Fodder Question?

[WannaBeHillBilly]

The very best i achieved with Oats was ~30% of germination after soaking for just 2 hours.
Rye is almost as good as wheat, but it is growing a bit slower and the ducks like the Wheat grass better than Rye. Rye grass is much darker than wheat and looks a bit reddish.
Oats could very well worth more trying: The ducks went nuts for the Oats! Germinated or not, they gulped those down like candy, so there will be more tests, once i have ramped up the production here.
The Fodder-Table , yes i like to know the facts! - My wife always complains that "my ducks" are soo expensive! Using my Duck-Cost-Sheet i could prove that they now almost pay for themselves, since we've found customers for the duck-eggs…
I have added more columns for the Green-Up date, Green-up Weight (Bin moved into the guestroom), the Feed-Date (when the fodder is ready) and the Germination rate to complete the data. Can't wait, bin #1 will be moved into the guestroom on Saturday evening and being fed on Tuesday afternoon…

 

[AgnesGray]

LOVE the spreadsheet! I'd love to see pics of the wheat "ready to go". My ducks didn't want to come out of their house this morning and were complaining a bit about the snow. I can't wait to bring them some fodder to cheer up their winter blues.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

LOVE the spreadsheet! I'd love to see pics of the wheat "ready to go". My ducks didn't want to come out of their house this morning and were complaining a bit about the snow. I can't wait to bring them some fodder to cheer up their winter blues.

Just have a look into my Fodder Album, there are plenty of pictures from my experiments.

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

I like the A-frame idea! This is my first winter with chickens (and ducks) and regardless of having done a ton of research beforehand, I'm definitely learning as I go!

On the subject of fodder.... the tagless oats I got from the second store actually sprouted yesterday! After days of rinsing, I covered them with a paper towel and sprayed it with my garden mister like I would with melons or squash. Sure enough, they finally sprouted. So all is not lost on that second 50# bag. Next time will definitely try for something a little less high maintenance though. And will take your suggestion of drying it out in the sun before sending it out into freezing temps.

I tried to talk my husband into moving somewhere with cooler temps like MN or AK. I haven't given up... maybe I should mention the perks of having ice 9 months a year like hockey and... ice fishing?

And mosquitos big enough to saddle and ride!

 

[HC7]

@BDutch, thanks for the shout out.



I grow my barley fodder in Dollar Tree plastic dish bins. I have 10 chickens. Each morning, I give my 10 chickens a half bin of fodder as a treat in addition to their commercial layer feed. They eat it all and there is no waste. It's the only green feed my chickens get during the long northern Minnesota winter.

I started out first giving my chickens a whole bin of barley fodder in the morning, but I found that in our sub-freezing temps that the barley fodder was freezing before it was all eaten. I have read that fodder is as much as 95% water, so you can see that it would freeze in our temps that at the time were -10F outside. So I cut the amount back to half a bin, and since then, the chickens eat all of the fodder up before it has a chance to freeze.

Another change I have made for my winter barley fodder feeding is that I take the fodder bin off the fodder tower for the last day or so and let it sit in the sunshine on a south facing window. During that time, I let the bin dry out a bit so the root mat is no longer damp like on the tower. I do not water those bins sitting in the sunshine at the window. The barley grass turns a darker green and still continues to grow for those couple of days. Thanks to @WannaBeHillBilly for that suggestion which has proven to work well for me with the winter feeding. A wet fodder just freezes too fast in my Minnesota winter. Allowing the barley fodder to dry out and grow in the sunshine at the window for a couple days is now my routine for winter feedings.

In case you have not seen my article on this issue:
My $10 Inexpensive DIY Fodder Tower with Dollar Tree Dish Bins

I know this is an old thread, but I have a set up similar to this and I have a few issues that you might could address. . . My plastic bins seem to be bowed up slightly in the middle so that the water doesn't get to the seed in the middle as much as it does the front and sides, so I have it growing really thick in the front, slightly less on the sides, and the middle dry out. Also, the seeds tend to move toward the front of the bin and so the back third or forth of the bin is empty. Any insight or suggestions? I'm using clear plastic drawers that are about he size of a ream of paper. We're considering more closely copying your set up, but I fear I'd have the same issues.

 

[gtaus]

I know this is an old thread, but I have a set up similar to this and I have a few issues that you might could address. . . My plastic bins seem to be bowed up slightly in the middle so that the water doesn't get to the seed in the middle as much as it does the front and sides, so I have it growing really thick in the front, slightly less on the sides, and the middle dry out. Also, the seeds tend to move toward the front of the bin and so the back third or forth of the bin is empty. Any insight or suggestions? I'm using clear plastic drawers that are about he size of a ream of paper. We're considering more closely copying your set up, but I fear I'd have the same issues.

Well, I only know how my setup works. I use Dollar Tree plastic dish pans, in a tower, with a slight slant on each bin. The bins have a flat bottom. I put about 1/2 inch of pre-soaked grain in each bin. There might be a little movement of the grain to the downhill drain side of the dish pan, but nothing that bothers me. The flood and drain system that I use does a pretty good job at keeping the grain level in the bin. I flood the bins twice a day which keeps the grain moist, and never fully lets anything dry out.

If your plastic drawers bow up in the middle, you might have to look at other options. I know my Dollar Tree dish pans have flat bottoms and I have never had the issues you mentioned - especially with the middle section drying out. Also, your grain should not move very much.

If you see a lot of movement in your plastic drawers, you might need to put more grain in the drawer. When I was experimenting with how much grain to put in each dish pan, I noticed that if I had too little grain in the bin, it would shift more to the downhill drain holes. The fix, for me, was to add a little more grain so the contents of the dish pan did not move. Once I had that amount dialed in, I marked my scoop and used the same amount every day.

I only grow fodder in the winter months. But it's the only greens my chickens get for about 6 months out of every year. I can see the difference in the color of the egg yolks when the chickens are eating fodder along with their commercial feed. The green fodder produces yolks that are more orange in color, whereas when the hens are eating only commercial feed, the yolks are a lighter yellow.

I suppose the only advice I can offer is to experiment with different quantities in each drawer, make sure you document your efforts, and then determine what works best for your setup. I mean, that is what I had to do when I first set up my fodder system. Once you find what works best for you, just stick to that system.

Good luck.

 

[HC7]

Well, I only know how my setup works. I use Dollar Tree plastic dish pans, in a tower, with a slight slant on each bin. The bins have a flat bottom. I put about 1/2 inch of pre-soaked grain in each bin. There might be a little movement of the grain to the downhill drain side of the dish pan, but nothing that bothers me. The flood and drain system that I use does a pretty good job at keeping the grain level in the bin. I flood the bins twice a day which keeps the grain moist, and never fully lets anything dry out.

If your plastic drawers bow up in the middle, you might have to look at other options. I know my Dollar Tree dish pans have flat bottoms and I have never had the issues you mentioned - especially with the middle section drying out. Also, your grain should not move very much.

If you see a lot of movement in your plastic drawers, you might need to put more grain in the drawer. When I was experimenting with how much grain to put in each dish pan, I noticed that if I had too little grain in the bin, it would shift more to the downhill drain holes. The fix, for me, was to add a little more grain so the contents of the dish pan did not move. Once I had that amount dialed in, I marked my scoop and used the same amount every day.

I only grow fodder in the winter months. But it's the only greens my chickens get for about 6 months out of every year. I can see the difference in the color of the egg yolks when the chickens are eating fodder along with their commercial feed. The green fodder produces yolks that are more orange in color, whereas when the hens are eating only commercial feed, the yolks are a lighter yellow.

I suppose the only advice I can offer is to experiment with different quantities in each drawer, make sure you document your efforts, and then determine what works best for your setup. I mean, that is what I had to do when I first set up my fodder system. Once you find what works best for you, just stick to that system.

Good luck.

Thank you! I think I'll start with more grain and go from there - thanks for your reply!