Growing fodder for chickens

[CountryGIrlMB]

I have been growing lentil fodder for my rabbits for a while now. With rabbits you have to still feed them pellets or hay to aid in digestions. Do chickens need anything other than fodder?

 

[DebraM]

Ok, I've tried this 2-3 times. Everything goes fine the first 2-3 days then it suddenly molds up. I've tried soaking with and without bleach. What can I do to prevent this?

Hey there,
Don't know if its coincidence or not, but my barley is always mould-free and I think it's cos I don't hav time to fuss and soak it more than once a day. I have seven seedlin flats going all the time and manually soak it once a day for between 5-10 mins per tray. And that's it. I pre soak for half hr only at the beginning and thats all the attention they get. Seven days later I have beautiful sprouts to feed.

 

[brahmabreeder]

I have been soaking for eight hours and then just giving them a good rinse every day, once a day. Seems to be working fine so far. I also tend to use the spray bottle and use that at night.

 

[CountryGIrlMB]

I soak mine for 24 hrs because that is what works with my schedule. I water it three times a day, just soak it and let it drain. I also tip the trays to make sure it drained well. Mine is out in the green house, so there is little climate control and living on the coast it is always humid here, but I never have mold. I don't use bleach in the soak because it was causing less of them so sprout and causing my plants that get watered by the draining water from the fodder to stop growing. Try making sure it drains as much as possible. That is the most common cause.

 

[TheChickenHill]

My fodder sprouts and grows fine but I have been getting worms in it maybe maggots idk how do I prevent this is it bad for the chickens?

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I wonder if you automatically get good air flow with the very low sides on the fodder container.

 

[Arielle]

My fodder sprouts and grows fine but I have been getting worms in it maybe maggots idk how do I prevent this is it bad for the chickens?

CHickens seem to love maggots-- they were eating up the ant eggs yesterday ( we were moving wood and found a big ant nest and kids brought over some hens.)

 

[TheChickenHill]

Extra protein I guess

 

[DebraM]

Co

I wonder if you automatically get good air flow with the very low sides on the fodder container.  

Could be!!! The bottom of the trays have almost inch x inch holes so I have to place shade cloth in tray and then add barley on top of that.

 

[windtryst]

I

Hi all, Just to add more to an already huge thread, here is the sprouter I just got and am using now to make my hen fodder: You can order this from Jung's Seed Catalog here for $16.00: (http://www.jungseed.com/dp.asp?pID=54115) (three trays) Or you can get it at Amazon here: (http://www.amazon.com/Victorio-VKP1014-4-Tray-Kitchen-Sprouter/dp/B005FVPP04/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358016229&sr=8-4&keywords=victorio). I got mine from Amazon, because for some reason the one at Jung's only has 3 trays, the Amazon one has 4, and it is $1.00 more. I just started mine with buckwheat in the bottom, and alfalfa in the next two (that's all I had for seed.) The fourth tray I set aside to start in a week or so, that way it has continuous production. It's pretty neat - you just have to rinse the seed, (no soaking needed according to directions), and put a layer of it in the tray, stack if you are doing more than one, and add water to the top tray, twice a day. It automatically drips through them all and the water collects in the bottom and you dump that water when you add more. When the seeds are not yet sprouted, more water stays behind in the trays which is why they say you do not need to soak the seeds first cuz they are kept uniformly damp. Well I have just started my first batch in this contraption, but so far I like it way better than my previous homemade colander/tupperware arrangement! I will report back on here when the sprouts are ready and let you all know how well it worked...or not.

I have that sprouter! It works out great, I love it!