Growing fodder for chickens

[dewey69usa]

well I found safflower & BOSS at reasonable prices, so I have them soaking now. 1 safflower to 2 part BOSS Dollar General container, so I guess we will see how this goes. I am so hoping I can make this work. My yolks are losing color from lack of greens. Plus saving a little on the organic food will be a nice bonus.

 

[dolfi]

well I found safflower & BOSS at reasonable prices, so I have them soaking now. 1 safflower to 2 part BOSS  Dollar General container, so I guess we will see how this goes.  I am so hoping I can make this work.  My yolks are losing color from lack of greens.  Plus saving a little on the organic food will be a nice bonus.

Can anyone post a picture of boss and red wheat. I'm at the market and have no idea what it looks like.

 

[Jeanette56]

I just recently purchased a 4 way fodder seed mix from a local feed supply. I will let you know how it goes

 

[TnAndy]

I did take a look at that,
but 396 gallons per hour seems like way more than I need, If I understand this correctly, if it ran it for 15 mins every hour, that would be 99 gallons of water applied every quarter hour to your set up. My system would only be 6 trays. I need the lift, but not the GPH.

That was a concern of mine before I used it. My guess is the 396/gal/hr rating is with NO lift....just flat out level with the pump. The pump is rated at 6.5' of lift, and mine is probably about 5' above the holding pan the pump sits in, and I can tell you it isn't doing anything like 396gal/hr at 5'. I did put an inline valve in the line coming to the top so I could regulate the flow out the copper "T" at the top, and I keep it open about 1/2. SO, if you set up something like this, this pump will work.

 

[TnAndy]

What do you use as a growing media?

Seeds only.....no media is required. Simply dump soaked seeds in any kind of tray that will drain, then wet them down 2-4 times per 12hrs, and you'll get fodder. This is really SIMPLE.

Only other requirement is temperature needs to be in the 60-65 degree range. Below that, it slows way down, and above that, it ferments too easy.

 

[TnAndy]

what about red clover? is that an option?
having a hard time finding sproutable wheat in NH

what about winter rye?

I'd think red clover would be fairly expensive......the seed is a couple bucks/pound here.

Rye should work just like wheat.

For those that don't have a cheap local source, you can get 50lb bags of wheat (all kinds) from http://hop.honeyville.com/products/grains.html/ It runs about buck/pound, which is way over feed store prices, but shipping is only $4 no matter if you get 20lbs or 200.

 

[jeronica]

Can anyone post a picture of boss and red wheat. I'm at the market and have no idea what it looks like.

I ordered my wheat online from amazon, but I think you should be able to find it in the bulk/natural foods section of your grocery store. BOSS is Black Oil Sunflower Seed. Supermarkets might not have it, but any bird seed store or home improvement/garden center would carry it.

 

[JodyDI]

I ordered my wheat online from amazon, but I think you should be able to find it in the bulk/natural foods section of your grocery store. BOSS is Black Oil Sunflower Seed. Supermarkets might not have it, but any bird seed store or home improvement/garden center would carry it.

Jeronica, I just found whole wheat feed grade at a feed store for $12.50 for 50 pounds.

 

[jeronica]

Jeronica, I just found whole wheat feed grade at a feed store for $12.50 for 50 pounds.

What a steal! There's a feed store about half an hour away from me, I will have to try them once I get through my initial batch. Starting out very small since I only have 6 chickens, and only 4 of them have started laying. There were 3 eggs before I got up this morning (but I am a very late riser, since I work mostly nights).

My fodder experiment is off to a good start, there are little curly white roots today! Can't wait to treat my girls

 

[TnAndy]

Jeronica, I just found whole wheat feed grade at a feed store for $12.50 for 50 pounds.

Yep....local farm co-op here has wheat at $13.50 for 50lbs and barley for about 18. I figure about pound or so (dry seed) a day is more than enough for my 16 chickens. 100lbs would do all winter.