on seeds-day after soak, the damp paper towel on rinsed seeds-day two after soak, just the seeds after rinse in the morning-third day after soak, etc. You can see the boxes drain into a plant tray.

 

[Loc20chick]

@NotAFarm neat!!

 

[lynnehd]

There are as many ways to grow fodder as there are people doing it. There are so many variables for each individual that no single way will work for everyone in the same way.
My system is only used in the winter when the green turns to brown outside and my flock can't find greens from themselves.
They are free range all year but when the snow cover is down, they venture out only in the shoveled paths.
I have a flock of around 15 - 20 throughout winter and feed a shoe box sized "block" to them each day.
I keep my set-up in my house which is heated with gas forced air and a wood burning fireplace occasionally.
I rinse the seeds (do a really good job of winnowing http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/winnow
and then rinsing if you use grains that have not been cleaned well) and then soak them overnight. I use the strainer below and add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of grains at a time.

I rinse the grains the next morning and put them in a clear plastic shoe box that has holes drilled in the bottom as in the pic below.
I have seven of these containers. They cost $1 apiece and came with lids that I don't use.
I will put a damp paper towel over the seeds and put a second box (with a bit of weight in it) on top of the paper towel for the first 24 hours.
I remove the box the next day, moving it to the next box I start. I rinse the seeds and replace the damp paper towel.
I remove the paper towel on the third morning after soak.
I rinse the seeds morning and evening, not letting them get dry between times, but not letting them sit in water either.


Here are some black oil sunflower seeds (bird seed purchased at Tractor Supply) at day five.
I like to feed them when the leaf starts to show. The root will show first, the leaf a day or so later.


Here is a small "greenhouse" purchased for $15 that I use. This picture is from when I first started, it is using kamut grain that I had for our use. The green blades are too long in the two boxes on the second shelf for my chickens. I used scissors to cut the blades to 1 inch or less and then fed the pieces and roots to the chickens. I don't let the blades get that long now. I just feed when the green blades/leaves start to show like in the last picture.
You can see the progression from bottom left to top right, box with weighted box on seeds-day after soak, the damp paper towel on rinsed seeds-day two after soak, just the seeds after rinse in the morning-third day after soak, etc. You can see the boxes drain into a plant tray.

Other than rinsing the seeds, do you add peroxide, vinegar or something else to the initial soak water? Or you haven't had any trouble with mold, etc. TIA!