Growing fodder for chickens

[Roxannemc]

Where does one buy these trays, one with holes and one without? Would aluminum turkey trays from the dollar store work?

I went to my local Lowes store plant department and they gave me some used ones free

.We used gallons of bottled water as we have a well that smells like sulfur so I used a plastic milk carton cut out with the handle on then another cut in 1/2 Put holes in the first milk carton for draining and rinsed well..then drained in the sink then put it inside the other milk carton with no holes. Gues icould use these also for the seed instead of a flat as we use a few a week here.

 

[Roxannemc]

Where else can you buy seeds?

I bet some nurseries where you get grass seed. Lots of them sell in bulk.Also might get some free or cheap flats there too.
I got my wheat at the feed store.

 

[Roxannemc]

If it's moist, don't mist it. Rinsing is better than misting, anyway. Rinsing helps remove excess starch and potential mold. If you don't have time to rinse a couple times a day, soaking for 5 minutes with the water maybe 1/2 inch above the seed 1x a day works as well. That's what I do. They don't need light until they start to grow some green. In fact, I sometimes stack my trays one on top of the other during the first couple days to help keep moisture in if I know I'm going to be late giving them their soak. The weight of the tray on top of the seed doesn't bother it at all. Once they start to green up, they don't need constant moisture as quite a bit is held in the root system. Some extra light at that point might speed up the growth, though.

AHHH this is what i wondered!I have sprouted iris seedsand daylily and a few flower and didnt need light until you see green.
Wasnt sure about grass.
I wonder if some air circulation would be helpful. there is a fungus that rots the stem of daylilys that can be avoided with a little some air circulation .Of course its drying too i am sure.

 

[Roxannemc]

Hummmmm, wondering if there is anyway to "tweek" for the oats, seems like such a great pay off if it can be figured out.

I give my chickens oatmeal.Just Quaker so not sure if its organic guess not but if you fed both together seems like a winner. Sunflower seeds have a lot of fat in them too,My wild bird prefer them to other seed for cold weather but in spring eat the lighter fat grains more often
Chickens need fat in winter too. I notice at the beginning of this thread she added sunflower seeds to the wheat ,i did the same.Chickens eat a variety grazing .Seems like the more you vary the fodder and diet more it would be like foraging and all around nutritious.

 

[pawtraitart]

Hi I just put mine in the containers but how deep do you spread the seed? I think i have mine too deep.

The seed depth depends on your watering method. If you are on an automatic hydroponic/reservoir type system you can go to around 3/4 of an inch. If you are using a rinse/soak/drain method, it's better to have a thinner layer. For me, a layer of around 1/2 inch works well. When I was putting in a thicker layer, I was left with too much that didn't sprout.

 

[Roxannemc]

Yes, I measured the wheat while it was dry and put it in a big soup to-go container I had with the water. I forgot to mention, I got my containers 2 for $1 at the dollar store. As you can see, I goofed and bought some that have a separation down the middle. Oh well, what a deal!

Cynthia, they look great! I definitely think you'll have enough for the neighbors. Sometimes my homemade holes don't drain very well either. Especially when the roots stop them up. I turn them all the way sideways and let the water drain. Once the roots grow and they intertwine the seeds shouldn't fall out when you do that.




Here's my operation on day 7.




Good to know about the dew. Mine has had it since yesterday. So I can only water once a day once it's sprouted, you think?

Im getting such a kick out of this thread...So many ideas...and links ..fun and informative.

.Being cheap plus like to reuse things to avoid so much trash in landfills,...(I added this before).... i use the gallon milk containers to soak in .
Cut up to have a handle on one and holes in bottom, then one cut in half to hold the first works great.
Trays... I used my tv dinner plastic containers along with some flats.
Seems like if you arent using the whole flat at one time to feed your flock, the way to go is smaller containers or the separated ones like Rainy.Take up less room too on a smaller table and you arent uprooting the fodder you wont use that day.Just leave right now and hits some yard sales for some plastic containers for cheap!! Altough 50 a piece is almost unbeatable!

 

[Roxannemc]

The seed depth depends on your watering method. If you are on an automatic hydroponic/reservoir type system you can go to around 3/4 of an inch. If you are using a rinse/soak/drain method, it's better to have a thinner layer. For me, a layer of around 1/2 inch works well. When I was putting in a thicker layer, I was left with too much that didn't sprout.

Thanks for the answer... i just checked mine i think they are abut 1/2inch deep .I thought i had some deeper and was worried about mold.

 

[pawtraitart]

Thanks for the answer... i just checked mine i think they are abut 1/2inch deep .I thought i had some deeper and was worried about mold.

What really gets mold started is dirty seed and high temperatures. Growing fodder is much easier during the winter unless you have a temperature controlled environment that keeps temps below 65 degrees F. I live in an old farmhouse with a wood stove and our winter temps range from around 50 to 65, so that's perfect for my trays. When I had flats going when temps were 70+, it was more challenging. A little bleach in the soak water helped in that case. For this winter, I'm expanding my experiment by trying some new seed types to improve the nutritional value of the fodder my birds are getting. I'll post pics when I have some new "recipes" up and growing.

 

[pawtraitart]

Oh, and you have to keep the starch from building up by rinsing. Starch is a playground for mold.

 

[Kassaundra]

I give my chickens oatmeal.Just Quaker so not sure if its organic guess not but if you fed both together seems like a winner. Sunflower seeds have a lot of fat in them too,My wild bird prefer them to other seed for cold weather but in spring eat the lighter fat grains more often
Chickens need fat in winter too. I notice at the beginning of this thread she added sunflower seeds to the wheat ,i did the same.Chickens eat a variety grazing .Seems like the more you vary the fodder and diet more it would be like foraging and all around nutritious.

Mine get fermented oats, so they already eat the oat grain, I was meaning a way to make the oats work as fodder.