Growing fodder for chickens

[Cynthia12]

Here's mine on day three, I did rinse it. I put it in a sunny spot this morning while I was cleaning out the other containers of old wheat..still..nothing, except for the BOSS. Anyway, by the time I finished getting the two more bins ready, I checked the sprouts..wow, having it in the sun that early, not a good idea. Set it back in the room. Not putting a towel on it today though, I will mist it through out the day. Fun? Yes, this is a fun thing to do, and I am enjoying this site as a fun site.


I turned a little up at the end of the bin..it looks good from the bottom too..they are starting to swirl around
in there. I think I know what I'm doing now!

Pro enough for what I will be using.
Sure glad I found this thread. I am really going to keep my chickens eating greens during
the winter. I was buying spinach last year. I may once in a while, but this is much cheaper.

 

[tomato lady]

This sounds like the same process I use to sprout alfalfa for the people in our house to eat. You are just doing it on a much bigger scale. Is this right?
Do you know of anything I can plant in my chicken run that will grow outside over the winter? I have two locations for my chickens. They spend the winter in their "garden coop" so they can weed my garden, and their summer home sits vacant all winter. Their summer yard has been picked so clean nothing will grow there unless I plant it. Any suggestions?

 

[pawtraitart]

This sounds like the same process I use to sprout alfalfa for the people in our house to eat. You are just doing it on a much bigger scale. Is this right?
Do you know of anything I can plant in my chicken run that will grow outside over the winter? I have two locations for my chickens. They spend the winter in their "garden coop" so they can weed my garden, and their summer home sits vacant all winter. Their summer yard has been picked so clean nothing will grow there unless I plant it. Any suggestions?

It's similar, but the goal is to grow for a longer period of time and to form a root mat instead of having everything fluffy and loose like when you sprout in a jar. It is also grown without soil unlike micro-greens that use some kind of medium and are commonly harvested by clipping rather than feeding the whole thing roots and all.

As for planting your run, the timing of that would be based on your climate. Do you want to plant something on an annual basis for them to eat down? I've seen pictures of runs where they plant grass seed and then cover with a raised frame/hardware cloth thing that will allow the chickens to get the taller shoots as they come up, but protects the grass below so it can regrow. I've never tried it. I don't know the pros and cons to such a system. Maybe somebody here has one.

 

[Chris09]

It's similar, but the goal is to grow for a longer period of time and to form a root mat instead of having everything fluffy and loose like when you sprout in a jar. It is also grown without soil unlike micro-greens that use some kind of medium and are commonly harvested by clipping rather than feeding the whole thing roots and all.

As for planting your run, the timing of that would be based on your climate. Do you want to plant something on an annual basis for them to eat down? I've seen pictures of runs where they plant grass seed and then cover with a raised frame/hardware cloth thing that will allow the chickens to get the taller shoots as they come up, but protects the grass below so it can regrow. I've never tried it. I don't know the pros and cons to such a system. Maybe somebody here has one.

Quote: Just so that you know Microgreens can be grown with or without a medium, the green that are grown without a medium is used/sold roots and all.

Chris

 

[pawtraitart]

Just so that you know Microgreens can be grown with or without a medium, the green that are grown without a medium is used/sold roots and all.

Chris

Please list the types of plants that can be grown as micro-greens without a medium. That would be awesome. Thanks.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

As a moderately experienced small-scale winter sprouter (till sprouts are green and 2-4 inches tall, sprouted in spring water) of wheat for my chickens, I decided to try to prove that it's not worth my time.
...
But I'm still going to sprout wheat in the winter for my chickens. Once there is growth of green wheat shoots, then there is chlorophyll and that isn't being measured in either of the above studies. It's a cheap way to feed my chickens some live food in the middle of a dark, cold winter if the grass is all covered by snow. And, again, it's not their main feed; it's a supplement.

Hehehe. Such a cynic ... but so much like how I approach a new endeavor!

Like you, I'm sprouting stuff as a way to provide greens to my flock when their pasture is dormant. We essentially have two dormant seasons here ... the obvious one for winter and another drought dormancy during summer. Without irrigating (we can't irrigate), it will be a challenge to provide fresh green stuff for my flock to "pasture" on year-round even if I rotate them between fields. They're still getting light, exercise and bugs, but not always a lot of leafy green stuff. I gather pastured poultry still gets the bulk of the nutrition from the prepared feed, but that extra stuff that makes pastured poultry products nicer comes from not just the sunshine but also the forage. One belief I've encountered doing my research is that sprouted fodder is a non-intrusive natural way to help your laying hens produce nicer eggs over the winter. Other types of animals have more or less to gain from sprouted fodder; other climates will have more or fewer incentives to try it. It seems like an efficient, controllable, yet remarkably basic solution to a variety of feed challenges.

Honestly, I'm a little scared of interfering too much in the balance of my flock's prepared food. I have so much to learn about providing total nutrition to the birds and I'm not quite ready to go there yet. My main concerns are not overfeeding them these "treats." Which is why I want to make sure grains/seeds I use are well sprouted ... Sprouting them hydroponically, with a well-rooted mat, really makes it all more convenient for me.

I really appreciate the learning environment here. The humility, helpfulness and enthusiasm is very pleasant.

 

[pawtraitart]

Hehehe. Such a cynic ... but so much like how I approach a new endeavor!

Like you, I'm sprouting stuff as a way to provide greens to my flock when their pasture is dormant. We essentially have two dormant seasons here ... the obvious one for winter and another drought dormancy during summer. Without irrigating (we can't irrigate), it will be a challenge to provide fresh green stuff for my flock to "pasture" on year-round even if I rotate them between fields. They're still getting light, exercise and bugs, but not always a lot of leafy green stuff. I gather pastured poultry still gets the bulk of the nutrition from the prepared feed, but that extra stuff that makes pastured poultry products nicer comes from not just the sunshine but also the forage. One belief I've encountered doing my research is that sprouted fodder is a non-intrusive natural way to help your laying hens produce nicer eggs over the winter. Other types of animals have more or less to gain from sprouted fodder; other climates will have more or fewer incentives to try it. It seems like an efficient, controllable, yet remarkably basic solution to a variety of feed challenges.

Honestly, I'm a little scared of interfering too much in the balance of my flock's prepared food. I have so much to learn about providing total nutrition to the birds and I'm not quite ready to go there yet. My main concerns are not overfeeding them these "treats." Which is why I want to make sure grains/seeds I use are well sprouted ... Sprouting them hydroponically, with a well-rooted mat, really makes it all more convenient for me.

I really appreciate the learning environment here. The humility, helpfulness and enthusiasm is very pleasant.

I know what you mean about being cautious about the balance of their feed. I've been doing gradual changes to test the waters, so to speak. You know, trying not to add too many elements at the same time. I still feed some store bought pellets, but over time, I've grown more comfortable offering my own blends as their basic diet. I must say that I'm seeing a positive difference in my flock. My flock has always been healthy, but now that they are getting more fresh and less commercial feed they are even better! Plus, they sure do enjoy the entertainment of having a variety of things to eat. I know that everyone here loves their birds and can appreciate the good feeling of seeing a happy chicken! I feel like the best way to go about any feed changes is slowly and read....research....and learn from other folks such as the awesome people here on BYC.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I know what you mean about being cautious about the balance of their feed. I've been doing gradual changes to test the waters, so to speak. You know, trying not to add too many elements at the same time. I still feed some store bought pellets, but over time, I've grown more comfortable offering my own blends as their basic diet. I must say that I'm seeing a positive difference in my flock. My flock has always been healthy, but now that they are getting more fresh and less commercial feed they are even better! Plus, they sure do enjoy the entertainment of having a variety of things to eat. I know that everyone here loves their birds and can appreciate the good feeling of seeing a happy chicken! I feel like the best way to go about any feed changes is slowly and read....research....and learn from other folks such as the awesome people here on BYC.

I hope to be able to do that sometime. I'm very eager to get any and all soy out of my food chain, for one thing. And producing as much as I can right here on the farm, including the stuff the livestock needs.

Have you done an article about your feeding routine?

 

[pawtraitart]

I hope to be able to do that sometime. I'm very eager to get any and all soy out of my food chain, for one thing. And producing as much as I can right here on the farm, including the stuff the livestock needs.

Have you done an article about your feeding routine?

No, I haven't, but I'm continuing a line of research. I'm starting by breaking down the nutritional profile of the complete layer ration available at my local feed supplier. The details on the tag are less than.....inspiring. It reads as follows:

Grain products, processed grain byproducts, plant protein products, calcium carbonate, roughage products...and then goes down to list the various vitamins and minerals plus the binders, amino acids, and preservatives. I got to reading that one day, and I said...."What the heck am I feeding my chickens????" LOL For one thing, I know there has got to be GMO corn in there. I can see the corn flecks in the pellet and unless I pay the big bucks for certified organic feed, chances are it's GMO feed corn. The other grains and plant proteins....who knows? The tag also lists percentage levels for protein, crude fat, crude fiber, lysine, etc. I figure that there has got to be a way that I can provide what my birds need in a more natural way without all the chemicals and "mystery" grains. I'm not at the point where I can put aside the commercial feed completely, though. For example, I first have to nail down the alternative to synthetic dl-Methionine which is an amino acid that helps in the digestion of protein. From my initial research, there could be an herbal solution but one step at a time. It's on my to-do list. LOL

 

[pawtraitart]

Oh, forgot to mention for those who want to put together their own grain based feed (non-sprouted mixes), there is an excellent product called Fertrell Poultry Nutri-balancer. It contains what you need to complete a grain/plant protein based diet including dl methionine. I put that in my bird bread recipe. I would LOVE to be able to provide all of the necessary nutrients through things I can grow, however. Maybe someday!