Grazing Frame - Fodder Table Box - Continuously Grow Fodder & Seedlings & Sprouts For Chickens

[JCinNM]

Ya, I was super bummed when I had a similar experience with my red wheat sprouts. They just didn't seem to care


I definitely want to experiment with some other stuff... especially clover!

Where would one buy clover seed?

 

[ZephyrCoveFarms]

Well, you certainly didn't skimp on the seed coverage!

I just tossed a few more pounds in there and it’s starting to root. The chickens love it.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

The oats drowned out the other seeds in the deer plot mix. At first some clover sprouted but the oats took over.

That's actually not surprising to hear. Out where I am, we have TONS of wild oats. They seem relatively "weak" compared to the other weeds we have in the area (thistles, etc.), but they grow really easily and super fast and completely crowd-out all other weeds. I actually appreciate it since I'd much rather have to mow-down these weeds than thistles, etc.

Side-note: In the areas where we've kept our chickens over the years, they eat up all the wild-oats, to the point where there aren't any seeds to germinate. Then the thistles, etc. start popping up and the chickens won't eat those... so it can actually become a problem.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

@Black Rabbit Homestead was recently here, and say she has some upgrades to share.

(just wanted to say how impressed I am with your utilization of the quotes from different threads)

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Dumb question alert!!!!!

I haven't read all of the replies yet so maybe this has already been answered, but has anyone done this long term yet? (As in years.) Why I ask is I wonder if there is any chance of beak damage from constantly pecking at and hitting the wire. (I know with horses, they do tend to get front tooth damage from "slow" hay feeders with a wire "grate" (for lack of a better word) that they have to pull the hay thru. And while I know that beaks and teeth aren't the same thing, it was something I wondered about. Or is this a non issue since beaks constantly grow, where as teeth don't?

 

[aart]

Why I ask is I wonder if there is any chance of beak damage from constantly pecking at and hitting the wire.

It's possible when using 1/2" hardware cloth, depends on the bird and how aggressive they get with it.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

It's possible when using 1/2" hardware cloth, depends on the bird and how aggressive they get with it.

Any idea what might be a better option? (Rather than the 1/2 HC)

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

I'd imagine any smaller would make the *potential* problem worse, and any bigger would be bad for their feet.

I haven't heard / seen any reports of this actually being an issue. My girls aren't very aggressive, and I doubt other chickens would be so aggressive it would cause beak problems.

That said, maybe in a situation where there are a TON of chickens in a confined area with limited food, so they are all pecking violently to get at whatever greens they can... there might be a problem with beaks / hardware-cloth.

... but if that's happening, there are bigger problems / solutions to look into.

Thank you. There will only be 5. And the plan is to make whatever I do more than "big enough" or numerous enough to make it worth doing. Was thinking of doing multiple different ones, likely with something different growing in each one. Maybe even rotating which they have access to at any given time. I may even do containers that can easily be rotated in and out of the run rather than just building IN the run. (I have a pretty much unlimited supply of free containers of one sort or another. And free is always good!) I can also see if they like alfalfa for free since we grow it. Once it starts growing here in a month or 2, I can just pick some and see if they even like it. If they DO, there is no reason to put any in a container as I can just pick some from the hay field.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Eh....1x2 14ga is what I use in my isolation crates.
It would work good for grazing frames, especially for any plant with larger leaves than the 'grasses'(wheat, etc).

Thanks for the post. I definitely should have said "any bigger *might* be bad for their feet, or not be as supportive for walking"

1x2 is pretty big though. Wouldn't their feet easily fall through it, or maybe even get their heads into it?

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

That's great!

I'm really tempted to add some clover to my mix, but not sure which type would be best (that the girls will like, grow well, etc.)