Fodder Question 2: Alfalfa seeds with a white coating, what's that?

[EggWalrus]

What berries are great for sprouting. I get a 50 lb bag per month and sprout them as a treat for the birds, they love it!
And to tell the truth, I eat it sprouted too. It tastes pretty good and it's naturally sweet, no sugar needed!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I mix a little of this with my barley seed. I get it from Amazon, it would be too expensive to do a whole flat of it so I just do a small amount.
View attachment 1984222

I looked at the prices for grain on Amazon and eBay and
There are 24 Duckies to feed here, very sonn 29, so that 12oz package for $5 would last for exactly one meal… I need a bulk supply in 50lbs bags, too expensive to buy online.

 

[EggWalrus]

I looked at the prices for grain on Amazon and eBay and
There are 24 Duckies to feed here, very sonn 29, so that 12oz package for $5 would last for exactly one meal… I need a bulk supply in 50lbs bags, too expensive to buy online.

I tried to find a feed mill near you but didn't have much luck.
Here is the number to Hudson Farms, an organic farm near Charlotte. They sell free range eggs so they may be able to tell you where a mill is close to you.
Good luck!
Their number is (304) 552-6557.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I tried to find a feed mill near you but didn't have much luck.
Here is the number to Hudson Farms, an organic farm near Charlotte. They sell free range eggs so they may be able to tell you where a mill is close to you.
Good luck!
Their number is (304) 552-6557.

Well Thank you very much! - I know Hudson Farms, they are practically my neighbors, just at the wrong end of my (long stretched) property. I tried to sell them my Duck's eggs, but we could not agree on a price. They are not selling any grain other than corn on the cob when it is in season.
I have found a feed mill, but they don't carry barley. I buy the pellets there and they have corn and wheat but don't bag it. They buy in bulk, store in large silos and use those grains for their production.
We have some Micro-breweries and -distilleries here in Charleston, they have to use barley (at least the breweries) and i will call them next week.

 

[gtaus]

I have found a feed mill, but they don't carry barley. I buy the pellets there and they have corn and wheat but don't bag it. They buy in bulk, store in large silos and use those grains for their production.

I find it very interesting to read what BYC community members have available to them locally in terms of feed grains and seeds that could be used for fodder. Barley seed is the choice for fodder where I live, but we also can get oats or wheat. The oats did not grow as well as the barley, so I stopped that experiment because oats also cost more than barley. I have yet to try wheat seeds, as they were the most expensive option, but have reconsidered that as a viable option after seeing some of the great pictures you posted of your wheat fodder. It might be worth the extra money just to give my chickens a variety of fodder.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Might be interesting to compare prices, here i get:

BOSS	0.24/lbs
Winter Wheat	0,35/lbs
Oats	0.40/lbs
Winter Rye	0.89/ lbs
Alfalfa	3.96/lbs

 

[gtaus]

Might be interesting to compare prices, here i get:

BOSS	0.24/lbs
Winter Wheat	0.35/lbs
Oats	0.40/lbs
Winter Rye	0.89/ lbs
Alfalfa	3.96/lbs

Very nice. I'll add my barley at $7.25 for a 50 pound bag.

Barley	0.145/lbs
BOSS	0.24/lbs
Winter Wheat	0.35/lbs
Oats	0.40/lbs
Winter Rye	0.89/ lbs
Alfalfa	3.96/lbs

​

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Uploaded some new pictures into my fodder-album:
Rye Fodder, 3 days old
Rye Fodder 2 weeks old
Rye fodder, roots
Oats after 3 days
And after two weeks
BOSS after 3 days
Alfalfa after 9 days

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I will just soak the oats in water, sprout them and feed them to the ducks after 2-3 days. They love the taste, probably it is sweet, but waiting for the greenery doesn't make any sense.
And the coated Alfalfa will be sown into the ground in spring. That stuff is waaayyy to expensive for fodder. Curious about those sunflowers. My ducks eat the whole kernels and are able to digest them, somehow their digestive system is able to crack them open, only the shells are left in the poop.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Very nice. I'll add my barley at $7.25 for a 50 pound bag.

Barley	0.145/lbs
BOSS	0.24/lbs
Winter Wheat	0.35/lbs
Oats	0.40/lbs
Winter Rye	0.89/ lbs
Alfalfa	3.96/lbs

​

That is dirt cheap! - I need to call that micro-brewery tomorrow!