Growing fodder for chickens

[blackstone]

They assure me it's not treated.

 

[zarafa121]

This is a longshot - I asked around the feed/seed store, was directed to a local guy who sells grain wholesale (he gave me wheat), and he sent me to another farmer who was in the process of having a semi unloading barley into his grain bin. He gave me a bunch. I just sprout the seeds and give it to them that way. For greens, I pull some rye grass I planted for green manure (not the roots), and they "chew" on that. I lucked out with the barley.

 

[lazy gardener]

hi im new to sprouting and was wondering if its possible to over rinse them? if its not, would it be okay to divert a pump's flow of water from my fish tank into the drawers im using to grow them in and re divert it back into the fish tank once its reached the bottom drawer after rinsing through all the drawers?

hope that makes sense

Tacopaco: You've opened up a hornets nest of naysayers vs. go ahead and do it folks. My response: Your plan would be no different than an auqaponic system, but you're throwing chickens into the loop. I've also considered the same option. Currently, the only fish I have are 3 little goldfish that I keep around to eat mosquito larvae. But, if time allows, they will be invited to a very crudely set up mini-Aquaponics system this winter. Folks grow duck weed and feed it to their chickens: provides a huge source of renewable protein. If the chickens don't get sick from eating duckweed which has been grown in tank water, your fodder shouldn't be much different. Let me play the devil's advocate here: The naysayers, (and I'm not pointing any fingers, because the logic is reasonable, and there would be a hundred other people who would agree with them... say it won't work. And for viable reasons: grains need a clean environment to sprout and not mold, and grow healthy. But, in an aquaponic system. seeds are often direct seeded in a growing medium and start day one being flooded with nutrient rich water from the fish tanks. They sprout. They don't mold and mildew or get slimy. They grow like mad. So, why wouldn't it be the same if that same water was used to sprout wheat and barley? And, why wouldn't those same sprouts grow like mad with the added nutrient from the fish tanks? My understanding is that after day 3 or day 4, when the little sprout has exhausted all of the nutrients packed in the seed, the nutritional value of that seedling actually goes down, until that seedling has an established root system and leaves, to actually start taking up nutrient from the soil, and the leaves are able to create energy through photosynthesis. So, if the goal is to go past the sprout stage, into the fodder stage, the nutrient in the tank water would only enhance the output. So, I say to all, don't say it can't be done until you've tried it and tried it again to work out any kinks)

That being said, there are other ?'s to be answered: #1: Will the chickens pick up any pathogens from the water? I am not an authority, but, if aquaponics are able to grow plants suitable for the human salad bowl, I think chickens would do equally as well with a meal provided from the same system. #2: Since the system would be "planted" much more densely than the typical aquaponic system, and likely to absorb much more nutrient from the water, would your system be subject to wild pH swings, and would the water draining back into the tanks from the seed trays have an excess of tannins or other products from the high density of seeds that would be harmful to the system. Again, I'm not an authority, but have heard plenty of recommendations from folks to save the water from sprouting to water house plants with, so, my initial thought is: I don't think so! #3: The typical aquaponic system is set up so it repeatedly floods and drains the root systems. If they sit in water they WILL rot. So, you'd have to set it up on a slow trickle so the seeds would not dry out, but would not remain in standing water. And those needs would change as the root mat starts to grow. So, I'd recommend that you use the typical aquaponic flood and drain system. So, Tacopaco: I say, go for it, perhaps with a bit more research on a site dedicated to aquaponics. Here's my challenge to you: Start a thread dedicated to the use of chickens in aquaponics, and let us know how well it is working for you, what works, what doesn't and how your system is set up.

I'm around 2 months into this experiment with mixed results
I am using untreated wheat from a local feed store.

Not really any problems with growing fodder. Usually 7 days to grass 3"-4" tall.

I have been trying to feed it to chickens, ducks and rabbits.

The chickens will pick at it.
The ducks don't want anything to do with it.
In the beginning, I tried giving only fodder and whatever they could forage and withheld almost all feed.
They leave the grass and eat the sprouted seeds
I am now still giving fodder but feed and forage.
Kind of defeats the purpose of messing around with fodder.

One of the rabbits seems to like it and the other doesn't care for it at all.
They are fairly young so they only get a small amount daily while getting full ration of rabbit food.

One thing I have been considering is to feed the chickens with one less day's growth so the grass isn't so high.

Wondering if I should try a different grain.

If anyone has thoughts or input on this, I'd appreciate it.

It has saved feed costs because I haven't been giving the chickens and ducks much.


Thanks

Does your flock have access to fresh grass and greens? If so, IMO fodder is redundant. Do you have cold nasty winters with frozen ground and no access to fresh greens for months on end. (Stop it allready, I'm depressing myself!) IMO, that's where fodder can really shine. Also, you mentioned rye as a possibility: I've read somewhere that rye is not as readily digested as a lot of other grains. Any other folks with documention re: this, feel free to weigh in. And, Catryna hit the nail on the head: Shorter grass would be better. My plan would be to feed at the sprout stage: when the top sprout is no more than 2 - 3 x the length of the seed.

This is a longshot - I asked around the feed/seed store, was directed to a local guy who sells grain wholesale (he gave me wheat), and he sent me to another farmer who was in the process of having a semi unloading barley into his grain bin. He gave me a bunch. I just sprout the seeds and give it to them that way. For greens, I pull some rye grass I planted for green manure (not the roots), and they "chew" on that. I lucked out with the barley.

I am overly envious!

 

[blackstone]

lazy gardener, my chickens do free range.
We do get winters and snow. (I'm in western Pa north of Pittsburgh.)

When I first started learning about fodder, I perceived it as a way to cut down my feed costs using it instead of feed.

It did because I almost stopped giving them bought feed.

It doesn't appear that they are any worse for wear but they really tear into the Dumoors when I give them some.

 

[lazy gardener]

Just curious. Are your girls laying yet? If so, it would be interesting to do a comparison of their laying on the bagged feed compared to just fodder. Of course one would also have to factor in the shortening day lengths. I'll start sprouting when the ground freezes, but will continue to give them bagged feed. I hope I didn't discourage you from the use of fodder.

 

[blackstone]

They were laying but tapered off due to molt ands shorter days. I didn't keep good track but I think they cooled off before fodder.

You didn't discourage me at all. I did have a goal of reducing feed costs which I did.

We'll be adding goats and pigs in the future and will be trying the fodder for them too

 

[tillyita]

They were laying but tapered off due to molt ands shorter days. I didn't keep good track but I think they cooled off before fodder.

You didn't discourage me at all. I did have a goal of reducing feed costs which I did.

We'll be adding goats and pigs in the future and will be trying the fodder for them too

My goats took a while to try the fodder - but now they have they come running for it every evening when I feed it out. I don't have pigs - but apparently they like it too.

 

[patti17340]

I grew fodder last winter for my chickens and found they loved the roots and seed base but they where not too fond of the grass. I think it was too long for them . I let it grow 8 days it would get about 2 1/2 inches tall. This year I was thinking of just going about 3 -4 days until the seeds have sprouted but not really grown any grass. Does anyone else do it this way ?

 

[Jetpad]

I bought some whole organic barley to experiment with growing fodder. I soaked it for 24 hours and couldn't tell that anything was happening so I soaked it for another 24 hours. At that point (48 hours) you could see a few of the seeds start to sprout. Now, four days later, this is what they look like. I doesn't seem very thick to me. They've been sitting on my kitchen counter and I've been soaking them a couple times a day. Should I have better results at this point? How many more days should I let them sprout?

 

[Papas Chickens]

I bought some whole organic barley to experiment with growing fodder. I soaked it for 24 hours and couldn't tell that anything was happening so I soaked it for another 24 hours. At that point (48 hours) you could see a few of the seeds start to sprout. Now, four days later, this is what they look like. I doesn't seem very thick to me. They've been sitting on my kitchen counter and I've been soaking them a couple times a day. Should I have better results at this point? How many more days should I let them sprout?

I only soak my seed for a hour at the most then drain them and let them sit in a covered bucket for 12 hours I rince twice once at 6 hrs and again before I put them in the trays. Over soaking can kill the seed embryo and they wont sprout, you should have more spouting then what you have in your pic im pretty sure they were over soaked.