Growing fodder for chickens

[Groovynatureguy]

I'm curious. Wheat is about 12 cents a pound this year (wheat is about $7 a bushel, and a bushel of wheat has about 60 lbs). The cheapest I can find wheat berries in my area is 99 cents a pound, about 8 times what the farmer gets. I do realize that 99 cent a pound wheat has been graded, shipped and somewhat processed (no bugs, dirt, leaves etc), and it's been marked up several times on its way to me. That's how business works.

However, for chickens , I don't need wheat that's that clean - I'd just like it to be non laboratory-GMO'd (all food is GMO in that we have, over the centuries, bred organisms for certain traits - arguably humans are GMOs in that most of our ancestors at various times in the past agreed to arranged marriages!) and "good enough for chickens."

Has anyone had luck buying wheat directly from farmers? I can't find a proper co-op anywhere near me (So Cal), and no Amish nearby. Wheat isn't grown here, either, at least not much.

http://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/1078/

If they have a drop site in your area it may be a cheaper way to go.

 

[AletaG]

Keep us posted on the peroxide. BTW, where do you get food grade peroxide? I tried fodder back in May as an experiment and I had a little mold. I would pick it out, but still I don't want mold. I had it in the basement, so not sure if it was too damp there. I rinsed it about 2 - 3x a day. Was thinking that was not enough, but I work an that is the best I could do. If I do it this winter, I may try to do the timed/self rinsing method and see how that goes.

I could order it through my co-op, but it's easier to buy it on Amazon, since we do a lot of our shopping via Prime there anyway. I'd rather do brick/mortar, but I get annoyed when it's not only more expensive, but larger quantities and waaayyy slower. I live in the weirdest area of WA I think for supplies of any sort. I sucked up and spent 25$ for 40lb bag of GMO free organic whole barley last week, because it was that, or a 1500lb tote of whole barley. Which would only be about .15/lb, but 1500lb??? Geez. If I had acreage, I'd have to get goats n' pigs just to justify getting through the feed before it spoiled. LOL. Meanwhile, washing the broccoli, alfalfa and clover for people seems to work, and had way less probs with my lentils for the chickens, too. (peroxide) Only done one batch of each so far with the new method. Will keep all posted. No trouble with germination rates, which was my other concern.

 

[OHhappychicks]

I could order it through my co-op, but it's easier to buy it on Amazon, since we do a lot of our shopping via Prime there anyway. I'd rather do brick/mortar, but I get annoyed when it's not only more expensive, but larger quantities and waaayyy slower. I live in the weirdest area of WA I think for supplies of any sort. I sucked up and spent 25$ for 40lb bag of GMO free organic whole barley last week, because it was that, or a 1500lb tote of whole barley. Which would only be about .15/lb, but 1500lb??? Geez. If I had acreage, I'd have to get goats n' pigs just to justify getting through the feed before it spoiled. LOL. Meanwhile, washing the broccoli, alfalfa and clover for people seems to work, and had way less probs with my lentils for the chickens, too. (peroxide) Only done one batch of each so far with the new method. Will keep all posted. No trouble with germination rates, which was my other concern.

You order gmo free organic seed from AMazon?!! That's interesting! I know they had a lot of things, but never thought of organic seed! That is a LOT of barley!! So you are growing broccoli, alfalfa and clover and lentils as fodder? Hmm! never thought of that, but I guess most things green can be sprouted. It would be fun to rotate different greens, it would beat the boredom for them, if chickens get bored!!

Does anyone have plans of an auto rinsing system and how much time do you rinse it?

 

[AletaG]

LOL. I meant the food grade peroxide was from Amazon... I bought the barley at a sort-of (40m drive) local farm store... The other sprouted grains are from Stokes, I think.... will need to check with DH. He ordered them. I think if you head back to the beginning of this thread, there is actually a person who sells kits. Pretty slick. Uses fish tank pumps and hydroponic/irrigation fittings and whatnot with a holding tank.

Anyone remember who that is?

 

[OHhappychicks]

LOL. I meant the food grade peroxide was from Amazon... I bought the barley at a sort-of (40m drive) local farm store... The other sprouted grains are from Stokes, I think.... will need to check with DH. He ordered them. I think if you head back to the beginning of this thread, there is actually a person who sells kits. Pretty slick. Uses fish tank pumps and hydroponic/irrigation fittings and whatnot with a holding tank.

Anyone remember who that is?

Dah!!! I should have know that! I'm going to go to our local feed mill as they just expanded and the owners grow non gmo corn and sell it there, but it is just a limited amount. I'm going to see if they can get other non gmo grain. Organic, non gmo products are hard to find around here unless you drive 2-4 hours away to pick up or you order a whole lot and I don't have room to store it. Hopefully our feed mill can accommodate. I will go look up that system. Sounds interesting!

 

[mischke]

I have been trying to get through this thread, at page 150. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if fodder will grow in cotton bags like some do in burlap. I have cotton bags like the one mealworms come in. I also have milk nut bags and paint strainer bags. Are the weaves of these materials too tight and don't let in enough air? I am giving it a try but does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks for your consideration.

 

[Highcotton]

Quote:
I have been using oats since I had some on hand that I feed the chickens. I also had sunflower seeds for my bird feeders so I threw some of them in. Down here I can also plant clover and grains like wheat and oats in beds out doors for the winter.

 

[Highcotton]

Quote:
You can take those bags that the weave is too tight on and split one side and plant that way. I buy some aluminum pans at Sams. They are less than 25 cent each. They are used for serving pans in restaurants. I buy the 1/2 size and use them as drip pans in my smoker and reuse them several times to grow forage for the chickens.

 

[chisandchicks]

Do you know how can I grow this during the Arizona winters? I would appreciate any help y'all.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Do you know how can I grow this during the Arizona winters? I would appreciate any help y'all.

Check out posts by Phottoman (e.g. this one), he's in AZ and grows fodder for his chickens and has a well-thought out and successful system. I tried to find pics of his set-up, but couldn't find them immediately. He's a very helpful guy and I'm sure he'd answer any questions you might have.