Growing fodder for chickens

[wormrun]

where do you get the beet seed, or mangel? Thinking I might give that a try for winter feed.

Well, let me give you a few places.

Ok, funny that you ask about Mangels I have some seeds and I think I got them at Johnny's under the beet section. However, I have to give you my other favorite places for seeds so you can poke your head in a check it out for beets, etc. I just learned about odd veggies from a class I attended called, "Beyond Tomatoes and Zucchini."
Mangels....Johnny Seeds - larger sizes can be cheaper, but check prices....
http://www.growitalian.com/bulk-seed-for-farmers/?sort=featured&page=3 great service here, and LARGE sizes.
http://www.territorialseed.com/
http://www.italianseedandtool.com/product/BT05/Beet-Yellow-Mangel.html - not tried this one before but it came up when I was looking for bulk for you.

OK that's 4 for you to compare prices. However, there are some seed exchanges and they are FREE!!! I would check your local library and your local Master Gardener's Program. See if they can recommend something. There are actual libraries that carry seed exchanges, how cool is that! These libraries ask you to bring the seeds back next year from your crop. I know it seems impossible, but it's true! BTW, Mangel's are a heritage seed and should be in there!! Oh, side note, they are so HUGE that they work the soil as they grow. Think of it as nature's rototiller! HA!

 

[wormrun]

Oh goodness it's been too long since I have looked at this thread, I"m working on a lead for some barley from some local farmers

Also, someone on this forum (thread) recommended calling the farm adviser in your county, which I thought was a great resource!

 

[wormrun]

I have a question; If I grow more fodder than my hens can eat (I only plan to keep 3-4), and plant it in their run every day instead of serving it in a dish, will any of it end up growing in the run? That would put some of the chicken poo to good use, and make the chicken run look less like a bare brown patch. Ooooor with the chickens just cheerfully tear it apart for fun?

Unlikely that the chickens will give it time to grow. They love scratching up plants a bit too much. I would expect them to cheerfully tear it apart for fun unless you can fence it off and reduce how many seeds you sow. I hear they like the bottoms of the fodder more than the tops, but my rabbits are the opposite! I need to get another batch of chicks so I can have them eat the bottoms!

 

[Lacy Blues]

I've been hatching eggs out like crazy. My fertility is extremely high. Just about as high as it's ever been in fact. I'm getting nearly 100% fertility in my waterfowl, my Seramas are very fertile..if I trimmed my Cochin's and Sussex's bottoms (they are very fluffy...) they'd been even more fertile.


~ Aspen

Thank you Aspen.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Ok another newbie question, sorry. How do I ferment oats and will fermented oats and fodder be enough in dietary needs for my mixed flock of layers and meat birds? they will be able to be outside in a run also. Oh and does anybody have a list of toxic plants, I live in central Ohio and I want to make sure there isn't any toxic plants where we plan on putting the coop and run.

This is the link for the fermented feeds thread. It has evolved WAY beyond meat bird applications. Lots of great information.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/5570#post_11183114

 

[Lacy Blues]

I know a lot of people are having good luck with a product from fertrell called "poultry nutri-balancer" you can find a local distributor through their website if you feed store doesn't carry it (mine carries almost nothing.)http://www.fertrell.com/poultry.htm. The other thing I'm reading about with great interest is a product called Ultra Kibble. It's also intended as a nutritional supplement, and a lot of the folks raising guineas have had excellent results adding it. Somewhere in one of the threads (I forget where, sorry) there was some concern about the ingredients, and someone contacted the producer and they said it was to the best of their abilities, barring cross polination, GMO free. I'm not using either product right now, because I really think my guys are getting what they need off the free range right now, but I may use it over the winter if I feel like their egg shells are getting thin, or their general condition is going down. I'm almost certainly going to try some of the ultra kibble when they moult, just for that little extra something.

I've heard of Fertrell poultr nutri-balancer and thank you for the link. My closest dealer is in northern Oregon and I'm afraid the shipping would put the product well out of my reach. I didn't check the sight though to find out if there is a retailer close to me... I guess I'll go look again.

I don't know if, in general, I would use dry cat food as a dietary staple.... I feel like most of it has at least as much undesirable crap in it as processed poultry feeds. Maybe more. Fertrell (again) sells a fish meal that I have read good things about from people who mix their own rations. It's a high quality source of animal protien. I'm lucky, my flock is so small that in winter I've just been giving them a couple boiled eggs or a half a can of mackerell every other day or so, and it hasn't been breaking the bank. Right now I'm on the lookout for a free chest freezer so I can start a roach colony for this winter. I think that will be a good cheap animal protien source for me.

Yes, I know. I feel the same way too but I feel like I'm in a corner. I know they need animal protein and I'm trying to provide it but I don't always have it on hand. I have started a mealworm colony and I want to get some Dubia roaches in the near future to help with that.

I really think that the fodder in winter, or for birds in confinement provides things that their diet is lacking even if according to the charts they're getting all their dietary needs. Humans NEED green things, we get things from fresh live foods that can never be replaced by any supplement. I don't see why omnivorous poultry would be any different. For you investing in an automated system might be a great way to get health up and costs down. You really cannot beat the price point for fodder. If you're anything like handy you could probably make it yourself with some PVC a plastic shelf rack, a big tub, and a pump on a timer.

I'll be trying to put together something along these lines very soon. Thank you for your help.

 

[Fryze]

can rice be sprouted for fodder? I have brown rice soaking now and was wondering the best way to make fodder with rice

 

[Lacy Blues]

I would guess that you need to use quite a bit of water without letting it stay in the same water long enough to ferment... hopefully some other, more knowledgeable, people will help you out.

 

[SigningChickens]

I'm doing fodder but living here in FL I am assuming my hens will have greens all year. This is my first year down here and things bloomed all winter. I'm in the panhandle and I'm not sure if that is the way all winters are. I still think fodder is good no matter what.
Lol...I can't imagine starting a roach colony on purpose. I struggle to keep the dang things from ingesting the house. Bleeeech!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I'm doing fodder but living here in FL I am assuming my hens will have greens all year. This is my first year down here and things bloomed all winter. I'm in the panhandle and I'm not sure if that is the way all winters are. I still think fodder is good no matter what.
Lol...I can't imagine starting a roach colony on purpose. I struggle to keep the dang things from ingesting the house. Bleeeech!

I have a very dear friend in FL, in the space coast area..all winter they had plenty of lush green grass..much to my dismay. Greens shouldn't be an issue for you. : )

~ Aspen