Growing fodder for chickens

[QuirkySue]

I bought my mom a couple of those cabinet things for her craft supplies. I might have to go back and get one for myself now too! Right now I have jars and pie plates taking up too much counter space.

 

[LFchixranch]

From what I can find, it appears that freshwater fish are high in fat and not that high in protein. Insects look to be a better option for poultry, but I don't know a way to produce them efficiently enough to make it worth it on the farm. Ideas?

Meal worms are an easy low maintanance project. As for fish farming, my thinking is if your gonna do it, might as well be food for yourself as well as your flocks/animals. Here's a link to fish farming info from a survival site. It shows how to build a pond for Tilapia and you just supply them dead organic matter. I saw a U tube video of a breeding pair (1 male 3 females) in like a 100 gallon aqauim. Tilapai bred every 4-6 weeks with litters of 300-400 and the parents are vegitarians so no worries of them eating their young though some breeds do mouth brood.. A home made pond can hold like 450 adults although you can over crowd them it just slows growth rates as do temps below 70. When you send them to freezer camp you can feed the scales and inners to your flock and hogs if you have em. That site also has info on pretty much anything you need to do if the poo poo ever does hit the fan, power generation to latrines.

http://www.pssurvival.com/PS/Fish_Farming/index.htm

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

hello everyone!!


Thank you for all your suggestions and information on this post. Made me able to search the department store with a (at least vague) idea of what I wanted. So many of you shared your ideas... i thought I would show you what I came up with.

Another great idea! Let us know how it works for you.

 

[TennesseeChicken]

What a great thread! Haven't gotten through the whole thread yet, but I will! Just before I came upon this thread, someone e-mailed me a link about a fodder system, http://www.peakprosperity.com/wsidblog/80359/diy-home-fodder-system. A good tip from this site, for anyone having mold problems (which I have had in the past with wheat), is to "Cover the seed with water (about twice the level of the seed) and a teeny glug of bleach" and soak for 5-10 mins.

Right now I have wheat, oats, spelt and mung beans soaking. Has anyone sprouted lima beans for hens? I found a bag of old limas, was going to try it and see.

Thanks for all the good info!

Mary Bowers
www.bowersfarmtn.com

 

[Smithyard Farm]

LOVE this! EASY PEASY too! Easy to was, would keep mold from landing on your grains. How much was that and how big is it? Looks like about 14 inches wide and long maybe about 3 ft tall. Must surf walmart and kmart now LOL

Not exactly sure how much it was - I snuck it in with my Christmas shopping!! (I wanna say around 30 but not sure) The cabinet is about 12 inches wide and 14 inches deep. each tray is almost 10 x 14 and they are 3 inches deep. with another 1/2 inch or so clearance. Which is good, cause I seem to always have a few super growing seeds. Oh and its only 2 feet tall. The top piece comes off, I believe you could stack another one on top if you wanted , although, i would recommend it being on a lower table. I also remove the trays and do a super rinse at night. AND the cart came with wheels, which i did not put on. But if you have a laundry room or other area with a sink, that might be a good option.

Another great idea! Let us know how it works for you.

It works great - have been using it for about 3 months... (as noted we were away for vacation, so no "greenery" to show you)

 

[JadedPhoenix]

Trying my first attempt with growing oats. Amazing how they go from being nothing but seeds to green sprouts so fast!!.

 

[sonew123]

This is fabulous!!! Bookmarking now

 

[groverlvchx]

What a great thread! Haven't gotten through the whole thread yet, but I will! Just before I came upon this thread, someone e-mailed me a link about a fodder system, http://www.peakprosperity.com/wsidblog/80359/diy-home-fodder-system. A good tip from this site, for anyone having mold problems (which I have had in the past with wheat), is to "Cover the seed with water (about twice the level of the seed) and a teeny glug of bleach" and soak for 5-10 mins.

Right now I have wheat, oats, spelt and mung beans soaking. Has anyone sprouted lima beans for hens? I found a bag of old limas, was going to try it and see.

Thanks for all the good info!

Mary Bowers
www.bowersfarmtn.com

I've only grown rye and wheat but I soak with the "tiny glug of bleach" for 24 hours and it grows great. My mold problem and fruit fly infestation are both completely gone!

 

[corancher]

Love the thread. I am now taking the plunge. I have my seeds soaking. I wanted wheat on my first try but ended up with oats since it was the only grain Big R had. Put some BOSS in also. Sure would be nice if I can get this to work for me.

 

[doubleatraining]

Wow this is really interesting!! I have some extra alfalfa sprouting seeds around think that would work with this?

I'm very interested in supplementing my feed this way and plan on calling a local mill about getting some seeds.