anybody raise sprouts to feed the chickens?

[3riverschick]

Quote:
---------
I know that Kassundra,
What I wrote was throughly researched info which is completely "safe" for the beginning sprouter. No worries about having to evaluate the brands at the store or accidently picking the wrong seeds and losing money on the deal when they didn't sprout.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[hannakat]

I love this thread! 3riverschick got me started but I still haven't spent a lot of time researching. The oats I got only sprout wee tiny things so I've been using mung beans and lentyls. Didn't know you could do corn....cool. I also have BOSS but haven't tried it.

Kassandra, I'd love to set mine up like yours, at least for the winter since they free range in the summer. How do you clean the used sack out? I only have 4 birds and can make small burlap bags just big enough for them. Do you think this is easier than using jars?

Space is always an issue for me. Where to keep stuff....so much chicken stuff....need a heated shed/barn or something!!!

 

[lroth217]

I am using jars of various sizes but they all fit in one way or another into an old wine rack we had. This is made to hold twelve wine bottles and I keep it on the floor of our laundry room because there isn't a ton of light in there, we do have a sink in there I can use for rinsing, and it doesn't clutter up kitchen counter space.

The jars all lay on their sides - smaller jars fit into the "wine slots" and the larger ones I can lay across the top. I always drain them well first, upside down and slightly at an angle.

I think I will try a small amount of whole grain oats from our local feed store like Kassaundra does. We don't have a TSC near us and shipping cost WAY TOO MUCH to buy Plotspike Forage Oats online. I see there are other brands on line but they cost about the same for half the amount so I won't be doing that!!

CORRECTION: They cost the same for about 1/5 as much!!!!

 

[hannakat]

What a wonderful idea!!! I bet we have an old milk jar carrier around somewhere and there's space in the laundry room under the sink.

Thanks!

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
I turn them inside out and let the chickens pluck them clean then toss in the washing machine. I have made more then I need just for that purpose (to be able to wash them and still have enough to keep my sprouting cycle going)


Just be sure and either zig zag the raw edges w/ a tight zig zag or serge them to keep your sack from unraveling in the washer.

I think it's easier b/c I don't have to rinse daily.

 

[vmdanielsen]

Quote:
---------
I know that Kassundra,
What I wrote was throughly researched info which is completely "safe" for the beginning sprouter. No worries about having to evaluate the brands at the store or accidently picking the wrong seeds and losing money on the deal when they didn't sprout.
Best Regards,
Karen

I am a fan of plot spike...not organic but selectively bred, with no additives. I also get the clover/kale one. Chickens must have missed some kale seeds because those sprouts grew the best kale ever. Fed t to the chickens and my family all summer.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Poultry Rations : Sprouted Oats

Hi Fellowlisters,
Recently, the subject of balanced poultry rations and feeding for egg
production has come up. Allied to that subject is the topic of feeding greens
to poultry , esp. in the wintertime. Sprouted oats have long been a mainstay of
poultrymen in this regard. Here is a list of articles on the subject. I have
tried to anticipate questions and cover all aspects and opinions on the subject.
Please, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
--
"Productive Poultry husbandry: a complete text dealing with the principles
of..."
Harry Reynolds Lewis - 1913 - 536 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/26cpv5c
Chapter Eleven "Poultry feeds"
Discusses the many grains and vegetables which may be utilized in creating a
proper poultry feed.
Pages 184-203
sprouted oats discussed specifically on pages 189-191:
--------
The Corning Egg Farm book: by Corning himself; being the complete ...
By Gardner Corning - 1912 - 198 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/2692hj6
Pages 82 thru 84.
Intro to the subject of how to grow and feed spouted oats:
Sprouted Oats Best
At The Corning Egg Farm we are strong believers in Sprouted Oats as a green
food, and we now maintain a cement Cellar, with good drainage, which is used for
nothing else. The method of sprouting oats is really very simple, and does not
require the arduous labor which one would imagine from numerous articles written
on the subject.
-------------
The beginner in poultry: the zest and the profit in poultry growing
By Carolyn Syron Valentine
1912 - 450 pages - Full viewÂ
http://tinyurl.com/2cqwuqt
See ages 75 thru 102 for a discussion on juicy feeds and sprouted oats for
poultry.
Page 92 :"Some have assured me that barley is even better, as it tillers more
abundantly; i.e. each seed throws out more stalks, when it lies long enough to
get a real start. The New Jersey Station, after experimenting with sprouted
oats, wheat, and buckwheat, announced that in every case oats produced most
pounds and made most gain."
-----------
Poultry keeping: an elementary treatise dealing with the ...
Harry Reynolds Lewis - 1915 - 365 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/2dszyjc
Page 256:
"Fig. 142.â€"Sprouted oats form one of the best green feeds for poultry. They
make the best growth when sprouted at a depth of one inch, as shown in tray No.
1. When sprouted deeper they mold and do not make as many sprouts."
-----------
ad for growing stand for spouted oats from 1914 "The Poultry Item " magazine
Volume 13 page 33 :

SPROUTED OATS;
GOOD AS GRASSHOPPERS FOR GROWING CHICKS
Do you want fully developed fine birds for the shows? Then Feed the Sprouted
Oats.
Do you want quickly grown heavy early roasters? Then Feed the Sprouted Oats.
Do you want quickly matured pullets for winter laying? Then Feed the Sprouted
Oats.
Do you want an abundance of EGGS at all times? Then Feed the Sprouted Oats.
Do you want a cheap feed that is partly predigested, highly vitalizing, very
stimulating? Then Feed the Sprouted Oats.
Do you want an abundant supply of the crisp, snappy, succulent Sprouted Oats?
Then Get a
DOUBLE QUICK GRAIN SPROUTER
Double walled, heat retaining, automatic moisture producing, scientifically
constructed for sprouting any kind of grain with little or no muss or trouble In
an incredibly short time.
Sizes from a few hens to 500. Full information free. CLOSE-TO-NATURE CO., 42
Front St., Colfax, Iowa.
===============
Poultry feeds and feeding
Harry M. Lamon, Alfred R. Lee - 1922 - 247 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/2ewsf3v
Pages 126 thru 127 .
Quote from beginning of section:
"Sprouted Oats. Sprouted oats make a good green feed where other kinds of green
feed are not readily secured as oats can be obtained and sprouted at any season
of the year. Fowls greatly relish oats so treated and will readily eat about one
square inch of sprouted oats' surface daily. Such oats may be fed at any time
after the sprouts are well started, the usual practice being to feed them when
the sprouts are from 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long. It takes 5 to 7 days to sprout
oats to this length, the number of days depending largely on the temperature of
the place where the oats are sprouted."
------------
California poultry practice: being plain hints for beginners in
Mrs. Susan Swaysgood - 1914 - 157 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/2e3r4hq
excerpt from feeding guidelines, Page 57 :
"If labor is not considered, there is not anything on this green earth that pays
better in eggs than sprouted oats. But it is a chore to furnish a big flock of
hens with enough sprouted oats to count. I have been feeding sprouted oats for
over ten years, so know what I am saying, but as stated, it is a big chore. Oats
to a hen is what oats is to a horse. It is life and vitality.
All horses that are to be depended upon in times of stress are fed on oats,
which gives strength and fleetness to the race horse and they will give strength
and endurance to your hens to keep on laying all the year around.
Two feeds a day of sprouted oats will give you eggs in winter, when nothing else
will. I am speaking now in general, but I am going to tell you how to feed each
breed or rather each class of poultry separately.
There are a great many mistakes made by feeding all alike. It does not pay,
because their needs are not all alike."
------
Poultry houses and fixtures: How to lay out poultry plants ...
Reliable Poultry Journal Publishing Company - 1919 - 110 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/2bkpnrh
How to sprout oats and what equipment to use, illust. and w/ tabke. :
pages 102 thru 103
--------------
Why poultry pays and how to make it pay
Frank L. Platt - 1922 - 124 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/29sxzbp
Beginning excerpt from pages 48 thru 49 :
"Sprouted oats. While one would think that everybody knew all about sprouted
oats, yet it is remarkable how many who have kept poultry for years know
absolutely nothing of this valuable yet very inexpensive green food. Many have
asked me for information. Most all those who have heard of sprouted oats seem to
think they are grown in the ground and nothing but the green tops are fed.
Sprouted oats are nothing but dry, every-day seed oats, soaked in water and kept
watered for some days until the oats sprout. No ground is used whatsoever. And
you feed tops, roots and all."
---------
What & how to feed poultry
Dwight Edward Hale - 1915 - 75 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/2f3utyd
Page 52
short article with plans for the city breeder and larger country breeder.
SPROUTED OATS SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
In reference to the value of sprouted oats, Mr. Harris says: "For the fancier
that live on farms it is no effort to secure green stuff for their flock, but
when it comes to the city fancier, there is a great deal to contend with. I
believe all will agree that hens do not have as satisfactory laying records
where they do not obtain an abundance of green food. If the city-lot fancier
expects the results his fowls should bring, he must try in some way to overcome
this trouble. A sprouting box is, I think, the best and probably the cheapest
way to supply green food."
------------
Poultry Secrets - Gathered, Tested and now Disclosed
Michael K. Boyer ( Poultry Editor , Farm Journal )
- 1909 - 56 pages - Full view
Michael K. Boyer - 1909 - 56 pages - Full view
http://tinyurl.com/2byxxzt
Pages 24 thru 25 .
Beginning excerpt from the article :
"The Secret of Feed at 15 Cents per Bushel
The value of green food for poultry, both as an egg food and a ration for
maintaining a healthful condition, has been known for years, but of late a
method for producing sprouted oats feed has been practiced by a few knowing
poultrymen who have derived considerable profit from the idea. I give the
methods of two men, Mr. J. B. Upson and Mr. Keyser. I cannot emphasize too
strongly the great importance of a thorough understanding of the sprouted oats
method. These experiences are based on facts, not theories: "
In fact, this whole book is a fascinating little treatise. Looks like a lot of
pithy stuff here written in easily readable format.
-------------------
Many thanks to Carrie of Harmony Oaks for the info for this addenda:

Oats used to feed horses goats, etc. been treated with a germicide, - sprayed
with a product to prevent germination. This took numerous phone calls and
pressure from my feed dealer to obtain this information. - although that
they had not been labelled as such BTW- the feed was sold under the Farmer's Best
label. When they were asked to sprout, they molded instead.
ordered some oats to "seed" a pasture. They worked fine,and they were
comparibly priced . (Karen: Seed oats not easily available this time of year. I asked
at my local Agway store. They said to see a local farmer who grew seed oats, like
a dairy farm. To offer them $10.00 a bushel if they had extra. Said that price would
be enough above the price the farmer paid to seal the deal.)
Happy Holidays,

Best Regards,
Karen Tewart
Waterford French Marans

I'm quoting this whole post because the information in it is so good and so relevant. Thank you, Karen, for doing this research for the rest of us. I really appreciate it.

 

[pollitaroja]

I also started sprouting some veggie seeds but they take too long on the jars, I got some sprouting seeds at the health food store. I used to sprout for salads. Now is for me and them.

 

[vmdanielsen]

I also started sprouting some veggie seeds but they take too long on the jars, I got some sprouting seeds at the health food store. I used to sprout for salads. Now is for me and them.

I'm quoting this whole post because the information in it is so good and so relevant. Thank you, Karen, for doing this research for the rest of us. I really appreciate it.

I have used both organic whole oats (meant for feeding livestock) and plotspike(found at TSC). Neither is sprayed with anti fungal nor anti sprout chemicals. Now that it is November, my flock starts getting sprouts and kefir! My flock loves both!!!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I've started with Rye cover crop seed we use on the farm, grown by one of our partners and taken straight from the combine so not "cleaned" or "treated". I'm using this because we have a half-ton of it left over this year. I gather ryegrass is very nutritious, but haven't heard all the awesome things about it that I've heard about sprouted oats.

Looking closely, I think my first batch ... transferred to the flats last night ... is sprouting, yay! I'm going to feed it as "green" feed because I'm not fully up to speed on replacing the commercial feed yet, and their pasture is between crops for the winter. We have a good number of chickens to feed ... 160 in the main coop, and another 50 in the baby coop (about 8 weeks old). I plan to give each bird roughly 1 cubic inch of sprouts per day ... as recommended in some of the research quoted in this thread. I'm hoping this will keep our young layers happy through the winter and make our roosters nice and fertile for when we let some hens go broody this spring.

After rinsing and soaking for a day in big stainless steel bowls, I'm spread the seed in large perforated nursery trays with paper towels in the bottom to keep the seeds from falling through the mesh. I've got them in a huge spare bathtub so I can spray them to keep them moist. Tonight I'll add a second batch underneath the first set of trays, and another batch the next day ... and so on.

We shall see how this works out. If the flock likes it, I'll make a more serious growing area. And maybe mix in a bigger variety of seeds.

Thanks again everyone who has contributed awesome information to this thread!