Growing fodder for chickens

[CATRYNA]

Do you spray your trays down with a solution of bleach and water or straight H2O2? As long as we do that we never have a problem with anything we sprout including Sunflower seeds.

 

[MaPa26]

Do you spray your trays down with a solution of bleach and water or straight H2O2? As long as we do that we never have a problem with anything we sprout including Sunflower seeds.

Could you give me an idea of how much "bleach to water" you use, please? I don't want to use too much. Thank you!

 

[ArtGirl]

1 cap full.

 

[MaPa26]

1 cap full.

Thank you ArtGirl, but I still need to know how much water. Do you mean 1 capful per 1 gallon of water? I buy bleach by the gallon, and it is a pretty big cap. lol. Also, I wonder to do it as a rinse or a first soaking. I am afraid that if I soak it with bleach "solution" too long, it will mess up the seed/BOSS.

 

[ArtGirl]

It won't mess up the seed. My cap of bleach is about a tablespoon but you don't have to be exact. I put it into about 1 gallon of water with the seed. Rinse the seed and then put the water and bleach in. Leave them in there for 12 to 24 hours and drain.

 

[CATRYNA]

Spraying the trays with bleach is what I learned along the way. Personally, I haven't bought bleach for decades, so it's the Hydrogen Peroxide that I use and am familiar with. I noticed that some people soak their seeds in a solution of bleach and water. That is the first time I have heard of this procedure.

 

[MaPa26]

Spraying the trays with bleach is what I learned along the way. Personally, I haven't bought bleach for decades, so it's the Hydrogen Peroxide that I use and am familiar with. I noticed that some people soak their seeds in a solution of bleach and water. That is the first time I have heard of this procedure.

I heard of it somewhere along the line of this thread. I know it was mentioned as making the seeds bitter. Can you explain your Hydrogen Peroxide procedure?---in more detail, please? Spray directly and then rinse? Make a solution of HP/water? How much of each, if so. And do you soak in the solution for any length of time? There are so many variables. I am trying to narrow down how many "ways" I will try. The first batch I did was trying to mold. I had tried vinegar with it, but did it too late and used too much. Did some damage; burning the roots that had started.

 

[CATRYNA]

I put Hydrogen Peroxide in a spray bottle and spray the sides and bottom of the inside of the tray and the bottom of the tray, that has holes in it. I then rinse and add the seeds that have been soaked. I generally rinse the seeds twice a day, unless we are having winds and then I rinse 3 times. Right now I have Wheat, Barley, Rye, Lentil, Mung Beans and Sunflower seeds sprouting.

 

[mckeesbackyard]

I put Hydrogen Peroxide in a spray bottle and spray the sides and bottom of the inside of the tray and the bottom of the tray, that has holes in it. I then rinse and add the seeds that have been soaked. I generally rinse the seeds twice a day, unless we are having winds and then I rinse 3 times. Right now I have Wheat, Barley, Rye, Lentil, Mung Beans and Sunflower seeds sprouting.

Hi! I'm a first time sprouter too & jus waiting for my fodder kit to arrive. I was able to get a non-GMO 50-lb bag of whole barley so will start with that. I plan to have the kit outdoors I under our covered deck since there's an outlet there for the timer and the pump as well as a water source. Questions I have are: do you have to worry about insects getting to your fodder or maybe wild birds in the area? Also, what's the concentration of peroxide to water that you do using your spray bottle? How many days do you let each type of seed/legume grow before feeding it to your chicken? I did hear that people do an initial rinse of water with a bit of bleach before rinsing and doing their 12-24-hour soak. I plan to also use mung beans since we get a ton of those from the oriental store and we have a 50-lb bag of BOSS.

 

[dewey69usa]

We have wheat sprouting to make juice, then the chickens get the roots and such left over. I pull it apart into small clumps. They finish tearing it apart. I also sprout a 50/50 mix of BOSS (black oil sunflower) & Safflower. They really love this. I let it grow out for 10 days. I love what it does to the yolk color & flavor along with how it helps reduce the feed bill. And there is zero waste. Everything is used in the process................