Have you thought of a fodder system?
I got the idea from a post here on the forums. Mine is bigger, but I have 14 hens, 2 ducks, and a goose to feed. I am only on around day 15 since I started the system. I swear I have reduced my layer feed consumption by 50% since I added in sprouts and fodder. I wish I could find the thread I found the sprouting system in, between the 2 systems I spend 30-40 minutes a day watering, and rinsing.
Here is what my fodder system is:
It is a total of 14 12 qt dish pans and 3 18 qt pans. I use 2 of the 18 qt to rain water onto the bins below it (dumping it in was disrupting the root growth). The 3rd 18 qt bin has 2nd day seeds, I pull out 2 of the oldest growth, then take the seeds in the single black bin and split them between the now empty tan bins. I then take the seeds that have been soaking in a bowl and put them in the single black bin. I drilled holes in each of the bins so it drains into the bin below it, which all drains into a big bin in the bottom. I add in around 1-2 gallons of water to the collecting bin (with a touch of bleach) daily. I am using whole barley which is all I could find, I use about 1 cup of barley per tan bin. I think 50 lbs of barley will last me 3-4 months or more.
This is the bottom showing the big bin that collects the water.
This is so easy once it gets going I water it 3-4 times a day, when I do my initial rinses I use a touch of bleach in the first one to keep molds and bacteria's from growing on the grains while it is growing. It also only takes up an 20" x 36" area in my dining room. I have seen some that use pond pumps and timers to water their system, when they can't be around to water it the 3 times a day.
My sprouting system is just as easy, I use burlap bags. I rinse the lentils and BOSS in the bags, then roll the bags up leaving them to soak rinsing them each time I water the fodder. Each morning I take the bag that has been soaking un-roll it and put it at the bottom of a stack of bags (5 in the stack). I take the top bag, turn it inside out and hang it in the run each morning, each evening I bring the picked clean bags in and rinse them under hot water to wash away the dirt etc. By morning they are ready for new seeds for soaking. If I could find the thread that showed me this system I would post a link to it. I use 1/2 lb of lentils and BOSS in each bag per day.
I hope this helps in your quest to find something that works for your chickens.
I got the idea from a post here on the forums. Mine is bigger, but I have 14 hens, 2 ducks, and a goose to feed. I am only on around day 15 since I started the system. I swear I have reduced my layer feed consumption by 50% since I added in sprouts and fodder. I wish I could find the thread I found the sprouting system in, between the 2 systems I spend 30-40 minutes a day watering, and rinsing.
Here is what my fodder system is:
It is a total of 14 12 qt dish pans and 3 18 qt pans. I use 2 of the 18 qt to rain water onto the bins below it (dumping it in was disrupting the root growth). The 3rd 18 qt bin has 2nd day seeds, I pull out 2 of the oldest growth, then take the seeds in the single black bin and split them between the now empty tan bins. I then take the seeds that have been soaking in a bowl and put them in the single black bin. I drilled holes in each of the bins so it drains into the bin below it, which all drains into a big bin in the bottom. I add in around 1-2 gallons of water to the collecting bin (with a touch of bleach) daily. I am using whole barley which is all I could find, I use about 1 cup of barley per tan bin. I think 50 lbs of barley will last me 3-4 months or more.
This is the bottom showing the big bin that collects the water.
This is so easy once it gets going I water it 3-4 times a day, when I do my initial rinses I use a touch of bleach in the first one to keep molds and bacteria's from growing on the grains while it is growing. It also only takes up an 20" x 36" area in my dining room. I have seen some that use pond pumps and timers to water their system, when they can't be around to water it the 3 times a day.
My sprouting system is just as easy, I use burlap bags. I rinse the lentils and BOSS in the bags, then roll the bags up leaving them to soak rinsing them each time I water the fodder. Each morning I take the bag that has been soaking un-roll it and put it at the bottom of a stack of bags (5 in the stack). I take the top bag, turn it inside out and hang it in the run each morning, each evening I bring the picked clean bags in and rinse them under hot water to wash away the dirt etc. By morning they are ready for new seeds for soaking. If I could find the thread that showed me this system I would post a link to it. I use 1/2 lb of lentils and BOSS in each bag per day.
I hope this helps in your quest to find something that works for your chickens.
