Fodder for the girls

[SusanMc9]

Thank you so much. This has been one of the most helpful threads on fodder. I really appreciate it. As soon as the last of my crazy garden Kale is gone, I will definitely try this.

 

[Kelsey Cathy]

This is great info. Thanks so much for your dedication to post daily with your successes and failures.
Question : Can you use aluminum trays? I have a bunch of the large trays that restaurants bring food in at where I work. I guess if you can use the plastic, you can use the aluminum too?
That would save me $ as they are free to me.

 

[usedhobarts]

Hi, the material of the tray is not relavent to my knowledge. As long as it is sturdy and can be drilled precise there should be no issues. I have found that the depth of the tray is also important. We found the trays shallower than 4" do allow for water to shed off the sides on the later more mature fodder in the cycle. My trays are 6". Below is a pic of my tray I'm feeding today. This is 12 lbs. It is actually on day 8 growth wise because we were out of town yesterday and did not feed fodder. You can imagine if that were in a shallower tray and how it could plum outwards instead of straight up around the outside. If this happens you will get water dripping outside the trays unto areas you don't want the water outside of your containment tray. Good luck. Let me know how things work out for you and feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

 

[Kelsey Cathy]

That makes total sense. I hadn't thought of the drainage challenge in a shallower pan. And if one tray is 12# that might be more than the tray can handle. I think I will go with the plastic tubs. Thanks

 

[usedhobarts]

Hi, just remember when choosing your trays get them sized to what you want your daily production to be. The tray you see in my photo is a 6" cambro ( full hotel size). This size is perfect for putting 2 lbs of soaked wheat so It gets not more but close to 1/2 inch deep. Soaked seed to deep will waste product as the bottom will not sprout correctly and if it's to shallow you won't get the nice thick heavy root matting that holds much of nutrious goodness. This size tray will produce a 10 -12 lb fodder block. My system is side by side 2 trays 7 tall. 14 trays total. This suits my feeding needs. I produce around 24 lbs daily. (2 trays). 14 or so lbs go my horse and 10 or so the chickens (26 birds)

12 lbs would give around 36 chickens a more than sufficient daily allowance of greens. The amount you feed can vary. It's you find trays priced well that are little bigger than your needs its not a problem to feed more but you will use more seed product than needed.

I always recommend you find trays the size that meets your production goal regardless of price because it saves in the long run. Keep in mind you can also use large trays and split the feeding over two days and then only use 4 grow tray set for a 8 day growth. Using this type setup you simply start a new soak tray every other day.

 

[andreanar]

Thank you for this informative post! Im going to start tomorrow, if I can find some seeds to start.

 

[Kelsey Cathy]

Well I did my first batch and it was not nearly as lush as your pictures. I would say I had about a 50 % sprout. I wonder if that is because I used a mixed seed mix? I used BOSS, wheat and whole oats. Have you used a mixed batch and had it come up well? I am going to soak tonight and I think I will do individual batches as an experiment.

 

[usedhobarts]

Hi , soaks times are different for different type of seeds. I would not mix my seed if I were you. Oats is much lighter than wheat. I believe it requires a shorter soak and if mixed in with wheat I think the wheat will dominate the water resources. I have found 3 things that primarily effect the sprouting. Soak, growing temp and tray design and volume. If you manage those three things it is full proof assuming of course your starting out with fertile seed. Feel free to call me @ 701-317-0240 and I can maybe we figure out quicker what's happening. Thanks, Mike

 

[andreanar]

I've been sprouting for a few weeks now and the girls love it, it gives them something to do while being confined to the run. I've done wheat, barley and munk beans. I think the wheat grows best for me. Are there any seeds/beans I can get at the grocery store?

 

[Chickenman01]

Great information in this thread THANKS so much!!!
Fixin to give it a whirl.