Growing fodder for chickens

[armygirl]

can someone tell me why fresh eggs are so hard to get the shell off after the egg is boiled

 

[WalterGerhardt]

I only soak for 4 hours and with a little bit of bleach in the soak water

 

[eatwhatyougrow]

I am going to build one of these and start doing this. I mean if i can get 6 lbs of feed for 1 lbs of seed. That will reduce feed cost alot. I am going to feed this in the afternoon and the FF in the am.

 

[KayTee]

Mine looks a lot like all of yours... but I am having a problem... help!


I have large tubes almost identical to those black ones people are using. Drilled *a lot* of holes in the bottom, no water stays, starts sprouting and by the time it is reading to take out and feed the bottom has black mold! Just little tiny spots all over it.

Always! I can't get it *not* to and I wont feed it to them this way.

What's going on? Water drainage is great... there is no pooling when I water them.

What seeds are you using, and what temperature are you keeping it at?

 

[ArtGirl]

I saw some old scratch sprouting in our chicken pen. Would scratch work for this?

 

[cstronks]

I saw some old scratch sprouting in our chicken pen. Would scratch work for this?

I did actually attempt to do this with scratch seeds, and the results weren't pretty. The seeds grew at different sizes at different times, and the birds didn't seem to be crazy about some of the finished product. Wheat and Barley are the easiest, have the best germination rate, and seem to be favored by the chickens.

 

[WalterGerhardt]

I'm using alfalfa sprouts and rye grass. Growing in basement, limited light , 50 degrees.

Caution: sounds too good to be true, so I am limiting the fodder and forcing birds to eat the crumble I buy at the mill. Vitamins, minerals, etc. Start slow

 

[lauranickerson]

I'm just posting so I can refer back to this thread because I love it so much! Thank you all! I've been wanting to try this for a long time!

 

[pawtraitart]

I am going to build one of these and start doing this. I mean if i can get 6 lbs of feed for 1 lbs of seed. That will reduce feed cost alot. I am going to feed this in the afternoon and the FF in the am.

Keep in mind that the extra bulk will help fill them up and stretch your feed costs a bit for that reason, but the actual calorie requirements still apply and it would take some research to get the same nutrient ratios available in commercial or properly formulated whole grain diets. Fodder contains a lot of water. Without the enzyme inhibitors of dried grain it's my opinion that they get a lot out of it, though, so it's totally worth it to me. You could do the same thing with sprouts as opposed to letting it grow up taller. I feed my birds 5 to 6 day fodder in addition to their regular rations. They don't eat as much of their regular feed when they have access to fodder grazing and they look great. They enjoy picking through the fodder mats so it doubles as entertainment for them.

 

[ArtGirl]

Would something like this work?