Grain types

[Morrigan]

I sprout a mixture of barley, wheat, sunflower seeds and small red lentils, to try to maximize nutrition.

When using smaller and softer grains, like wheat, the key to sprouting is to not over soak the grains. Many sites say to soak them initially "overnight" or even for 24 hours. I have found that 6 hours is plenty for the initial soak. Then, I rinse the seeds once or twice a day, making sure they drain throughly. I put my trays at a slight slant to really make sure the water drains cleanly and fully. By Day 4, I have a nice, dense 1/2 inch of green sprouts, at which point I feed to to my rabbits and chickens.

When I was doing the overnight soak and not draining thoroughly, I really struggled with stinky seeds, poor sprouting, and mold problems. Since limiting the first soak and tilting the trays after watering, I haven't had any problems at all with mold.

 

[Kyarbro]

I sprout a mixture of barley, wheat, sunflower seeds and small red lentils, to try to maximize nutrition.

When using smaller and softer grains, like wheat, the key to sprouting is to not over soak the grains. Many sites say to soak them initially "overnight" or even for 24 hours. I have found that 6 hours is plenty for the initial soak. Then, I rinse the seeds once or twice a day, making sure they drain throughly. I put my trays at a slight slant to really make sure the water drains cleanly and fully. By Day 4, I have a nice, dense 1/2 inch of green sprouts, at which point I feed to to my rabbits and chickens.

When I was doing the overnight soak and not draining thoroughly, I really struggled with stinky seeds, poor sprouting, and mold problems. Since limiting the first soak and tilting the trays after watering, I haven't had any problems at all with mold.

Where to you buy your grains for sprouting? I am just getting started .
Thank you

 

[Morrigan]

Where to you buy your grains for sprouting? I am just getting started .
Thank you

I buy them at my local feed store. The only down side is that the wheat and barley come in 50 lbs sacks. It takes me a few months to get through them, so I need to take care to store it in a dry and secure way.

 

[Kyarbro]

I buy them at my local feed store. The only down side is that the wheat and barley come in 50 lbs sacks. It takes me a few months to get through them, so I need to take care to store it in a dry and secure way.

Thank you so much. I am going to check my local feed stores. I have some BOSS and oat seeds. I want to try barley . What do you have the most success with?

 

[Morrigan]

Thank you so much. I am going to check my local feed stores. I have some BOSS and oat seeds. I want to try barley . What do you have the most success with?

Barley, BOSS and hard wheat are very easy. The soft, red wheat also sprouts up well IF you don't soak it too long or let it get soggy.

 

[Kyarbro]

Barley, BOSS and hard wheat are very easy. The soft, red wheat also sprouts up well IF you don't soak it too long or let it get soggy.

Thank you

 

[bradymars]

Hi everyone!

I’ve been trying to learn more about fermenting and sprouting grains for my chickens.

What is the best type(s) of grain for
A) fermenting
B) sprouting

Add on question: what is a good alternative to layer feed. As far as I can tell, I don’t have access to an “all flock” type feed. The feed store staff just give me a blank stare and then recommend layer pellets for my flock. I currently have a (new) rooster and a cockerel as well as my hens/pullets.

Whole oats from TSC is the best grain to ferment. The longer you soak and the stinkier the better.

 

[CindyinSD]

Thank you. I have used grower before but I find they waste it so much more than the pellets..

You can moisten the grower crumble—just add water, stir it up, and let it soak for a few hours to overnight or longer. If you do this, they won’t waste it. If you leave it to soak all night, it will begin to ferment (if the place is warm enough) and smell a little like rising bread. It will rise, so leave some room in your container. The only problem is that the wet feed will freeze in the cold. Also you should not put fermented feed in galvanized feeders. It will degrade the finish and probably leach toxins into the feed.

You can do this with any kind of feed, and pelletized feed will soften down to eventually look just like crumble but a bit puffier.

Whole grains may not be desirable for very young chicks, though a mama hen would teach the babies to eat whole grains. Grains will soften up so they’re more desirable to chickens (at least to mine) with an overnight soak. If it is warm enough, they will ferment as well, making them even more attractive. Just make sure they don’t begin to mold. You’ll need to use them fairly quickly when the weather warms up.

If you drain and rinse the grains daily, they will soon sprout. (Speed depends on the grains and the room temp. You should feed soon after sprouting. More nutrients become available with sprouting, but the plant will soon use up these nutrients. Unless you want to expose the sprouts to the nourishing sunlight and grow microgreens, you will create a net nutrient loss by sprouting much beyond the first little “tail” that breaks through the seed coat.

The chicks will need chick grit if you feed anything but crumble. In any case it’s best to offer chick grit in case chicks ingest bedding.

To speed the fermentation, leave a small amount of feed in the bucket to seed the next batch. Some people keep several staggered batches of feed and use them in turn. I don’t do that. I just make a new batch when the bucket gets low.

As you seem to be aware, layer feed should NOT be fed to non-laying birds because of the elevated levels of calcium.

Whole grains by themselves will not make a sufficiently high protein feed for grown chickens, let alone for baby chicks. Realistically you’ll need to add soybean meal unless you’re prepared to spend an awful lot of money on chicken feed. There are higher quality protein sources available (meal worms, fish meal, etc.) but economically speaking, soybean meal is your best bet. Don’t get the whole beans and grind them. First they need to be roasted to be edible and second, the protein content is much lower. The meal has been extracted to remove oil and anti nutrients. This makes it edible for poultry.

If you can get chick starter feed, you can soak and/or ferment that. It’s fine to feed to your whole flock if you offer free-choice oyster shells to layers. If your chicks are older, lower protein chick developer/finisher will also be fine and may be less expensive.

 

[Canuck88]

You can moisten the grower crumble—just add water, stir it up, and let it soak for a few hours to overnight or longer. If you do this, they won’t waste it. If you leave it to soak all night, it will begin to ferment (if the place is warm enough) and smell a little like rising bread. It will rise, so leave some room in your container. The only problem is that the wet feed will freeze in the cold. Also you should not put fermented feed in galvanized feeders. It will degrade the finish and probably leach toxins into the feed.

You can do this with any kind of feed, and pelletized feed will soften down to eventually look just like crumble but a bit puffier.

Whole grains may not be desirable for very young chicks, though a mama hen would teach the babies to eat whole grains. Grains will soften up so they’re more desirable to chickens (at least to mine) with an overnight soak. If it is warm enough, they will ferment as well, making them even more attractive. Just make sure they don’t begin to mold. You’ll need to use them fairly quickly when the weather warms up.

If you drain and rinse the grains daily, they will soon sprout. (Speed depends on the grains and the room temp. You should feed soon after sprouting. More nutrients become available with sprouting, but the plant will soon use up these nutrients. Unless you want to expose the sprouts to the nourishing sunlight and grow microgreens, you will create a net nutrient loss by sprouting much beyond the first little “tail” that breaks through the seed coat.

The chicks will need chick grit if you feed anything but crumble. In any case it’s best to offer chick grit in case chicks ingest bedding.

To speed the fermentation, leave a small amount of feed in the bucket to seed the next batch. Some people keep several staggered batches of feed and use them in turn. I don’t do that. I just make a new batch when the bucket gets low.

As you seem to be aware, layer feed should NOT be fed to non-laying birds because of the elevated levels of calcium.

Whole grains by themselves will not make a sufficiently high protein feed for grown chickens, let alone for baby chicks. Realistically you’ll need to add soybean meal unless you’re prepared to spend an awful lot of money on chicken feed. There are higher quality protein sources available (meal worms, fish meal, etc.) but economically speaking, soybean meal is your best bet. Don’t get the whole beans and grind them. First they need to be roasted to be edible and second, the protein content is much lower. The meal has been extracted to remove oil and anti nutrients. This makes it edible for poultry.

If you can get chick starter feed, you can soak and/or ferment that. It’s fine to feed to your whole flock if you offer free-choice oyster shells to layers. If your chicks are older, lower protein chick developer/finisher will also be fine and may be less expensive.

This is such an informative post, thank you so much!