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

[MROO]

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

Funny ... I don't really understand why, but I get that a lot!

 

[room onthebroom]

a hot nail or a glue gun (without glue sticks,) and voila! It's ventilated

I must admit this is rather brilliant. I would have never thought to do that.

 

[MROO]

I must admit this is rather brilliant. I would have never thought to do that.

That's how I started out, but I kept forgetting to change the apple/potato slice & it got nasty (I'm pretty sure oatmeal is not supposed to be green.) Besides, the Open-Bowl-On-The-Kitchen-Counter method is a LOT more entertaining!

 

[gtaus]

I'm loving this thread!

Me too. I just hope it has a happy ending.... So far, I'm still flying undetected. First bin of barley seeds has visible sprouts growing. Looks like this might work. Will have a better idea in a few days as the sprouts should start growing into a grass-like carpet.

 

[gtaus]

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.

Thank you for those really good questions. This past summer I grew the barley fodder until it was about 8 inches tall - around Day 6-8. The barely seeds in the dish bins make a nice solid mat as the grass blade part grows. I just feed it directly to my chickens as it was, grass with root mat. It seems to me that the chickens have no problem biting off parts of the grass blades when the root mat is still attached. It would be like eating tall grass if they were out free ranging. I have not seen any problems with crops full of long grass, so whatever is going on, it seems to be working for my chickens. I also make sure I have a side dish of grit for the girls, which they do eat as needed.

Also, the fodder I give them is in addition to their commercial feed which I have in a 5 gallon bucket with PVC elbows hanging in the chicken coop 24/7. When they had fresh grass in the chicken run, or when I was able to mow the yard and feed them fresh grass clippings, they ate about half of the commercial feed per day. Now that I have stopped mowing until next spring, and there is no more grass in the chicken run, I have noticed that the commercial feed consumption is going up. I also feed my chickens whatever kitchen scraps we have. Point is, I'm not just feeding them fodder, so maybe that is why I have not seen any problems with crops full of long grass.

 

[gtaus]

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 ...

That's really interesting, and encouraging. The only mealworm videos I have watched used large bin setups, much bigger than what I would want to do at present. Have you posted an article on your method? Sounds like something many of us might be interested in trying.

 

[gtaus]

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' ...

Oh, I think you meant to be enabling.

I'm going to check into this more as it has been on my future "To Do" experiment list. Again, if you have any links to help a novice person get started, please post. Thanks.

 

[room onthebroom]

That's really interesting, and encouraging. The only mealworm videos I have watched used large bin setups, much bigger than what I would want to do at present. Have you posted an article on your method? Sounds like something many of us might be interested in trying.

Oh, I think you meant to be enabling.

I'm going to check into this more as it has been on my future "To Do" experiment list. Again, if you have any links to help a novice person get started, please post. Thanks.

x2. I’d be very interested in this also.

 

[Major_in_MS]

"I'm trying to offset my carbon footprint"

 

[gtaus]

@Major_in_MS, Yeah, it's worth a try...

15) I'm trying to offset my carbon footprint.