Fodder system. Wheat, barley etc.

[usedhobarts]

Fodder made easy for the backyard chicken coops or bunny hutch.

Winter is coming. Keep your chickens and or bunnies happy and healthy year around by feeding them what they naturally desire for pennies on the dollar compared to bagged feed.

After a full summer of experimental fodder raising we came up with what we believe is the easiest fodder system on the market for the small user in this price range.

Getting the right set up or learning the do's and do nots can be an experience.

With our system anyone who can commit 5 minutes twice a day can produce 1 1/2 to 3 lbs of lush ,beautiful and nutritious fodder everyday.

Here are some basics on Fodder.

1 lb. of grain seed will produce 5-7 lbs of fodder. If your grain seed contains 15% protein( as example) your eaters will only absorb less than 20% of the possible 15% if fed in grain format as the majority passes thru and is unable to be processed before becoming poo.

When 1 lb. of seed is grown into 6lbs. (As example) of fodder your eaters will absorb up to 80% of the protein not to mention the savings of turning 16 ounces of feed into 96 ounces.

The math! 1 lb. seed feeds 3 chickens daily but provides no fresh plant matter nutrients your chickens crave and should be getting whenever possible. 1lb. Seed turned to fodder feeds 18 chickens a daily allowance. Sounds crazy but it is true. Now here's the kicker! Not only is it true but it is so cheap and easy you will be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner not to mention how happy your chickens will be. Please note. Just like humans chickens should not just only eat greens. You theoretically can but you have to eat allot to survive. I feed fodder as part of my chickens diet as my girls don't have free range foliage available in my region from September thru March.

Animals who are unable to foriage free range and fed fresh fodder daily will out produce those who are not. Eggs and or meat will test better.

About our system.

We have developed a setup perfect for 12 birds and under. Our 8 tray system will produce 1 1/2 to 3 lbs daily.

Our system is what we call flood, rain and drain. As you can see in photos our system is designed so that you flood the top fodder bin on each side with 1-4 quarts of water. With our strategically drilled fodder bins each bin rains down on the next until it reaches the bottom bin which you will dump out at the time of the next watering. The system design allows for a no drip or spill setup which keeps what you want dry, dry and what you want wet, wet.

Here is what you receive. A Custom built to order system as you see. It takes about 3-4 days from order to produce a setup ready to ship based on our current ordering demand.

This system will include everything you need to produce the first 4 weeks of fodder to feed up to 12 chickens. Not sure what bunnies eat so if your on that program you have to figure out many bunnies or other critters can feed on 3lbs daily.

~ fodder bin frame in tact ( no assembly required) durable lightweight wood construction
~ 8 pre drilled fodder growth bins
~ 2 non drilled catch bins
~ 10lbs of Non GMO certified red river valley hard red spring wheat direct from the field in 2014. Guaranteed not treated by the mill or elevator. This wheat went from the combine into a storage hopper in the back of my pickup out in the field 2 weeks ago.
~ detailed instructions along with free unlimited phone tech support.
The only thing you will need is a container to pre soak your grain, a measuring cup and water.

Dimensions 30" tall x 14" deep x17"wide. Space saving small foot print.

I feed 28 hens and 2 Roos 10-12 lbs of fodder daily now here in northern Minnesota. I just completed one full month. My off season egg production has increased 20-30 % and my cost of free choice layer pellets 24/7 has decreased over 75%

Orders placed in October will receive double (20 lbs) of wheat seed. Hard red spring wheat is the highest protein wheat seed grown. It carries a 15.6g rating. Winter wheat commonly sold carries for fodder is 12.4 and most barleys rate around 8-9g

These will ship free anywhere in the lower 48. We do accept credit cards both thru PayPal and our merchant account.

Thanks for viewing and please don't hesitate to ask any questions. 701-317-0240

 

[chicmom]

I really like that. So do you present that to your chickens roots and all then? Also, do you grow that under lamps? I don't think I have a good window in the house for them to get the sun......

 

[Percheron chick]

Here are some basics on Fodder.

1 lb. of grain seed will produce 5-7 lbs of fodder. If your grain seed contains 15% protein( as example) your eaters will only absorb less than 20% of the possible 15% if fed in grain format as the majority passes thru and is unable to be processed before becoming poo.

When 1 lb. of seed is grown into 6lbs. (As example) of fodder your eaters will absorb up to 80% of the protein not to mention the savings of turning 16 ounces of feed into 96 ounces.

The math! 1 lb. seed feeds 3 chickens daily. 1lb. Seed turned to fodder feeds 18 chickens daily. Sounds crazy but it is true.

Your information is incomplete and inaccurate. 1# of seed will produce 5-7# of fodder but because fodder is 80% water, you aren't creating 5-7 times more calories, protein, vitamins and minerals. The protein content is higher than the raw grains because it HAS TO. In the growth stage, the seed will use up carbohydrates so that value (%) goes down. If one value goes down, the other 2 (protein and fat) have to go up. You still have basically the same grams of protein than what you started with. The values the fodder companies post are for dry matter, not as fed. They only way to test feed if to remove all the moisture first.

1# of raw seeds will absolutely feed 3 chickens daily (average 4-6 oz per day per hen). Your hens will starve to death if you try to feed 18 hens that same amount of calories. Does fodder have a place? Sure but do your homework. If it sounds too good to be true...

 

[usedhobarts]

Your information is incomplete and inaccurate.  1# of seed will produce 5-7# of fodder but because fodder is 80% water, you aren't creating 5-7 times more calories, protein, vitamins and minerals.  The protein content is higher than the raw grains because it HAS TO.  In the growth stage, the seed will use up carbohydrates so that value (%) goes down.  If one value goes down, the other 2 (protein and fat) have to go up.  You still have basically the same grams of protein than what you started with.  The values the fodder companies post are for dry matter, not as fed.  They only way to test feed if to remove all the moisture first.

1# of raw seeds will absolutely feed 3 chickens daily (average 4-6 oz per day per hen).  Your hens will starve to death if you try to feed 18 hens that same amount of calories.  Does fodder have a place?  Sure but do your homework.  If it sounds too good to be true...

Are you a layer pellet seller? LOL. I guess I missed where I made the point that chickens could survive on solely a fodder ration. I'm sorry but you are sadly mistaken on your claim that the calorie consumption in plant form is no different than seed form. As for protien I never claimed it increased from seed but rather the amount the chicken can absorb from plant form versus seed. This is a scientific fact and the absorption is significantly higher.

Under your misguided theory you would equate that if human just ate seed instead of grown veggies, and fruit we would consume the same amount of nutrients and calories either way. Come on you surely don't believe that, do you?

Finally, I have done my homework. I Farm grains and am very familiar with their respect to values in both seed and plant form. Fodder is just what I said it is. It is a great way to very inexpensively produce highly nutritious feed that chickens love and it is very good for them. I also said my chickens have free choice layer pellets 24/7 which to most would indicate I'm not claiming my fodder system or anyone else's provides a complete diet. Now for your homework. Chickens as a guideline should be given about 1/4 to 1/3 lbs of fodder per day per bird. Last time I checked that added up to 4-6 oz. you see where your confused is the fact the somewhere you mistaking decided that 1 lb of seed is no different than 6 lbs of fodder. Please read the entire post next time before you insinuate someone is being misleading. Thank you.

 

[usedhobarts]

Hi, sorry I did not get back to quicker. We're harvesting sugar beets and I just got in the house for the night. To answer your questions, yes, I feed everything to them as you see it. They eat every last morsel and love it. They seem to actually really like the rooting mat and almost always tip over the fodder to get to it first. As for lamps. No I use none. Sun light seems to make very little difference. I grow mine in my laundry room which has a small window facing the east but is on a wall that has a covered open patio on the outside. With this in mind I maybe get a half hour of sunlight in that window early in the AM as the sun gets higher than the roof fairly quick. I tried some this summer outside on the deck and the sun did what one would expect to a plant but I have found that temps over 75 and under 60 tend to deter growth. My best results have been in my laundry room where I can keep the temp around 68-70 degrees around the clock. Just for giggles I closed the curtains in that window for a couple of days to see how it would effect growth. Honestly I seen vary little if any difference. Now I'm certainly not suggesting you can grow this in the closet but I do believe direct sunlight has no real bearing on growth. My experience tells me that the room temperature and correct watering plays the biggest roll in the outcome. The temp is easy to maintain if your growing indoors and the system design makes it impossible to over or under water unless of course you forget to water. Please don't hestitate to call or message if you have more questions. Thanks