I have been growing barley fodder for 4+ years in the winter. This year, the barley seed I bought was especially bad - full of mold spores. I tried presoaking in bleach, iso-prophyll alcohol, etc... But my barley grain supply was no good.
I have only one grain supplier in our town, so my barley fodder for this year is a bust.
To answer your question directly, I had to research my options this year as well. Here is what I found...
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It’s good you paused before feeding it — mold in fodder is one of those situations where a little caution goes a long way.
Here’s the key idea:
If you can see or smell mold anywhere in the fodder mat, the entire batch is considered contaminated — even if the green tops look clean.
A few points to help you think this through:
Why moldy fodder is risky for chickens
- Mold spreads through invisible spores and mycotoxins, not just the fuzzy spots you can see.
- Those toxins can move upward through the root mat and into the shoots.
- Chickens are especially sensitive to certain molds, which can cause digestive upset, respiratory irritation, or more serious illness depending on the species of mold.
Even if the green tops
look fine, they may still carry spores or toxins.
What many small‑scale growers do in practice
People who grow fodder at home often follow a simple rule of thumb:
- If any mold is present, discard the entire tray.
It’s frustrating, but it’s the safest approach.
What you
You can absolutely keep growing fodder — just adjust the conditions to prevent mold:
- Improve airflow around the trays
- Rinse seeds more thoroughly before soaking
- Shorten soak time (barley does best with 6–8 hours)
- Use cooler water and avoid warm, stagnant conditions
- Spread seeds thinner in the tray
- Add a fan or increase ventilation
- Let trays drain fully so the bottom isn’t sitting in water
These tweaks usually eliminate mold completely.
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In my case, I tried all those options to eliminate the mold. But, if the grain is full of mold spores, there is probably little to anything you can do to save it. In my case, the moldy fodder will get tossed into my compost bin. The dry barley grain will get mixed in with my chicken scratch, so I won't waste anymore. But I have been growing fodder enough years to know if it is me, or my system, that is making the fodder go moldy, or if it is the grain itself. This year, it's definitely the poor-quality grain.
If you have any concerns about feeding the dry grain to your chickens, here is some good info...
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The answer depends on
where the mold is and
how far the contamination has gone.
Here’s the safest, most practical way to think about it:
When mold shows up
during fodder growth, it’s almost always caused by:
- Too much moisture
- Poor drainage
- Warm temperatures
- Low airflow
In those cases, the
dry grain itself wasn’t moldy — the
environment caused the mold.
If that’s what happened, then:
✔ The remaining dry grain in the bag is generally safe to feed
✔ You can mix it into scratch or ferment it
✔ It’s no different from feeding whole barley normally
Just make sure:
- It smells clean
- No clumps
- No visible dustiness or fuzz
- No sour or musty odor
If the dry grain looks and smells normal, it’s fine.
If you noticed:
- Moldy smell in the bag
- Clumped or damp kernels
- Dusty gray/white powder
- Visible mold on the dry seeds
Then the entire batch is contaminated.
In that case:
✘ Do NOT feed it
✘ Mycotoxins can survive drying, soaking, and sprouting
✘ Chickens are sensitive to mold toxins
Even if the mold is only on some kernels, the spores spread invisibly.
Take a handful of the dry grain and:
- Spread it on a white plate
- Look for dustiness, fuzz, or discoloration
- Smell it closely
If it smells like:
- Earthy
- Musty
- Sour
- “Basement‑like”
…then toss it.
If it smells like:
- Clean grain
- Slightly sweet
- Neutral
…it’s safe to feed dry.
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I would like to be more encouraging, and I think you should try the first steps to eliminate mold if possible, but in the end, I treat my barley fodder only as a green treat for the chickens and it's not worth it to me to expose them to mold that could hurt them.
I know my fodder tower system works great with grains, but there is not much I can do if the grain itself is full of mold spores. I have no control over the quality of grain I buy from the local mill. And I'm not smart enough to know if the dry grain is full of mold spores before I attempt to grown fodder. This is the first winter out of 5 that my grain has totally failed me.
Let me leave on a more positive note. A few winters I had some grain which had very small amounts of mold growing. I was able to correct that situation by adding small amounts of bleach, etc... to the presoaking. If this is your first year growing fodder, you might want to experiment with different levels of grains in your fodder trays. In the past, I was able to correct small mold problems and use the grain - mold free - after some adjustments. This year, however, the barley grain was too full of mold spores and none of my previous interventions worked on eliminating the mold problem.
Better luck to you. I'll try again next year because I believe it's worth my time and effort. But I have also learned when to cut my losses and just use the dry grain as feed, safely, mixed in with my chicken scratch.
