Growing fodder for chickens

[sonew123]

Sprouting!!! Day 3

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Yay sonew!!!!! I am hoping I'll be having the same thing to say soon!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Thank you! how much of ACV do you put it to how much food? I couldn't find anything about that.

You need to use the ACV that is unprocessed and has the "mother" in it. It had been generally measured by "a few glugs". I don't know, maybe that turned out to be 1/2 cup in a few gallons of feed. I use a 5 gallon bucket for my ferment. After you add your feed to the bucket, you add water. You can put your "few glugs" of ACV in your water to evenly distribute it through your food. If you are going to use lay pellets or any pelleted or crumbled feed, you'll want to start with less than you think you'll need. It absorbs a LOT of water. I think the pellets are best served at a peanut butter consistency, or a little wetter but not soupy at all. It'll take some time and a few tries til you find the consistency that works best.

The first time starting out, perhaps I would add a full cup of the ACV. After that you shouldn't need to add any more. Generally though, about once a month, I'll add a few glugs to my water before adding that to my buckets.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Quote: Thank you!!!! I am SO excited about this! how long do you let it sit?

 

[Lacy Blues]

It brews slower in the winter because of the cold. One lady put her bucket over half of her heat vent on the floor and that helped it along very quickly. In the summer, with warm temps, it takes probably 2 to 3 days to start smelling like bread... in the winter, longer. Just be patient.

If you get a light gray film over the top that looks like MOLD, it is, don't panic. It's a different kind of mold and you want it. Just stir it into the food and it will be fine.

ETA: when you get your buckets ready to set, cover them with a clean dish towel so no undesireable molds get in. Air can still flow through the towel and you want this. It needs air circulation or you'll do more than ferment your feed.

 

[sonew123]

Anyone notice the smell of the seeds while they are being soaked and sprouted? My family is griping because our bathroom smells funky!! I smell it too but was hoping they wouldn't notice!! Haha

 

[Chicks Galore3]

It brews slower in the winter because of the cold. One lady put her bucket over half of her heat vent on the floor and that helped it along very quickly. In the summer, with warm temps, it takes probably 2 to 3 days to start smelling like bread... in the winter, longer. Just be patient.

If you get a light gray film over the top that looks like MOLD, it is, don't panic. It's a different kind of mold and you want it. Just stir it into the food and it will be fine.

ETA: when you get your buckets ready to set, cover them with a clean dish towel so no undesireable molds get in. Air can still flow through the towel and you want this. It needs air circulation or you'll do more than ferment your feed.

thank you again! I think I'll start it tomorrow.

 

[MetallicBlue]

I'm doing my first attempt at fodder. So far the rye seems to have sprouted. It will stay until I get a reasonable grass blade on it, then feed it to the chickens. Someone posted something saying that the taste of the eggs is bad if you feed them fodder. Has anyone noticed this? My goal has been to be able to use fodder or something of the like for all of their food. I prefer homemade things for food if at all possible. I chose rye because it's easy to come by and even if the girls don't like it, It will spruce up my lawn and make it look green this time of year.

Right now, as a trial batch, I'm using an old colander in the kitchen to sprout the rye, but if all goes well I'll have to set up something a little more permanent. We only have 1 - 2 months that get chilly, so I can probably do the permanent set up in my barn's screen porch.

 

[groverlvchx]

Anyone notice the smell of the seeds while they are being soaked and sprouted? My family is griping because our bathroom smells funky!! I smell it too but was hoping they wouldn't notice!! Haha

I didn't like the smell at all, either. Then I started adding a glug (about 1 Tbsp) of Bleach to the 24 hour soak. Makes all the difference! I also have NO problems with fruit flies anymore or mold. Bleach is very unstable, so by the time you feed out your fodder (six days later) it's harmless. We had a plumber pour a gallon of bleach into our well once because of a funky rotton-egg smell. It's okay.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Anyone notice the smell of the seeds while they are being soaked and sprouted? My family is griping because our bathroom smells funky!! I smell it too but was hoping they wouldn't notice!! Haha

My wheat berries smell like fresh bread dough!!!! I love it.