Growing fodder for chickens

[Aphrael]

I am on day 6 of my first fodder and it is so easy! I will def be doing it all the time

Questions:

How much fodder does one grown bird usually eat? (I have 60-70 birds so was curious so I can get a large enough bin)

What do you guys do during winter months? Does it smell if kept in the house or garage (Garage doesnt get light so that probably wouldn't work huh?)

How low can the temps be for the fodder to still grow? (Thinking I could keep it on my deck if it can handle below 32F temps, I am in WA)

Some of the growth is uneven, taller in some areas and shorter in others. How do I keep it more level?

Thanks!

In those temps you wouldn't get any sprouting at all, most likely. However, it doesn't smell if kept in the house in my opinion. When it starts getting some good green, it smells like fresh sliced cucumber to me. I love to just put my nose over it and breath it in.

If it smells bad then something has probably gone wrong. Well, unless you don't like the smell of cucumbers.

 

[momofthehouse]

So what is the lowest temp it can be in before it won't sprout? How does it get light to grow in the kitchen ? I'm just planning for future to see where I want to put my set up at.

 

[Don P]

I would use the same dry weight of what you would feed. That is if you feed 1/4 lb of grain/ hen /day then add 1/4 lb per hen into the fodder mix.

You do not gain something for nothing with Fodder. Some think they magically turn 1lb of grain into 8 lb of feed but fodder is mostly water by weight. Its the same amount of feed. Or less protein and some extra carb, cellulose and fiber. It may have shifted to more of some nutrients as it lowers in protein.

I often start new grain every other day and grow twice what I need to feed each day;
that way I am doing less work and use each finished tray or tub of fodder over 2 days instead of one.

Then by the time the 2nd day of fodder tray 1 is used up fodder tray 2 is full grown ready to go for the next two days.

So 3-4 trays instead of six for a 6 day growing time.

No need for light maybe the last day in a window.

Make sure you keep the seed bed thick so that there are a lot of un-sprouted grains for them to eat and get the protein they need.

I fodder in the house or garage in the winter and yes it smells a little. Wife hates it. But it seldom freezes here but still too cold 9 months of the year to grow outside and its been burning up and slow cooking my peas this summer. So had to go back inside because now it is too hot to sprout and grow to fodder out in the sun.

65-70 degrees is what you need for fodder to do well.

you can mow it to keep it even or be sure to water evenly, not disturb the seed bed once it is sprouting, and then it may be some seed spouts late or you did not soak them long enough and use de-chlorinated water by setting it out overnight before using.

But I am happier doing the messier Fermenting of grain for nutrition and health of hens, which actually starts digesting the protein and adds enzymes and probiotics to the feed and makes their digesting work easier. More assimilation of nutrients and less feed needed.

Got lots of Kahm yeast growing on top and the hens and goats love it too. I do big tubs and they get some air this is why and I do not want to put poisonous free radical H202 into the water any more than chlorine. I use purified water. H2O2 kills enzymes and is a free radical so you lose lots of anti-oxidants. If you are going to sterilize it and kill everything off why bother to ferment at all???
That is like making your own live culture yogurt or Kombucha then pasteurizing it and killing the probiotics??

 

[chrissyr]

I would use the same dry weight of what you would feed. That is if you feed 1/4 lb of grain/ hen /day then add 1/4 lb per hen into the fodder mix.


You do not gain something for nothing with Fodder. Some think they magically turn 1lb of grain into 8 lb of feed but fodder is mostly water by weight.  Its the same amount of feed. Or less protein and some extra carb, cellulose and fiber. It may have shifted to more of some nutrients as it lowers in protein.


I often start new grain every other day and grow twice what I need to feed each day;

that way I am doing less work and use each finished tray or tub of fodder over 2 days instead of one. 


Then by the time the 2nd day of fodder tray 1 is used up fodder tray 2 is full grown ready to go for the next two days.


So 3-4 trays instead of six for a 6 day growing time. 


No need for light maybe the last day in a window.


Make sure you keep the seed bed thick so that there are a lot of un-sprouted grains for them to eat and get the protein they need.


I fodder in the house or garage in the winter and yes it smells a little. Wife hates it.  But it seldom freezes here but still too cold 9 months of the year to grow outside and its been burning up and slow cooking my peas this summer. So had to go back inside because now it is too hot to sprout and grow to fodder out in the sun.  


65-70 degrees is what you need for fodder to do well.

you can mow it to keep it even or be sure to water evenly, not disturb the seed bed once it is sprouting, and then it may be some seed spouts late or you did not soak them long enough and use de-chlorinated water by setting it out overnight before using.


But I am happier doing the messier Fermenting of grain for nutrition and health of hens, which actually starts digesting the protein and adds enzymes and probiotics to the feed and makes their digesting work easier.  More assimilation of nutrients and less feed needed. 


Got lots of Kahm yeast growing on top and the hens and goats love it too. I do big tubs and they get some air this is why and I  do not want to put poisonous free radical H202 into the water any more than chlorine. I use purified water.  H2O2 kills enzymes and is a free radical so you lose lots of anti-oxidants. If you are going to sterilize it and kill everything off why bother to ferment at all???

That is like making your own live culture yogurt or Kombucha then pasteurizing it and killing the probiotics??


 

my problem without h202 is mold. Really bad.
Some green some black. It seems just as they start to sprout .
I have plastic and aluminum pans.
I've put lots of holes in the bottom too. They are in the house at 70 degrees.

Now I have barley and wheat: is barley more susceptible to mold?
I have read that
May have to forgo that if it's the case.

 

[tillyita]

I would use the same dry weight of what you would feed. That is if you feed 1/4 lb of grain/ hen /day then add 1/4 lb per hen into the fodder mix.


You do not gain something for nothing with Fodder. Some think they magically turn 1lb of grain into 8 lb of feed but fodder is mostly water by weight.  Its the same amount of feed. Or less protein and some extra carb, cellulose and fiber. It may have shifted to more of some nutrients as it lowers in protein.


I often start new grain every other day and grow twice what I need to feed each day;

that way I am doing less work and use each finished tray or tub of fodder over 2 days instead of one. 


Then by the time the 2nd day of fodder tray 1 is used up fodder tray 2 is full grown ready to go for the next two days.


So 3-4 trays instead of six for a 6 day growing time. 


No need for light maybe the last day in a window.


Make sure you keep the seed bed thick so that there are a lot of un-sprouted grains for them to eat and get the protein they need.


I fodder in the house or garage in the winter and yes it smells a little. Wife hates it.  But it seldom freezes here but still too cold 9 months of the year to grow outside and its been burning up and slow cooking my peas this summer. So had to go back inside because now it is too hot to sprout and grow to fodder out in the sun.  


65-70 degrees is what you need for fodder to do well.

you can mow it to keep it even or be sure to water evenly, not disturb the seed bed once it is sprouting, and then it may be some seed spouts late or you did not soak them long enough and use de-chlorinated water by setting it out overnight before using.


But I am happier doing the messier Fermenting of grain for nutrition and health of hens, which actually starts digesting the protein and adds enzymes and probiotics to the feed and makes their digesting work easier.  More assimilation of nutrients and less feed needed. 


Got lots of Kahm yeast growing on top and the hens and goats love it too. I do big tubs and they get some air this is why and I  do not want to put poisonous free radical H202 into the water any more than chlorine. I use purified water.  H2O2 kills enzymes and is a free radical so you lose lots of anti-oxidants. If you are going to sterilize it and kill everything off why bother to ferment at all???

That is like making your own live culture yogurt or Kombucha then pasteurizing it and killing the probiotics??


 

my problem without h202 is mold. Really bad.
Some green some black. It seems just as they start to sprout .
I have plastic and aluminum pans.
I've put lots of holes in the bottom too. They are in the house at 70 degrees.

Now I have barley and wheat: is barley more susceptible to mold?
I have read that
May have to forgo that if it's the case.

I haven't found barley any more suseptable to mould then any other grain. It depends on where it came from and where and how its stored.The mould spores come in on the grain itself and when conditions are right it will grow.

 

[Kassaundra]

my problem without h202 is mold. Really bad.
Some green some black. It seems just as they start to sprout .
I have plastic and aluminum pans.
I've put lots of holes in the bottom too. They are in the house at 70 degrees.

Now I have barley and wheat: is barley more susceptible to mold?
I have read that
May have to forgo that if it's the case.

I fixed my mold problem by switching to 4 day old sprouts in a sprouting bag instead of actually growing to fodder stage.

 

[chrissyr]

I fixed my mold problem by switching to 4 day old sprouts in a sprouting bag instead of actually growing to fodder stage.

I will have to google the bag, sounds interesting

 

[Kassaundra]

I made mine for really cheap w/ burlap from the fabric store, have tried cheap second hand pillow cases, they worked really well too. I have just got 2 rabbits I have been sprouting for and since I only needed a small amount of sprouts for the rabbits and do not sprout for the chickens through the growing season, I have been using old worn out socks.

 

[maggiemo]

I made mine for really cheap w/ burlap from the fabric store, have tried cheap second hand pillow cases, they worked really well too. I have just got 2 rabbits I have been sprouting for and since I only needed a small amount of sprouts for the rabbits and do not sprout for the chickens through the growing season, I have been using old worn out socks.

Is there a link to how you do this?
Thank you.

 

[Kassaundra]

Is there a link to how you do this?
Thank you.

I posted a video, I'll see if I can find it.

Here it is