Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Miss Lydia]

I also do the fodder they seem to love both.

Is there someplace where it talks about doing the fodder?

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:

Yes here it is: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/713334/growing-fodder-for-chickens

 

[pichuris]

Now that looks like a crust, mine was just a very thin layer and when i mentioned it Bee said it was fine and she had it too and just stir it in and I did.

Yes its more crusty then the thin white spidery/veiny that I've had before and seen others have which is good. I'm thinking of taking that layer off and then stirring and smelling. Will make a small batch of FF with the liquid. Its the same liquid I started with several months ago that's why I'm wanting to save it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes its more crusty then the thin white spidery/veiny that I've had before and seen others have which is good. I'm thinking of taking that layer off and then stirring and smelling. Will make a small batch of FF with the liquid. Its the same liquid I started with several months ago that's why I'm wanting to save it.

I think that is a good idea.

 

[groverlvchx]

Is there someplace where it talks about doing the fodder?

I learned everything from Backyard Chickens for my fodder system. Here's how I do it:
1) soak 1 1/2 cups grain (after rinsing) for 24 hours in plenty of water with a few drops of bleach in it.
(okay, that was vague--1/2 gallon of water, 1/2 tsp bleach--don't bother to measure) The bleach discourages mold and fruit flies.
2)I have six trays going. They are 13X9 size rubbermaid type containers from wal-mart. My husband drilled tiny holes all over the bottoms for drainage. My friend cut me 2X2 pieces to fit two across the top of each so i stack them. Every day I feed a tray and start a new bucket soaking. It's a 7 day cycle from soak to feedable fodder. I have four empty cool whip containers in the bottom drain tote to keep the lowest tray of fodder-seed out of the water. Here's a pic of my stack:

Sorry it's wonky--I don't know how to rotate it. I suggest you work with gravity better than this. You can see the stacked trays at different stages of growth. The top one will go out in the morning. I clamp the lid on the tray for transport (I accidentally dumped one once when trying to carry fermented feed, water, and this). I dump this out in a pan in their coop, then bring it in, rinse, and pour the soaked seeds into it and rinse. Then that goes on the bottom of the stack. I start a new batch soaking in the bucket.
Daily care is I water twice daily.
In the morning, I take a bucketful of water to the stack (in a back room where it's cooler and out of the way) I lift off all but the bottom two trays (I found that the middles didn't get watered or grow without this extra step) pour about 1/3 bucket in the middle. Then replace the stack and pour the rest of the bucket over all. It makes a nice waterfall sound for awhile as it all drains into the big tote.
In the evening I carry the whole stack to the laundry tub, set the stack aside, drain and rinse the drain tote and cool whip containers. Then water each tray and stack them up in order again. By the time I feed the fodder, the bleach is dissipated so it never reaches the chickens. When I didn't use bleach I struggled with fruit flies, nasty smells, and mold. No problems now that I use 1/2 tsp bleach in the soak bucket and 1/2 tsp bleach in the drain-tote

 

[Bitterroot]

That's a great idea, Grover. What sort of a grain mix do you use? I've been interested in doing this for my future chickens, since I used to do it for my parrots and they loved it. I'll probably use GSE rather than bleach in my soaking and rinse waters as I did before, though. Worked well and I still have a ton of the stuff. Do you think they'd benefit from adding any powdered spirulina to it before feeding?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I learned everything from Backyard Chickens for my fodder system. Here's how I do it:
1) soak 1 1/2 cups grain (after rinsing) for 24 hours in plenty of water with a few drops of bleach in it.
(okay, that was vague--1/2 gallon of water, 1/2 tsp bleach--don't bother to measure) The bleach discourages mold and fruit flies.
2)I have six trays going. They are 13X9 size rubbermaid type containers from wal-mart. My husband drilled tiny holes all over the bottoms for drainage. My friend cut me 2X2 pieces to fit two across the top of each so i stack them. Every day I feed a tray and start a new bucket soaking. It's a 7 day cycle from soak to feedable fodder. I have four empty cool whip containers in the bottom drain tote to keep the lowest tray of fodder-seed out of the water. Here's a pic of my stack:

Sorry it's wonky--I don't know how to rotate it. I suggest you work with gravity better than this. You can see the stacked trays at different stages of growth. The top one will go out in the morning. I clamp the lid on the tray for transport (I accidentally dumped one once when trying to carry fermented feed, water, and this). I dump this out in a pan in their coop, then bring it in, rinse, and pour the soaked seeds into it and rinse. Then that goes on the bottom of the stack. I start a new batch soaking in the bucket.
Daily care is I water twice daily.
In the morning, I take a bucketful of water to the stack (in a back room where it's cooler and out of the way) I lift off all but the bottom two trays (I found that the middles didn't get watered or grow without this extra step) pour about 1/3 bucket in the middle. Then replace the stack and pour the rest of the bucket over all. It makes a nice waterfall sound for awhile as it all drains into the big tote.
In the evening I carry the whole stack to the laundry tub, set the stack aside, drain and rinse the drain tote and cool whip containers. Then water each tray and stack them up in order again. By the time I feed the fodder, the bleach is dissipated so it never reaches the chickens. When I didn't use bleach I struggled with fruit flies, nasty smells, and mold. No problems now that I use 1/2 tsp bleach in the soak bucket and 1/2 tsp bleach in the drain-tote

Looks like you have a good system going , thanks for the step by step info. I think I'll try doing the sprouting first and if that goes good try the fodder. My problem is room my home is small.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's a great idea, Grover. What sort of a grain mix do you use? I've been interested in doing this for my future chickens, since I used to do it for my parrots and they loved it. I'll probably use GSE rather than bleach in my soaking and rinse waters as I did before, though. Worked well and I still have a ton of the stuff. Do you think they'd benefit from adding any powdered spirulina to it before feeding?

What is GSE? and I was thinking about using oxine instead of bleach.

 

[Bitterroot]

Grapefruit Seed Extract.

ETA - I've also heard of people using ACV (apple cider vinegar). Just inhibits mold growth and keeps things "cleaner".

 

[groverlvchx]

That's a great idea, Grover. What sort of a grain mix do you use? I've been interested in doing this for my future chickens, since I used to do it for my parrots and they loved it. I'll probably use GSE rather than bleach in my soaking and rinse waters as I did before, though. Worked well and I still have a ton of the stuff. Do you think they'd benefit from adding any powdered spirulina to it before feeding?

So far I've purchased a #50 bag of wheat and a #50 bag of rye, both for planting, for around $15 each. They're kinda dirty. I use a piece of plastic-canvas to skim the stuff off the top and then strain and rinse several times before the soak. What is powdered spirulina???