Winter Feed Cost and Growing Fodder

[Brenda Jones]

May I ask how long do you have the same batch available for them in the heated bowl? I don't ferment feed but I do add water to the feed and offer it wet at night. Some mornings their mash will be frozen but they peck at it until it thaws. I'm curious about offering it in heated bowl

I usually feed them fermented grains on one side and soaked pellets on the other. I put it out in the morning, and they usually eat it all before bed, it does dry out a bit during the day, and I just add some water or bone broth to it to remoisten it as needed. if there is any leftovers at bedtime I will feed again the next morning, but any left after day 2 gets tossed. I bring their food in the house at bedtime as to not attract vermin.

 

[gtaus]

The two things that i do to avoid the growth of mold are:

1. Keep it cold! - During the winter the temperatures in my garage hover around 6° (43F) it never freezes but it never gets warm. Mold likes it warm and grows only very slow in cold temperatures. - That's why we have refrigerators in our kitchens…
2. Use bleach! - There is a »spritz« of ordinary bleach in every pot of water that i pour into my fodder tower and there is another »spritz« of bleach in the water in which the wheat kernels soak overnight.

I will add a third consideration. From experience, if you have poor quality grain with lots of mold spores just ready to grow, then maybe that supply is not meant to be used to grow fodder. Last winter I got a bad batch of barley grain and it just basically grew mold, and not much else. After trying everything, including bleach soaks, I eventually decided to cut my losses and just mix that dry barley supply in with the chicken scratch. When my local mill got a new supply of barley from a different source, that new supply was much better with no mold problems.

By the way, when I was in the Navy, we would have to wash our fresh vegetables from foreign countries in bleach before we could cook them. The bleach would kill the germs, and then you just have to wash off the bleach. I know it does not sound very appetizing to wash your vegetables in bleach, but it works to keep everyone safer.

If you have small spots of white mold, then I think you could pick off those spots and be OK with the rest of the fodder bin going to the chickens. If you have lots of mold, or black molds, then I would just dump it into a compost bin and let the worms eat it. Nothing needs to go to waste if you think about recycling failed bins to a compost pile for the worms. At least, that is how I think about it.

 

[TARDIS37379]

What are the odds

I’ve stopped buying from TSC, I’m not addressing health or bird care, I’m addressing the amount of roosters I’ve gotten a disproportionately amount of roosters even when I bought sexed chicks. The manager at TSC I talked to blamed Hoovers. It occurred 4 times so I went back either hatching my own or Cackle.

 

[AntiqueB]

I only have 4 birds, so I can afford to only grow a little fodder or sprouts. I experimented with cheesecloth over a plastic take-out tray, and it works with no mold and no bleach. I run water over the seeds 2-3 times a day.

 

[Sally PB]

Last year, I made barley fodder. It looked like this.

This year, I'm trying fenugreek. I'm about to give it to the chickens, though I'll probably wait until tomorrow, as it'll be warm, ie, 40. It looks like this.

I'll start another pan of fenugreek, but use about half as many seeds. My hand slipped when I was sprinkling the seeds into the pan. I'd put water in it before the seeds, to get the terra cotta wet, so I just went with it.

 

[AntiqueB]

Last year, I made barley fodder. It looked like this.
View attachment 2978720

This year, I'm trying fenugreek. I'm about to give it to the chickens, though I'll probably wait until tomorrow, as it'll be warm, ie, 40. It looks like this.
View attachment 2978721
I'll start another pan of fenugreek, but use about half as many seeds. My hand slipped when I was sprinkling the seeds into the pan. I'd put water in it before the seeds, to get the terra cotta wet, so I just went with it.

Do you get any mold? And do you just keep the terracotta moist?

 

[Sally PB]

Do you get any mold? And do you just keep the terracotta moist?

I didn't get any mold, thank goodness. Knock on wood; if I do, I'll be doing a few drops of bleach in the initial soaking water.

The terra cotta is sitting in a pie pan, and I keep 1/4-1/2" of water in the pie pan. I water the sprouts with a few tablespoons of water in the morning. Right now, our house is very dry, about 15% relative humidity.

 

[PostageStampRanch]

I've been trying to grow a little fodder for my flock but I keep getting gnats. I don't think the chickens mind but it is annoying. What am I doing wrong?
I soak the seedsover night. Rinse them in the morning, then rinse them evening and morning. About 2 days later I start seeing gnats. Any one else have this problem?

I know it's been awhile since you posted this, but it looks like it wasn't answered. I was getting gnats in my indoor potted spinach plants. Nasty little buggers. Their larvae feed on the roots. A solution of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 3 parts water kills the larvae, but doesn't harm the plants. I used this to water my spinach, so it filtered through just like the water drains when growing fodder hydroponically. Depending on how many gnats are present, you may have to apply it daily for 2 or more days. Discontinue when gnats are no longer present. You could always rinse the fodder with water just before feeding it to the chickens, if you're concerned about the hydrogen peroxide. Good luck!

 

[Sylavash]

I know it's been awhile since you posted this, but it looks like it wasn't answered. I was getting gnats in my indoor potted spinach plants. Nasty little buggers. Their larvae feed on the roots. A solution of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 3 parts water kills the larvae, but doesn't harm the plants. I used this to water my spinach, so it filtered through just like the water drains when growing fodder hydroponically. Depending on how many gnats are present, you may have to apply it daily for 2 or more days. Discontinue when gnats are no longer present. You could always rinse the fodder with water just before feeding it to the chickens, if you're concerned about the hydrogen peroxide. Good luck!

Thank you, I will try the hydrogen peroxide

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Fodder System Success!! Greens in the winter, lots of snow and -20 Celsius View attachment 2966897View attachment 2966898View attachment 2966902View attachment 2966903View attachment 2966904

Where did you get your system? Or did you make it? It looks so easy. Love it!