Growing fodder for chickens

[CATRYNA]

I have been sifting through the pages, but this concept is taking seeds, and filling a pan then watering without using soil. Is that pretty much it? Or am I putting seeds in soil

Thanks

You have the concept down pretty well. The seeds (wheat, rye, barley) will need to be soaked for about 8 hours or over night, then put in a container with holes in the bottom. Placing this onto or into another container to catch any extra drips throughout the day or night is what most of us are doing. Basically, what you are doing is sprouting grains and seeds and taking it a step further. I have found that the Mung beans that I sprout most of all, require soaking for 24 hours.

 

[dutchbunny83]

I have been sifting through the pages, but this concept is taking seeds, and filling a pan then watering without using soil. Is that pretty much it? Or am I putting seeds in soil

Thanks

Nope no soil. It will sprout and all grow together into the fodder, like when you buy alfalfa sprouts for salad at the store (at least I buy them, they're my favorite )

 

[dutchbunny83]

Oh, I just had an idea!
I guess I could grow my own alfalfa sprouts with the same set up, right?
Instead of spending $2.50 a package for ones that are who knows how old!
Anyone know where I can buy alfalfa seeds.
They're my favorite, put on a salad, or take a piece of pita top with some hummus and cover in alfalfa sprouts!
Haha now i'm getting hungry!!!

 

[rosinsk1772]

I want to try this On a small scale before buying or fabricating a large system. Do I need to add water to this several times a day or could I soak the seeds once a day then drain

 

[CATRYNA]

I want to try this On a small scale before buying or fabricating a large system. Do I need to add water to this several times a day or could I soak the seeds once a day then drain

Here is a picture of the system I had up until recently. I lived in a 400sf trailer and this system only took up a 12w x 24l x 24h area on my table. The following picture is the larger set up my daughter and I have in her house.



Keep in mind you will have to soak your seeds or grains for about 8 to 12 hours and then put them in a container that has holes in the bottom. You will also need to spray that container with a bleach/water solution or straight Hydrogen Peroxide and then rinse. This is keep mold from forming. One you have your soaked grains in their container give them a good rinse a couple of times a day and put that container in or on another container to capture any excess drips between rinsing. What you are doing is taking sprouting one step further. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Hoping the pics will help.

 

[rosinsk1772]

Here is a picture of the system I had up until recently. I lived in a 400sf trailer and this system only took up a 12w x 24l x 24h area on my table. The following picture is the larger set up my daughter and I have in her house. Keep in mind you will have to soak your seeds or grains for about 8 to 12 hours and then put them in a container that has holes in the bottom. You will also need to spray that container with a bleach/water solution or straight Hydrogen Peroxide and then rinse. This is keep mold from forming. One you have your soaked grains in their container give them a good rinse a couple of times a day and put that container in or on another container to capture any excess drips between rinsing. What you are doing is taking sprouting one step further. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Hoping the pics will help.

So the dripping water goes from one tray to the next then, and ultimately a final container at the bottom. Pretty simple! Could I do this in my basement with minimal light? Sorry to ask so many questions. It just hard to sift through 300 pages on this thread. Also which seed has worked the best for you? I thought about going to agway, and buying it by the pound then mixing rye, barley, wheat all together would that work?

 

[butch vb]

I sprout wheat &barly together in my basement I use large litter pans from family dollar store I built a rack to hold 5 trays highZ& 2 wide slanted front to back 1 inch for these pans I drilled 7 1/8 inch holes in each pan the top rack drauns into the next and so on all the way down to bottom where I have one large 60 quart pan to catch the water I use to pour 1 gallon of water in top pan three times a dayto much but you don't want to let seeds dry out my basement window faces north so not much light but in seven days the grass is at top of pans. I also ferment feeds it is much less time &space consuming and is better for chickens and the savings is better than fodder in my oppion much easier less space and time oh forgot I drilled a lot of holes in a 5 gallon bucket to soak seeds place it in anotner 5 gallon bucket with enough water to cover seeds by two inches add a cap full of bleach and soak for at least 6 hours or more I rinse seeds with warm water to remove bleach then place in pans blech is used to control mold I have left sprouts in trays to grow for up to 10 days with no mold 7 days is usually good check into fermented feeds before starting fooder for chickens I think it is better I feed fodder to my horses ff to chickens hope this helps

 

[CATRYNA]

So the dripping water goes from one tray to the next then, and ultimately a final container at the bottom. Pretty simple! Could I do this in my basement with minimal light? Sorry to ask so many questions. It just hard to sift through 300 pages on this thread. Also which seed has worked the best for you? I thought about going to agway, and buying it by the pound then mixing rye, barley, wheat all together would that work?

You could have several trays dripping into each other and have a catchment container at the bottom or have each container sitting in it's own catchment container. Either way works. Check different ways on YouTube. You can do fodder just about anywhere as long as it doesn't get contaminated. Your basement would work, as long as you have light; either artificial or natural. I have found Wheat works best for me; my daughter prefers Barley. But, we grow Wheat, Barley and Rye, also much more Mung bean than anything else. I have mixed Barley, Wheat and Rye together in one tray and it works out very well..

 

[rosinsk1772]

Is there an issue with giving fodder to 12 week old hens? Also is the protein content on the wheat and barley to high for layers

 

[CATRYNA]

Is there an issue with giving fodder to 12 week old hens? Also is the protein content on the wheat and barley to high for layers

There should be no problem with feeding fodder to any age chicken. Some of ours are a year old now and the youngest are 8 days. They all eat fodder; the youngest since they were a couple of days old.