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

[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]

Update:

This has been (mostly) going really well! Luckily I live in a climate where I can have this going during the Winter. I haven't been watering it much (or at all) the last month or so.

The biggest issue is the height and that we have a lot of mulch in the run. So, I still need to either make the frame taller or remove mulch.

... that said, it's still manageable / easy to dump the mulch off the top (since the top frame is so easy to lift off).

Here it is with a few weeks' worth of mulch on top:


... and the top removed.

All the growth on the right is still from the original seeds I planted 3 months ago in November. You'll see all the sunflowers are gone.

To the left is the mix of old growth and newer growth from when I removed a bunch of mulch that fell through, and where I dropped in a bunch of seeds.

 

[aart]

I wish there were more videos that showed during construction, a few weeks after plants start growing, and then what it looks like a month or year later with chickens constantly using the system.

Here's a video that has some of that:

Currently I dont have an updated video, but will be making one do to popular demand. Once its spring and things are a bit greener so you guys can see it in action. I would add a few upgrades though. someone had suggested a removable top. which I love. I also suggest refreshing the seed mixture to the season. to make out production. Im thinking cool season grasses and legumes, mixed with warm season grasses and herbs. Then in winter a switch to oats, and Austrian winter peas.
Im constantly looking for ways I can defeat my little destroyers. I want the run to be green and alive. Last year i planted 2 mulberry trees in the run. protected by wire. Mulberry grows tall fast and so far has done magnificently. I'm also planning on adding some mushroom spawn into the bark chips to the run, as well as some inoculated logs but that's an experiment for the spring.

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

 

[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)

 

[aart]

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

Ima pretty good linker/quoter

 

[linguini]

Yikes - apologies - newbie's error! Just realized that my post below is crashing the party. I only noticed the second half of the title of the thread... sorry.
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Thought I'd share some beginner's luck and joy with indoor fodder as well!

I came to BYC for info/advice after noticing that our chooks seemed to be having "eating disorder" - not eating the feed after we switched to layer feed. Like a new mom trying to feed her new babies, I had to try everything I learned from BYC forum! Fodder, of course, is one of them - what can be a better treat than green grass to the chooks when their foraging area is entirely covered by snow?!

I bought a 5 lb bag wheat seeds, started trying about 3 weeks ago. After initial success with stacked up home made plastic trays by the sink, I bought a sprouting cart. Since my volume is quite small, the cart is perfect for my need, and very convenient, ($23 for the cart, it came with shelves and 4 trays). Happy to report that I now have a pipeline going in the house! I can wheel the cart anywhere, e.g. from the kitchen for watering and then to the sunny foyer for growth). I water the trays twice a day.

Here are some photos:

Day 1: soak 3/4 cup of seeds for 12 hours
Day 2-3: wrap the soaked seeds in wet paper towel, put in a plastic container and store in the oven for 48 hours. (night of Day 3, start soaking for the next batch, and repeat)
Day 4-5: move the sprouted seeds to two plastic containers (e.g. 1 lb strawberries plastic packaging boxes are perfect, cut off the top and bottom to make two half trays), covered with wet paper towel. (two half-trays fit into one shelf)
Day 6-8: remove the paper towel when the green leaves are showing, the leaves literally grow one inch each day. (very gratifying to see them grow!)
Day 9 - 10: ready to feed. (one half-tray for each day)

On average, the grass is about 5-6 inches tall when I harvest. 1 cup of wheat seeds weighs around 200g. A 5lb bag can last up to 24 days to a month. (150-200g every other day).

 

[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)

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

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

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.