Don't tell the wife, I'm growing fodder in the 2nd bathroom!

[moniquem]

My chickens hated the barley fodder. I guess I'll try again...

 

[gtaus]

At the risk of quoting myself...

@MROO, IF I get away this growing fodder in the bathroom caper, maybe I'll expand the operation and add a mealworm bin. I'm thinking that maybe if I throw a big towel or a tablecloth thing to hide the bin, and then put some flowers in a vase on top of it, maybe it will go unnoticed?

What could go wrong with that idea?

...I just remembered that years ago I tried making a worm bin in the second bathroom. I was new at it and really didn't know what I was doing. Anyway, I got the feeding and/or bedding wrong. The worms climbed up the sides and out on the floor of the bathroom in an effort to escape the bin. Unfortunately, Dear Wife was the first one to discover the Great Escape and was not happy with me at all.
Let's just say that experiment went into the book as "not yet successful."

 

[gtaus]

My chickens hated the barley fodder. I guess I'll try again...

It was a learning process for me, and my chickens. When I grew the barley fodder in the garage this summer, and feed it to my chickens, at first they were unsure about it. They preferred the green grass in the chicken run. But we all know that chickens don't much like change, right? Anyway, I kept up the experiment for a couple of weeks, and at the end of the 2 week trial, they started diving into the barley fodder I gave them. I can also tell you that at the end of my 2 week trail, the chickens ate everything on the fodder, including the grass, unsprouted seeds, and the root mat. Nothing went to waste.

I still think they would prefer green grass, but in our Minnesota winter, I am sure that fresh green barley grass will taste very good to them. With my flood and fill tower system, I spend less than 5 minutes per day growing this fodder. That's a very good return on work to give my girls some fresh greens when everything else outside is white.

 

[room onthebroom]

At the risk of quoting myself...


...I just remembered that years ago I tried making a worm bin in the second bathroom. I was new at it and really didn't know what I was doing. Anyway, I got the feeding and/or bedding wrong. The worms climbed up the sides and out on the floor of the bathroom in an effort to escape the bin. Unfortunately, Dear Wife was the first one to discover the Great Escape and was not happy with me at all.
Let's just say that experiment went into the book as "not yet successful."

Oh man! I think thats as bad as it gets. If she didn't leave you then, there's nothing you can do to make her leave you now.

#? (what number are we on?) should be reminding her of this incident so she'll actually be grateful its just fodder.

 

[gtaus]

#? (what number are we on?) should be reminding her of this incident [worm bin Great Escape] so she'll actually be grateful its just fodder.

Oh yeah, like giving her a choice...

14) Ok, I understand you don't want me growing fodder in your bathroom. So you would prefer me to start another worm bin, instead....

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@gtaus... I can't even begin to imagine the number of "likes" you must be racking up! I'm loving this thread!

 

[LCG Chicken Coop]

It was a learning process for me, and my chickens. When I grew the barley fodder in the garage this summer, and feed it to my chickens, at first they were unsure about it. They preferred the green grass in the chicken run. But we all know that chickens don't much like change, right? Anyway, I kept up the experiment for a couple of weeks, and at the end of the 2 week trial, they started diving into the barley fodder I gave them. I can also tell you that at the end of my 2 week trail, the chickens ate everything on the fodder, including the grass, unsprouted seeds, and the root mat. Nothing went to waste.

I still think they would prefer green grass, but in our Minnesota winter, I am sure that fresh green barley grass will taste very good to them. With my flood and fill tower system, I spend less than 5 minutes per day growing this fodder. That's a very good return on work to give my girls some fresh greens when everything else outside is white.

Hi,
I’m reading with interest and lots of amusement your barley fodder tower saga. Can I ask you, when you feed the fodder, do you need to cut it in smaller lengths? If not, at what age was it safe not to? What height is it when you feed it? My pullets are 7 weeks old and really like the grass parts but I’m trying to be careful not to overwhelm their crops with long grass.

 

[MROO]

@MROO, some potential on your suggestions there. I put them down as...

12) But Dear ... Have you SEEN the price of fresh greens? We're saving so much money!

13) Okay, Dear. Mealworm farms take up much less space, anyway ...

You know, I have been watching some videos on YouTube about growing mealworms. IF I get away this growing fodder in the bathroom caper, maybe I'll expand the operation and add a mealworm bin. I'm thinking that maybe if I throw a big towel or a tablecloth thing to hide the bin, and then put some flowers in a vase on top of it, maybe it will go unnoticed?

What could go wrong with that idea?

All you really need is another bin on your fodder ladder. While multi-layered set-ups yield a lot more worms, you can do it all in one container, too. Mine are in a lovely old pasta bowl, right out on my kitchen counter. The beetles can't fly and mealies can't climb the ceramic sides, so they stay put. The only things that move are the adult beetles and they generally stay hidden under the apple slices they use for water. Most people don't even know they're there. If a guest is nosy enough to root around the corners of my kitchen counters, then they deserve the surprise they get. I do have to admit, though, that I get a kick out of some of the reactions when people discover what's really in that pretty bowl full of oatmeal and apple slices ...

 

[room onthebroom]

All you really need is another bin on your fodder ladder. While multi-layered set-ups yield a lot more worms, you can do it all in one container, too. Mine are in a lovely old pasta bowl, right out on my kitchen counter. The beetles can't fly and mealies can't climb the ceramic sides, so they stay put. The only things that move are the adult beetles and they generally stay hidden under the apple slices they use for water. Most people don't even know they're there. If a guest is nosy enough to root around the corners of my kitchen counters, then they deserve the surprise they get. I do have to admit, though, that I get a kick out of some of the reactions when people discover what's really in that pretty bowl full of oatmeal and apple slices ...

I'm not sure if you know this, but you aint right.

 

[MROO]

At the risk of quoting myself...


...I just remembered that years ago I tried making a worm bin in the second bathroom. I was new at it and really didn't know what I was doing. Anyway, I got the feeding and/or bedding wrong. The worms climbed up the sides and out on the floor of the bathroom in an effort to escape the bin. Unfortunately, Dear Wife was the first one to discover the Great Escape and was not happy with me at all.
Let's just say that experiment went into the book as "not yet successful."

Regular worms are escape artists. Mealworms can be kept in with slick sides!
And ya know, it's pretty easy to put holes in those lidded plastic shoe-box bins. All you need is a small drill bit, a hot nail or a glue gun (without glue sticks,) and voila! It's ventilated and escape proof! Not to be enabling or anything ... just sayin' ...